"We must plan with people, not for people," according to Claudette Young-Hinds at a community meeting Tuesday morning at the Coral Bay Library and Learning Center. The meeting was called to solicit input into the Area of Particular Concern (APC) draft plan for Coral Bay.
About 20 Coral Bay residents attended the meeting to voice their concerns about a major planning effort sponsored by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the University of the Virgin Islands.
"I have been contracted by DPNR to update a plan that was originally begun in 1972," Young-Hinds said. "My charge is to update the original document to reflect today's realities, not what happened 10 or 15 years ago."
An Area of Particular Concern, Young-Hinds said, is a geographic area designated for purposes of preservation or restoration because of conservation, recreation, ecological, or aesthetic value. In the Virgin Islands 18 APC's have been designated, three of them on St. John.
The Coral bay APC boundary begins at Nanny Point and extends northeast across the bay to Long Point, then along Blackrock Hill to Nancy Hill, then following the National Park boundary to a point directly south of Nanny Point, then north to Nanny Point.
"Once completed " Young-Hinds said, "the APC Management Plan will describe land use conflict, identify community issues and establish goals, assess recommend policies, propose management strategies and techniques, identify lead and supporting agencies, establish costs and funding sources, and design mechanisms for review and evaluation."
Concerns voiced by those in attendance to be incorporated in the draft plan included: cleaning up Coral Bay landing site at head of Kings Hill Road, dredging Coral Bay harbor and developing inland lakes, utilizing new technologies for waste management, developing a master plan for Coral Bay, instituting an infrastructure for environmental cleanliness, controlling boat sewage, providing for open space utilization and instituting better communication and dialogue with governmental entities.
"Unless we set up partnerships and cooperate it will be fruitless," Young-Hinds said.
A draft of the APC plan will be available prior to scheduled hearings in February, she said.
