Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed 13 bills into law Tuesday that had been passed March 18 by the 36th Legislature.
Honoring the former Senate president, Bryan signed into law a bill renaming Hull Bay Road to Lorraine L. Berry Drive. Previously, the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Hall’s annex had been renamed for the longtime St. Thomas lawmaker in 2013. Berry was the only senator to serve 12 consecutive terms, the only one to serve as Senate president twice, and one of only two women to hold the position. Throughout her tenure as a legislator, Berry chaired eight Senate committees, served as majority leader, and drafted roughly 400 pieces of legislation.
The governor also signed into law an act honoring Alva Alphonse “Coach Tumba” Swan for his significant contributions to the sport of basketball in the Virgin Islands.
More controversial was a new law rezoning 15.9 acres of virgin green space in the Beeston Hill, St. Croix, to allow for as many as 800 people to move into the restive area. The new zoning meant buildings as high as six stories could be built, or potentially a hotel complex. The rezoning went against the recommendation of experts at the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the new Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan — which warned against the dangers of unplanned spot zoning — and the pleas of people in the neighborhood who worried noise, traffic, and environmental degradation would soon follow. Although the property’s owners have said they planned to use the land for housing, they had previously sought to build a strip mall, medical complex, and other business-related enterprises there.
The governor also approved rezoning part of Estate Smith Bay from agricultural use to allow for medium-density residential use, and part of Christiansted’s Strand Street from residential use to secondary business. He also granted a zoning variance for a bus and passenger terminal in Estate Body Slob, St. Croix.
Bryan allowed for $200,000 from the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund to go to the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for repairs to the Frederiksted Public Cemetery and signed off on a new law establishing a 15-business day amnesty to assist taxpayers and businesses recovering from the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and Tropical Storm Ernesto by waiving penalties and interest imposed for the nonpayment of taxes.
Bryan approved a new law amending title 23 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 10, to establish civil penalties for disregarding marine advisories and to create the Territorial Marine Safety Fund. He also signed into law acts amending Title 22, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 31, relating to the Virgin Islands Producer and Adjuster Licensing Act by modifying renewal provisions for insurance producer licenses, redesignating the funding source for several entities, and amending Act No. 9072 regarding the disposal of intoxicating cannabinoid products.
