Developments And Enviroment In St.Maarten
With some twenty projects under construction or just completed, St Maarten in a few years will have several thousand additional rooms, the majority in the form of condominiums/villas. Land is becoming very scarce and the pressure on the environment great the environmental impact of these projects, as well as the effects on the infrastructure, is becoming a major concern of many on the island. Are we developing too much and too fast? Or do we have to build more to sustain our growth as a tourism destination?
Two developers, one real estate agent, a professor in urban sanitation and two environmentalists give their view. We have gone from an island with zero projects a few years ago to more than twenty now," said Peyton Cromwell, owner of REMAX Island Properties. He listed the projects currently under construction, completed very recently or in an advanced stage of planning.
At Oyster Pond/Dawn Beach:
Aquarius
Constellation
Westin
Lighthouse
Coral Beach Club
In Simpson Bay:
Aqualina
Palm Beach
Las Arenas
La Siesta
and the expansion at Pelican Resort.
In the Cupecoy area:
Cupecoy Yacht Club
The Cove, Aqua Marina
Blue Marina, Gardenia
Rainbow Beach Club
Shore Point, The Cliff
Pharaohs
Gateway
And then there are Barbaron in Cay Hill and Indigo Bay at Cay Bay.
"Just these projects alone represent thousands of rooms. By 2009-2010, when most of these projects will be completed, we will have ten times the room inventory of 2003/2004. Almost all is built within more or less five years," said Cromwell. The Tourism Master Plan of 2005 identified for projected new accommodation developments 2005-2010 a total of 1,942 units representing 3,495 rooms. Of the projected new development 1,292 are condos. Does all of this construction infringe on the environment? Not necessarily, said Daunesh Alcott, Director of Sales at Century 21 Island Realty and Exclusive Marketing & Sales Rep/spokesperson for Indigo Bay. "We are creating a low building density project with lots of green, whereby construction is limited to two storeys and the hotel four storeys," he said, explaining that with the average building density, the foot print is 20 per cent. "That is very low for this island. In fact it is low for the region."
Alcott compared Indigo Bay, once it is completed, to the gated communities near Disney World in Orlando, which are set up with lots of greenery. Alcott admitted that currently the property looks like a "strip-mine." But that is only temporary, as the developer prepares the land for the development of infrastructure and "vertical construction." This includes Link 1, Phase 3, for which the developer has made land and means available to allow for the construction of a new road which would partly run parallel to the current A. J.C. Brouwer Road, connecting Link 1, Phase 2 to the Cay Bay area. To prepare for the land for development, the top soil was scraped off. That soil is being screened, so later on it can be used in the composting program. The compost will provide the base for Indigo Bay's landscaping program, covering the hillsides again with new vegetation, explained Alcott. The idea, he added, was to "show people how you can do responsible development in conjunction with the environment."
He stressed that the project is moving ahead as planned and that Indigo Bay has a planning permit which was updated several times to lower the building density. Indigo Bay is no "overnight" project, said Alcott. It will take seven years to develop the area, which covers 148 acres. MARC ERATO, developer of Rainbow Beach Club in Cupecoy and of Aquarius at Gibbs Bay, confirmed that indeed concrete rules over greenery in Cupecoy. That, however, is tantamount to the rocky area, which traditionally is not very lush. The Aquarius project at Gibbs Bay/Red Pond on the other side of the island, however, will remain green. There, 40 per cent will be developed. The rest will remain green, said Erato. He said that in Cupecoy, investors made maximum use of the space.
The zoning plan also allows higher buildings in Cupecoy, with The Cliff being the tallest, boasting twelve storeys. At Red Pond the maximum is four storeys. "Personally I like to see more green," he said. He said that at Red Pond, his company was required to do an environmental impact study. He said other developments should do the same. Implying that he intended to stick to minimizing the impact on the environment at that site, he said, "I sustain nature." Regarding the study Erato said: "It made perfect sense. We were able to incorporate the recommendations in our plans. It worked out fine." Aquarius is being built in three phases.
phase, which is currently ongoing, includes the construction of six residential buildings and related infrastructure, such as retaining walls, a sewage system, road? .aid utilities. The total project consists of 280 condos. it should be completed by 2010-2011. As for Rainbow Beach Club, a 150 condo project, Erato said that the first phase is open. The second phase will open between December 2007 and April 2008. The first former Public Prosecutor Paul Mooij, who has the environment much at heart, said that on St. Maarten sustainability was not an issue. He said it was "sad" to note that after 30 years "nothing" was done to zone the island™ thereby limiting construction in certain natural areas. The Central Government in 1976 had determined that developing the islands in a sustainable manner, via zoning plans, was a necessity. Follow up on St. Maarten came in the form of the island physical development plan EROP. However there are few conditions with respect to the content and few rules.
Article 28a of the EROP requires permission in writing from the Executive Council. Besides the planning permit, developers need a building permit and a hindrance permit for certain activities An environmental impact assessment study is required for some projects. Developers, said Mooij, unfortunately were focused on money, fast money. “St.Maarten is one big speculative paradise” “He also blamed government for not laying a good foundation for the development. Developing your island, he argued, is done together with the local community, the environmental groups and in consultation with the utility companies. "There is no discussion on the requirements, those investors fill their pockets and they are gone in twenty years. Government needs to have the guts to tackle that." Mooij said that Respite the good intentions to reorganize and upgrade the Public Works Department ROB, inspections at projects were insufficient (''Control is at a minimum." He said that since studies have proven that criminal behavior is influenced by the environment, there are more reasons to set harsh conditions to real estate development.
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