Beginning October 1, the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources will require a new Comprehensive Land & Water Use Plan Consistency Worksheet with every zoning-map amendment, rezoning, use-variance and Planned Area Development application.
Applicants will use the worksheet to describe how a proposal supports the goals, policies and strategies in the territory's 2024 Comprehensive Land & Water Use Plan. DPNR says the standardized review will cover natural-resource protection, climate resilience, infrastructure capacity, housing needs, economic development and priorities specific to each island.
The new document does not replace existing permits or guarantee approval. It adds a formal consistency record for applicants, planning staff, decision-makers and the public to evaluate alongside the rest of a project's zoning and development materials.
Developers, property owners and consultants preparing applications for October or later should obtain the current worksheet from DPNR and account for the requirement in filing schedules. The agency's announcement does not identify a transition rule for substantially complete applications submitted before the effective date.
DPNR should publish a fillable worksheet, sample completed application, transition guidance, review checklist and processing-time targets on one permanent page before October 1, then include each accepted consistency finding in the public project file.
Source published September 14, 2026. Read the original reporting or release for the complete record.
Open original source