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May 4, 2007 – Senator-at-Large Carmen Wesselhoft said Thursday she was exceptionally pleased that the dispute over efforts to construct a Government parking lot and motor pool on land designated for solely for agriculture had been resolved swiftly and amicably.
"When I wrote the Property & Procurement Commissioner a letter about this I indicated that it was my hope this was simply a misunderstanding and we could quickly clear this up," Wesselhoft said. "Once all the parties got together and looked at the maps Governor de Jongh did the right thing and stopped the project. I thank him and Commissioners Millin and Petersen for taking on this issue in earnest."
Wesselhoft said the farmers of St. Croix are also to be commended.
"We have a group of people that are taking agriculture very seriously and got together quickly to fight against the construction of this motor pool," the Senator-at-Large said. "This dedication and organization demonstrates that with the right support we can have a viable agriculture industry."
Wesselhoft said that the recent controversy had highlighted some important concerns in regard to farming on St. Croix and the use of VICORP land in particular, which by law can only be utilized for "agricultural purposes".
On such concern is the fact that some of the VICORP land is not actually zoned for agriculture, despite the law mandating it be used for such. The disputed property at No. 21 Bethlehem is zoned for Public Use.
"I have submitted legislation calling for all VICORP land to be zoned A-1 or A-2 as applicable," she said. "Some additional research is still required and next week I will be touring all the VICORP sites."
Wesselhoft said that she would request that the Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture convene public hearings on the rezoning of the VICORP land.
