Thursday, August 28, 2025, is a day which will go down in the books as a major victory for the proponents of legally compliant, socially responsible, and environmentally sustainable development in Coral Bay. By a decisive vote of 9-3, the Legislature of the Virgin Islands dismissed the political pressure tactics of the Summers End Group, supported by Governor Albert Bryan, Jr., trying to circumvent required CZM review and secure a new CZM permit for their mega yacht marina project in Coral Harbor, St John.

Without a valid Coastal Zone Management permit issued by the St John CZM Committee the project cannot get an Army Corps permit, and cannot proceed.  The path forward for this destructive project has been blocked, and we can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

There are many lessons to be learned from the 11-year long process, and it may be helpful for future developers to have these lessons recorded, together with the evidentiary documents supporting the narrative, as a reference for how NOT to pursue development in the Virgin Islands.

This story will be divided into several chapters covering the main phases of the Summers End Group project.  The primary subject matter revolves around local permitting – the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Permit (“CZM”) however the implications for federal permitting (Army Corps of Engineers) will be touched upon.  A further “installment” of this saga will focus on the long and involved federal process, a story whose end is clear but whose story is still unfolding.

Near the bottom of each page you will see three navigation buttons:  “Previous Chapter”, “Table of Contents” and “Next Chapter.”  The “Next Chapter” button will take you through the entire story, sequentially.  The buttons look like this:

The chapters of this story may be accessed from the links below, or may be read sequentially with the navigation buttons.  Here is the outline, click on “2014 – The Year it All Began” to begin the story:

1. 2014 – The Year it All Began
   1. The Coastal Zone Management Program
   2. CZM Public Hearing
   3. CZM Decision Meeting
   4. The Community Organizes to Save Coral Bay
   5. Board of Land Use Appeals
   6. Governor Mapp is Elected
2. 2015 – An Army Corps Permit Application is Submitted
   1. Save Coral Bay Moves Into High Gear
   2. The January 2015 Army Corps Public Notice
   3. Boating Infrastucture Grant Revoked
   4. Second Public Notce – July 2015
3. 2016 – The Virgin Islands Board of Land Use Appeals / Two Parcels Sold
   1. BLUA Hearing and Oral Decision
   2. Two Marina Parcels Sold
   3. BLUA Written Decision and Writ of Review Filed
4. 2017 – Major Permit Revisions and TWO Major Hurricanes
   1. August 2017 – Major Project Revisions to Army Corps – NOT TO CZM
   2. September 2017 – IRMA
5. 2018 – Governor Albert Bryan Jr. Elected
6. 2019 – The Start of the Bryan Years
   1. Bryan “Updates” Permits and Sends to Legislature
   2. Committee of the Whole Reviews Permits
   3. Committee of the Whole Rejects Permits
   4. Bryan Sends “Consolidated and Modified” Permit to Legislature
7. 2020 – Legislature Hearings / Lame Duck Ratification
   1. Committee of the Whole Meets During Covid
   2. Save Coral Bay Files Lawsuit in Superior Court
   3. Lame Duck Session of the 33rd Legislature Ratifies
8. 2021 – Virgin Islands Superior Court Opinion / Appeal to VI Supreme Court
9. 2022 – 2024 – Project Modifications / Army Corps Reviews / CZM Permit Expires
   1. Coccoloba is Sold
   2. The Summers-Litel-Graves Connection
   3. Louisiana Congressman is “Enlisted”
10. 2025 – The Year it All Unraveled …
    1. USACE Asks DPNR for Status of CZM Permit & DPNR Says “NULL AND VOID”
    2. SEG Goes Back to Governor Bryan
    3. The Legislature Acts Decisively
    4. What it all means …

This is the story of how native St Johnians, residents of Coral Bay, Virgin Islanders, and supporters from all over the globe, came together to

SAVE CORAL BAY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.