Public Hearing concerning the proposed 44-unit condominium project on Parcel K Estate Gift & Regenback

Dear St. John Property Owners:

Below you will find a brief summary (Tradewinds Newspaper) of the Public Hearing concerning the proposed 44-unit condominium project on Parcel K Estate Gift & Regenback.

Developers aired their request for a group dwelling permit to construct a 10-building, 44 unit condominium project on 5.6 acres on the hillside above Rendezvous Bay in lieu of 14 house lots already allowed on the site to lessen impacts to the fragile ecosystems, the project architect told a public hearing on the proposed development.

No one testified in favor of Atlantic Northstar's, LLC's request for a group dwelling permit at the Department of Planning and Natural Resource (DPNR) Division of Comprehensive and Coastal Zone Planning Public Hearing on Thursday, June 9, at the Legislature Building in Cruz Bay.

The permit concerns Parcel K, a 5.67 acre parcel in Estate Gift and Regenback, and would allow construction of 44 dwelling units in 10 separate structures on the steep hillside above Rendezvous Bay.

Atlantic Northstar, LLC owns 22 acres of land from Upper Point Rendezvous up to Parcel K located in Estate Gift and Regenback and already has permit approval to build 38 units on the land.  ** 24 (1/2 acre parcels located in Estate Rendezvous & Ditleff (above Point Rendezvous) and 14 (1/3 acre parcels on Parcel K Estate Gift and Regenback (adjoining parcels).

Of those 38 parcels approved for development, 14 (1/3 acre parcels) are located on the 5.67 acre Parcel K, which is zoned R-2 (Residential - low density one and two family). "Fourteen house lots have already been approved; the application we are asking for today is an exchange for what we've already been permitted," said the architect.

Upon permit approval, Eagle's Roost, the 44-unit, full ownership condominium project will consist of 11 two-bedroom units, 22 three-bedroom units and 11 four-bedroom units; a community center; a pool, and deck (a total of 132 bedrooms on this 5.67 acre site). The project will also have underground utility with a back-up generator, "fast" sewage systems with built-in irrigation system, two parking spaces for every unit and eight spaces for the community center.

The Developer's previous contractor who started the road construction "was not as studious as hoped" and cut the road in the Rendezvous/Ditleff area in the wrong location. "The road has been cut and certain endangered species had been destroyed," explained the architect, William M. Karr.  The owners have since hired BioImpact to help mitigate the endangered plants and become more environmentally sensitive.

The article in the Tradewinds Newspaper further reported on the testifiers specific concerns of the extreme density, roads, traffic, run-off, endangered plants and inconsistency with the surrounding neighborhood uses.

Charles McCallion, partner of Atlantic Northstar, LLC offered closing remarks. "We are not here to damage your island; we are not here to create problems - we are here as businessmen to develop what we have acquired legally."

As Attorney Brion Morrisette said at the hearing - "This will not benefit the community of St. John - it will only serve to maximize the off island developer's profits."