Fuel Storage Proposed in Bolongo

A schematic of the proposed fuel storage tank. (Image from the zoning application)

Christian Rosenberg said at a public hearing Monday that fuel is being stored in Commercial zones in the territory and is not in compliance with zoning regulations. Presently, according to Department of Planning and Natural Resources Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew, areas zoned Industrial are the only areas allowed for fuel storage unless a variance is granted.

Rosenberg, the sole owner of Dry Marina LLC, said he wants to do it correctly with the property he owns at 17D-1 Estate Bovoni, and, therefore, he was requesting a zoning use variance. His property was changed from low-density Residential to Commercial in 2000.

The one-acre lot is presently partially used by a trucking company to store trucks and plans are for it to continue that use. The proposed project includes two structures besides the storage tank – a maintenance shed and an office trailer.

The lot does not have a direct connection to sewer lines or water. Rosenberg said job johnnies would be located on the site for the one or two employees who would work there. No one present spoke in opposition to the project. However, a letter from Deputy General Counsel Sandra Forehand of Bolongo Investments, an adjacent property owner, was read into the record. She wrote that as the fuels are considered hazardous, her company has concerns, and it requests that any fuel that is stored on the property be appropriately housed and screened from public view in facilities that comply with all applicable laws. She added that if these criteria are met, “the Company has no objection to the use variance.”

Rosenberg said the fuel storage would be held by Petroleum Brokers, which was founded in 2012. Its products include diesel and regular and premium gas.