School sits on farm-zoned land: St. Croix seeks fix for $224M rebuild

ST. CROIX: The St. Croix Educational Complex and its Career and Technical Education Center occupy parcels officially designated for farming, a mismatch the V.I. Department of Education is working to resolve as it pursues a $224 million overhaul of the campus.

The reconstruction project, which started in May, will unfold across roughly three years. To proceed smoothly, the department is asking lawmakers to reclassify two parcels in Estate Castle Burke from A-1 (Agricultural) to P (Public).

Bill 36-0408, debated by the Committee of the Whole on Monday, targets Parcels 5-A and 5-C. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources backed the shift, saying it would align the land's legal status with how it is actually being used. Victor Somme III, the department's assistant commissioner of Education, told legislators the change would "provide long-term land use certainty" and allow existing and planned school functions to be treated as permitted uses by right.

A neighbourhood problem

Senator Kurt Vialet, who once headed the complex, questioned why school buildings had carried an agricultural label for so long. He noted that Castle Burke itself, now a settled residential area, remains mostly zoned for farming.

Vialet raised a practical concern: residents on agricultural land often struggle to secure bank loans. He urged the Planning Department and the Senate to tackle the broader neighbourhood zoning rather than fixing properties one by one.

"It is something that the Senate can move to really make those homes be in compliance with the zoning laws, because it is what it is. I think at one point there was a hope that Castle Burke was temporary. It became permanent," Vialet said.

No wider Castle Burke rezoning is part of the current proposal.

Two more zoning shifts

Lawmakers also weighed two additional measures on Monday. Bill 36-0400 concerns a government property in Estate Nazareth, St. Thomas, that operates as a round-the-clock emergency shelter for infants and young children. The two-storey, 12,000-square-foot building once served as a short-term rental and now houses up to 12 children from newborns to age 12.

The Property and Procurement Department initially wanted to rezone from residential-low density to residential-medium density. The Planning Department instead recommended a Public designation paired with a use variance, noting that government-owned sites should carry that classification. The zoning adjustment is needed to extend the nonprofit partner's lease.

Bill 36-0409 would rezone a 2.935-acre parcel in Estate Susannaberg, St. John, from residential-low density to commercial. Owner Peggy Yvonne Smith already runs multiple businesses there: landscaping, animal care, veterinary work, auto repairs, a restaurant, boat-related services and solar installations. She is considering a second commercial building for rentals and storage.

The Planning Department supports all three requests. The Committee did not vote. The measures are expected to return to the Legislature for a final decision.