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2009 Placencia Peninsula News

Definitely not all the news that's fit to print - and definitely not on a daily basis.  But, we'll try to update frequently about things like road conditions and significant events affecting the area - sometimes even gossip - maybe.  Let us know if you have anything to add.  But, we retain full editorial discretion over information on this page. 
 

21 May 2009:  Coastal Construction Guidelines, Second Public Meeting

The Physical Planning Section of the Ministry of Natural Resources held its second public consultation on coastal construction guidelines last night, 20 May 2009, at the Placencia Village Community Center.  Following are notes from that meeting.  (The discussion was somewhat hard to follow at times, so some of the notes may be also.)

  • The three laws governing coastal construction are:

    • National Lands Act, which establishes that the 66' reserve and seabed (including the beds of rivers, lagoons and other water bodies) are national lands. 

    • Private Works Construction Act, which is soon to be replaced by the Belize Building Act.

    • Land Utilization Authority Act

    These three laws sometimes contradict each other and are weakened by gaps in coverage.  For example, under the National Lands Act, the 66' reserve is not protected outside of towns, cities and village limits.  Another example is the maximum BZ$500 fine for violating the Lands Act,.    In addition, LUA does not include representatives of the Department of the Environment, Coastal Zone or Planning on its Board. 
     

  • The Coastal Construction Guidelines working group is now addressing these gaps and weaknesses in proposed new legislation.  In addition,  they have come up with specific proposed guidelines based on policy meetings and public consultations.  Some of those guidelines follow.  (Note:  we are supposed to get a copy of the guidelines today and will upload them and post a link to them as soon as they are available.)

    • No environmental review/approval will be required for regular piers of 3000 square feet or less, seawalls where erosion is a problem and the seawall will protect the 66' reserve, or for fisherfolk camps.  However, must obtain a permit from Lands, local or Central Building Authority, Port Authority if near a navigational channel, geology for dredging or reclamation and Fisheries if near a protected area. (These are currently existing policies that will not be changed.)

    • Overwater cabanas, dive shops, restaurants will require environmental review/approval , plus permit from Lands, local or Central Building Authority, Port Authority, Fisheries, Geology and BTB, as applicable.  In addition, overwater structures other than piers, seawalls and fisherfolk camps described above:

      • Are discouraged on the coastline of Corozal, Belize City, Dangriga and Punta Gorda,  plus the windward sides of St. George's Caye, Caye Caulker, San Pedro and Placencia;

      • Cannot be located over reef, coral or "other uses" such as fishing flats

      • Can only be approved for owners of seafront property (owners of seaview property, for example, can't jump in front of seafront property owners and construct over-water cabanas in the sea);

      • Must incorporate the same amount of area used for overwater structures as seafront open space on the land owned by the property owner constructing the overwater structures.  (For example, if a seafront property owner constructs 9,000 square feet of overwater structures, 9,000 square feet of seafront space must be left open - no construction within this area.)
         

  • Other items of note brought up in the meeting:

    • No overwater private residences allowed

    • Waterfront property owners do not own accretions and do not have a right to reclaim land lost by erosion.  (Landowners must apply for permission to reclaim land lost through erosion.)

    • If a survey or deed demarcates property lines to the high tide line, the land is still encumbered by a national lands easement.

    • The seabed under any depth of water is not considered "land" contrary to the often-proclaimed assertions of developers on the Placencia Lagoon.

    • Fences running to the waterline (of the Sea, rivers, lagoons, etc.) interfere with the 66' reserve and should be reported to local authorities. 

    • National land/66' reserve has to be LAND, not underwater.

    • In cases where land grants have been issued for the bed of the Sea, lagoons, rivers, etc, surveyors have surveyed into the water without reporting to the Department of Lands that all or a portion of the land surveyed was not land, but seabed.

    • Jetties on the Placencia Peninsula are a serious problem and are discouraged.  Landowners must obtain a permit from the Physical Planning Section before any jetty is constructed. 

    • Part of the Coastal Constructions Guidelines program is to have areas such as the Placencia Peninsula develop a master plan for the entire Peninsula that will guide relevant authorities in whether to grant permit applications for coastal construction.  According to members of the audience at the meeting, the loan funds from IDB for the Peninsula include money for master plan development.  Placencia Village was encouraged to go over the master plan developed by professional planners in 2005 to update it and have it adopted by the Village so that it can be officially used by government agencies in approving or denying permits.

