Developers of a condominium project overlooking Cruz Bay to asked the Coastal Zone Management for approval to add seven residential units to their project. Enighed Condominiums LLC, aka Sirenusa, wants to add a fourth story to three of its 15 buildings. The project’s owner, Carlo Marzano, told the Virgin Islands Daily News, "There is zero view impact on any of our neighbors’ properties – the elevation drops so dramatically."
About a hundred residents attended the CZM hearing on Tuesday night. Dozens of them testified against the developer’s requests. "Neighbors complained about extensive flooding that impacted their homes and yards, dirt blowing into their houses, noise all night long, truck drivers who drive too fast on the narrow neighborhood roads used to access the project, roads widened without permission, and their belief that St. John’s already beleaguered infrastructure will be taxed beyond its capacity," the St. John Source reported.
Currently approved for 40 units, the venture would be "healthier financially" if seven more could be built, Marzano added. Barry Devine, a community activist on St. John, opposes the waiver. "It sets a tone that that area of the island is going to be four-story buildings," he said, according to the Daily News. "You can’t change the law because these people have influence or money to direct in legal means."