Dear Commissioner Mathes:  I request that DPNR verify that the parking requirements have been met at the Grande Bay development, St. John. Three years ago at a public hearing, DPNR’s Marjorie Emanuel cautioned Grande Bay that the government was no longer tolerating the sidestepping of the parking requirements specified in Title 29 of the VI Code. In response to DPNR’s warning, Grande Bay developers added double-decker parking to the blueprint in order to ensure sufficient parking would be in place.

In response to complaints, I examined the parking bays on the ground floor last week. There are no double-decker bays. Please do an official inspection of parking at Grande Bay.

Legislators do not have an enforcement role. The executive branch, of which DPNR is a part, does have an enforcement role. The role of a Legislator is to enact laws, appropriate money, and exercise oversight of the laws. It appears that the laws regarding parking have been violated, and thus I pass the report on to DPNR for investigation and enforcement.

DPNR pledged to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy if Grande Bay is not in compliance with the building permit. St. Johnians know that over the years rules were bent and even broken. This has created problems for us today, the most severe of which is a crippling lack of parking in Cruz Bay. We are aware that both DPNR and our own citizens have created Cruz Bay’s parking problem. Rather than worry about whom to blame for yesterday, the mood of St. Johnians has moved to following our laws and regulations today and for the future.

Please inspect Grande Bay and take appropriate action. I request this as a matter of legislative oversight on behalf of my St. John constituency. Thank you.

Craig W. Barshinger

Filed under: General