    • Community master plans will be legislatively adopted and have the force of law.

    • The plans for the IDB funding will be submitted to the Peninsula communities within the next few weeks for review and comment.  No specific pier plan for the Placencia Village dock area has yet been approved.

    • Community members attending the meeting were overwhelmingly opposed to overwater cabanas, but not to overwater restaurants, dive shops, and the like because the restaurants and shops do serve the public in some way, while overwater cabanas are definitely private.  One audience member said that allowing a large developer to have overwater cabanas was a slippery slope - how can you deny a resident of Seine Bight the permission to build an overwater cabana in the Lagoon for overnight guests, when a developer of a resort like False Caye is granted the right to have the overwater cabanas?  Pretty soon, no open water adjacent to the shore will be left open.

    • The Coastal Construction Guidelines working group will next address the cayes and will hold one more public meeting about them.

    • All existing overwater structures are illegal. 

18 May 2009

News Flash:  Wallen's is now accepting credit cards!  What next?  Ice skating rink and bowling alley? Cruise ship port, 18-hole golf course, marina and casino?

Financial Statements for Placencia Water Board and Placencia Village Council.

23 April 2009

Placencia Tourism:  Almost a sweep for the South!  At last night's 2009 Belize Tourism Awards, the Placencia Tourism Center received the Best Service Award, Ewort Garbutt received the Tour Guide of the Year Award, and Lola Delgado received the Best Small Vendor Award.  Congratulations to everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All three awards are greatly deserved!

Development Updates:

  • Harvest Caye:  Harvest Caye has been approved by the Department of the Environment (DOE) and the National Environmental Advisory Committee.  DOE says it is waiting for the signed Environmental Compliance Plan to be returned by the developer, so no official response yet on whether the approval included a private airstrip in the manatee foraging area around Harvest Caye.

  • Chrysalis and Yum Balisi.  DOE has now required both proposed developments to submit full Environmental Impact Assessments as required by EIA regulations.  The location of both proposed resorts is within the Pelican Range of the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve.  The Pelican Range is a World Heritage Site.  UNESCO, which administers the World Heritage Site designations, recently sent UNESCO representatives to Belize to investigate developments occurring within Belize's World Heritage Sites.  At a meeting in Placencia, UNESCO reps expressed some dismay at the condition of several of the World Heritage Sites and promised to communicate with the Belize government regarding the obligation of Belize to protect these sites.

21 April 2009

Placencia Village Council meeting held last night (20 April 2009) at the Placencia Basketball Court.  Among the highlights:

  • Water Board Report:  Pump in Mango Creek first malfunctioned on 14 April and had to be checked by an electrician.  New pump installed, but did not have the pumping capacity of the old pump.  Unfortunately, this occurred during the Easter holiday when demand was unprecedented (over 3000 visitors in Placencia Easter weekend according to police estimates) and pump simply could not handle the load, with the Easter crowd and new developments such as Coco Plum drawing from the system.  System simply not designed for this amount of water usage.  A new 30 hp pump has been ordered.  Also, splitting off Seine Bight and Placencia so that each has its own separate pump to try to avoid a recurrence of what has happened.  Placencia water tower went completely dry over Easter.
     

  • Garbage:  The Placencia Sanitation Company Ltd. ownership transferred to the Placencia Water Board on 1 March 2009.  As of 9 May 2009, the Placencia Sanitation Company will take over sanitation/garbage pickup for the entire Peninsula. 
     

  • Building Regulations:  The Central Building Authority (CBA) has been revamped and will now be enforcing a national building code that has been patterned after the International Building Code.  Not clear where current building code regulations can be obtained by individuals.  The Placencia Village Council office has one set.  Mr. Philip Waight of CBA discussed the following aspects of the building code (some of this was hard to follow, so we hope the following is correct):

    • ALL buildings, residential, commercial, institutional, will need to have building plans approved by CBA prior to commencing construction.  Plans submitted must include structural and electrical plans. 

    • Plans for residential buildings of 1,000 square feet or less can be drawn up by "technicians."  (It was not explained who or what a technician is, or how you find one.) 

