April 10, 2003 – Boaters and small business operators concerned about the pending loss of access to the popular Long Bay dinghy dock converged on a Coastal Zone Management Committee meeting where developers planning the renovation of the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina were seeking modifications of their permit.
The group's appearance at the Wednesday evening hearing caught the CZM committee members and developers by surprise, and its welcome was anything but warm. But when the residents' concerns later reached the commissioner whose agency oversees CZM operations, they found a sympathetic ear.
"That's a legitimate concern," Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett said on Thursday. But beyond that, DPNR officials said they had no immediate answer as to what options would be available to dinghy users once IN-USVI begins demolishing the old hotel and marina to make way for a new and larger complex to take its place. (See "CZM approval of Yacht Haven plans announced".)
After the Wednesday meeting, CZM program director Janice Hodge said she was surprised to hear boaters raise the issue of access through Yacht Haven. She added on Thursday: "This was not brought up at any of the meetings" prior to approval of the CZM permit.
Hodge said the purpose of the Wednesday meeting was to revise a list of special provisions attached to the permit approved on March 13. Unsure of who the group members were or why they had appeared at the meeting, CZM Committee chair Austin "Babe" Monsanto told them they were allowed to attend the hearing by virtue of the territory's Sunshine Act but would not be allowed to speak.
After the meeting, some of those who had showed up did speak with IN-USVI representatives — who also had wondered who the people were and why they had come to sit in the audience.
According to one concerned resident, the prospect of losing use of the dinghy dock during the demolition and construction period hadn't occurred to them either — until the CZM permit approval was announced last month.
"I think the marine community expected that access was going to be a topic at the meeting — or at least the opportunity to discuss access," said Carter Wilbur, general manager of Flagship, a clearinghouse for charter yacht bookings with offices near the defunct hotel and marina. He said word spread informally among boat live-aboards and business operators, but it later turned out to be a misunderstanding.
The Yacht Haven area at the east end of Long Bay still serves as one of the major town-access points for boaters. Live-aboards from as far away as Water Island come ashore there to shop for groceries, do their laundry, pick up parts at a local marine shop and maybe rent a video on their way back to their floating homes. If they're not in a rush, Wilbur said, they might also stop by one of the bars or clubs in the Havensight area to meet friends and soak up some nightlife.
Eliminate land access, Wilbur said, and it gets a lot harder for those boaters to take part in the local economy — which, he said, could mean a setback for a number of area businesses. Representatives of some of the enterprises that stand to lose customers if access through Yacht Haven is cut off also appeared at the CZM hearing, including the Pueblo Long Bay Supermarket, the Washboard laundry and Budget Marine.
Hodge admitted that once demolition gets under way, the dinghy dock will be off limits. "If the site is going to be redeveloped — for liability reasons alone — you wouldn't want to have people traversing the area," she said.
Once that happens, Wilbur said, boaters will be left with a choice of coming ashore at Crown Bay west of town or by the old King's Wharf on Veterans Drive near Vendors Plaza.
Although they came together in haste and with faulty information, Wilbur said, the boating and business community members are proceeding with efforts to get an answer to the question of where they will go once Yacht Haven is no longer an option. He said he had spoken with the developers outside the CZM meeting room and asked them to help work things out.
Wilbur expressed confidence that some arrangement can be worked out. He said IN-USVI called a meeting several days ago to tell the land-based businesses in the demolition area that they will soon have to leave. "There is no doubt in my mind that IN-USVI is well aware" of the dinghy dock issue and that "they are willing to meet with us," he said on Thursday.
Attempts to reach IN-USVI officials for comment on the Wednesday meeting were unsuccessful.

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