As the public comment deadline for a massive billboard proposed on St. Thomas nears, one Virgin Islands attorney warned preventing the glowing highway sign, or removing it once built, could be difficult unless new laws were enacted.
This spring, Derek Gabriel, commissioner of the Public Works Department, received a request from a private company to approve a 10-foot by 30-foot LED-lit billboard on an enormous pillar near the Edith L. Williams Academy High School.
The company and Public Works employees worked to ensure the enormous sign would be windstorm-resistant and minimize distraction to drivers, Gabriel said. Still, the commissioner was personally against it, concerned the billboard would profoundly change the feel of the area…