POTTER DEFENDS LEGISLATURE'S REJECTION OF SUMMER'S END PERMIT

Senate President Milton Potter has defended lawmakers' decision to block renewal of a coastal zone permit for the Summer's End marina development in Coral Bay, St. John, arguing that the rejection reflects legal obligation rather than hostility toward development.

The statement came in response to Governor Albert Bryan Jr.'s criticism of the Legislature's vote. Potter characterised the Governor's remarks as containing "personal attacks and inflammatory comments" that were "unwarranted."

Potter grounded his position in territorial statute. Under Chapter 12, section 910 of the Virgin Islands Code, any project granted a coastal zone permit must start construction within twelve months of issuance. Failure to do so causes the permit to lapse and become void unless the Coastal Zone Management Commission or its commissioner grants an extension.

The permit in question was issued in 2020. Since then, Potter said, the developers neither began work nor sought an extension from the CZM Commission. As a result, the permit has expired. The St. John CZM board, the territorial CZM commission chair, and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources commissioner all reached the same conclusion, Potter noted.

Potter also challenged the Governor's effort to circumvent the CZM process. "The Governor's effort to bypass CZM is a direct violation of federal Coastal Zone Management law, which designates CZM as the only body authorized to make such determinations," Potter said. He warned that sidestepping this process jeopardises federal funding and undermines the approval before the Army Corps of Engineers.

On the broader question of development, Potter rejected the notion that the Legislature opposes it. "The Legislature has not killed jobs nor stifled opportunity," he said. "It has upheld the law and the integrity of our institutions." Lawmakers, he added, must enforce compliance with law rather than enable "shortcuts that invite litigation and embarrassment."

Potter framed the developers' four or five-year inaction as their own responsibility. "No one should be rewarded for negligence," he said. He also noted that legislators took an oath not to circumvent law for a single developer at the expense of others.