June 30, 2004 – With little discussion, the St. John Coastal Zone Management Committee approved on Wednesday a request by Innovative Telephone for a permit to dig a trench so the company can install a fiber-optic cable. Additionally, it approved a modification to an existing permit for a shopping center in Coral Bay.
Innovative Telephone's president, David Sharp, said the fiber-optic lines will provide redundancy for the island's telephone system. "In terms of capacity we don't need the cable, but we do in terms of a natural disaster," he said.
He said the fiber optic cable will replace a microwave system now in place. The telephone company's main transmission method is a radio system installed in April.
The trench will run from Frank Bay to Innovative's main station at Pastory. The lines will be connected to St. Thomas via an underwater cable.
The CZM committee, as a permit condition, said that Innovative crews must fill in the trench as they finish work on it day by day.
In the other request before the committee, Genoveva Rodriguez asked for a permit modification so she can add a gazebo to a shopping center now under construction on Route 107. "The view justifies having it," she said.
Rodriguez said she plans to use the gazebo as a bar.
The shopping center will occupy 4,800 square feet on 1.3 acres of land across the road from the water. Plans call for it to have 10 stores and a restaurant. The gazebo will add approximately 330 square feet to the project.

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