Public Concerned about Environmental Impact of Hull Bay Ramp, Building of Parking Lot

Though the concerns were similar on both sides – turtle nesting, boater safety, and the preservation of Hull Bay – Planning and Natural Resources staff and residents were split Thursday over whether the construction of a new ramp and possible parking lot at Hull Bay would address those issues or make the beach worse.

Plans for the ramp have morphed since their initial introduction in 2011 to the most recent showing last February. Where the design was first a simple rebuild of the existing structure, what was discussed at Thursday’s public hearing on St. Thomas was the construction of an adjacent ramp – which DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol said gives fishermen and boaters continued access to the old one until construction is finished and the old ramp is demolished.

As the 2023 plans pull from lessons learned from the older designs, feedback shared at previous public hearings and the eventual caving in in 2019 of a portion of the existing ramp, the adjacent ramp would also extend 120 feet into the water, giving boaters an extra 2.5 feet of depth – up to 4.5 feet – in which to launch. Though project manager Eric Douglas shared additional plans for the potential construction of public parking and trailer spaces, along with an access road from Tropaco Point and the construction of an uphill drainage swale to control stormwater runoff, speakers said the only portion of the plans funded at this point are for the ramp itself.

The design for the remainder of the improvements will be determined by future public input, added DPNR Fish and Wildlife Environmental Specialist Alfonso Garcia. Undeterred, residents stood firm on their opposition to the parking, which Oriol said was meant to create a more organized system than what’s currently in place and divert runoff.