By all accounts, the late August 2014 CZM Public Hearing was attended by an unprecedented, overflow crowd.  The hearing room was filled to capacity, and crowds listened from the vestibule outside.  Residents arrived with prepared testimony, wanting to get their sentiments on the CZM record.

Predictably, a full cast of DeJongh representatives from Tourism and the Economic Development Authority and DPNR sang praises to the project.  This was followed by public testimony, restricted to 3-minutes per person.  Some notable comments from the SEG supporters included that “all financing is in place” and “the marina can withstand a category 5 hurricane” and “the storm water mitigation will capture the entire Carolina watershed” and “the marina will clean up the harbor” and perhaps the most offensive, spoken by Summers End Consultant Jeff Boyd: “as you know, in Coral Bay right now there is basically nothing…”

For those interested in the testimony, most of which was from residents of Coral Bay, the complete transcript may be read below:

Following the Public Hearing we submitted written comments evaluating the Summers End marina proposal against the goals, policies and standards of the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Act.  Needless to say, it failed to demonstrate consistency with a multitude of those policies.