Plan Cruz Bay Charrette : June 11 to 16, 2023

From June 11th to 16th, Love City Strong is hosting an opportunity for the St. John community to come together and share ideas for the future of Cruz Bay. Plan Cruz Bay is a chance to have your voice heard, listen to others, and work together to form a common vision for the area. With a plan in place that reflects the community’s wants and needs, near and long-term development and reuse of property can continue to support a resilient Cruz Bay.

The goal of Plan Cruz Bay is to generate a dynamic near and long-term strategy that includes a conceptual urban design plan to guide future growth and development. The plan will, based on community input, address opportunities and challenges and aim to improve connectivity, pedestrian safety, civic spaces, building form and appearance, and more. The plan will include analysis, before-and-after visualizations, and an implementation strategy. Plan Cruz Bay recommendations will include proposals for housing, transportation, community facilities, stormwater management, and land use. Ideally, the Plan will serve as a guiding document to define residents’ future vision of the area, inform government decisions, and guide implementation actions.

Plan Cruz Bay is sponsored by Love City Strong to amplify the community’s voice and produce a framework for a more resilient future. The recommendations for this Plan will supplement the territory-wide Comprehensive Land & Water Use Plan (CLWUP) that is currently underway, and will take into account other existing and relevant plans in the Territory.

Community involvement is critical to the success of Plan Cruz Bay. The charrette will feature a variety of events on different days and at different times, offering multiple opportunities for residents to participate in the planning process. We encourage you to come to at least one event, if not more. The team leading this important planning effort is made up of recognized local and national experts in the fields of town planning, preservation, and sustainability. All are familiar with the unique conditions of St. John and respect and recognize the value of community. The team has successfully worked on plans in the territories and are currently working together on the territory-wide Comprehensive Land & Water Use Plan (CLWUP). The team is ready to listen and learn, build relationships, and help the community build the best plan forward for Cruz Bay.

The charrette for Cruz Bay will take place June 11 – 16, 2023. During this time, the planning team will set up a design studio in town and host a series of interactive workshops, meetings, and planning sessions. By working on-site, this important plan will be created in real time, in public, with continuous opportunities to share and gather community input.

After the charrette, the planning team will return to their home offices to refine the plans, visualizations, and produce a draft plan document. Updates to the project website and communication from Love City Strong will continue to ensure that the plans and corresponding visualizations and policy recommendations meet the goals of the community. The plan will help inform the territory-wide Comprehensive Land & Water Use Plan (CLWUP) as well as government decisions on the direction of development of public lands. Once the draft plan from the charrette is refined, the planning team will return to St. John and present plan recommendations.

We hope you’ll join us for this exciting opportunity to shape the future of Cruz Bay, address the most pressing needs of St. John residents, and establish a lasting legacy for generations to come.

If you have questions or feedback, please reach out to Love City Strong Executive Director Meaghan Enright via email, meaghan@lovecitystrongvi.org, or during office hours at Suite 102 in The Marketplace.