    • Plans for residential buildings from 1,001 square feet to 2,999 square feet must have plans drawn up by either a registered Belize architect or engineer.

    • Plans for residential buildings of 3,000 square feet or more must be drawn up by BOTH a Belize registered architect AND engineer.

    • ALL  commercial, institutional and public buildings must submit plans drawn up by BOTH a Belize registered architect or engineer. 

    • Lot density is limited to 66% of lot size.

    • Setbacks of 15 feet (not sure whether this applies to commercial, residential, or both).

    • Commercial buildings (stores, restaurants, hotels, etc.) must be inspected by a registered civil engineer every 4 years and the result of the inspection submitted to CBA.

    • Minimum of 3 copies of stamped plans (stamped on every page) must be submitted to CBA.

    • Regulations apply not only to new construction, but also to demolition, change of use (as from residential to commercial), structural renovations.

    • Construction cannot commence until CBA approval received and copy of approved plans must be kept on the construction site at all times.

    • CBA has its own inspectors who are authorized to issue stop or change orders. 

    • CBA can order demolition (at owners' expense) of buildings which do not comply with plans approved by CBA.

    • Must have all other required governmental approvals before submitting plans to CBA - such as dredging, Environmental Compliance Plan from Department of the Environment, permits issued by Land Utilization Authority, etc.

    • Plans must be approved or disapproved in 45 days after the date of submission to CBA.
       

  • Building Height Restriction.  Area Representative Melvin Hulse stated that Cabinet approved last year a maximum building height on the Peninsula of 40 feet.  However, Waight said he had seen no documentation of the 40 foot height restriction.
     

  • Police Report:

    • Easter:  6 additional police added for entire Easter weekend holiday, additional 15 for Sunday night's concert.  3,000 visitors.  Police reported only 1 stabbing and 1 fight.

    • From 1 January -  20 April 2009, 0 murders, 7 assaults (6 solved), 5 drug trafficking arrests (219 grams of pot and crack seized).  Police barracks almost completed.  When finished, Placencia will receive 10 additional police offers, 2 of whom will be women
       

  • Red Moon Development (Zabaneh  development in Lagoon):  Village should receive final information from government by Friday of this week so that developers can pay purchase price to Village.  (Purchase price estimated to be BZ$400,000.)
     

  • Preschool Building:  Architectural plans donated and Mr. Waight from CBA volunteered to do electrical plans for the preschool building.
     

  • School Expansion:  Government of Belize is in negotiations with the heirs or Richard Hoare to exchange land he owned behind St. John's School for other land in Belize so that St. John's can be expanded.
     

  • Illegal Cutting of Mangroves and Dumping:  Property owner/developer who bulldozed mangroves without a permit and dumped them in the Sea (in the Bakader area) has been fined by Forestry AND ordered to replant the mangroves and clean up the dumping.  PCSD (Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development) will oversee developer/owner compliance. 
     

  • Village Lots by Placencia Airstrip:  Government has re-acquired this property and has had it surveyed into 150 lots.  Government is now getting estimates on costs of filling land.  Area Representative Melvin Hulse estimates that cost will be BZ$4-5 million.  Lot prices will not reflect cost of filling.  Majority of cost to be picked up by national government.
     

  • Fire Service:  According to Minister Hulse, Placencia will be getting a fire truck, fire station (at airstrip), first response station at police station and hydrants.

19 February 2009

Developments:

  • Coastal Construction Guidelines:  With the goal of sustainable development, PACT (Protected Area Conservation Trust) has funded a program to strengthen governmental oversight of coastal construction projects such as docks/piers, bulkheads, groins, seawalls, marinas, land reclamation/creation, fish farms and over-the-water restaurants, bars and cabanas. 

    Public input into this strengthened governmental oversight was solicited last night by the Physical Planning Section (PPS) of the Lands and Surveys Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

    The primary problems identified for the Placencia area (including the cayes) is lack of enforcement, lack of capability for local enforcement and de minimis fines, all of which encourage developers to ignore the law and to treat fines as a cost of doing business.

    Notes from the meeting can be downloaded from the Placencia Documents site.
     

  • Chrysalis Resort:   This resort is proposed for Big and Little Channel Cayes within the Southwater Marine Reserve.  Under Belize's Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, an EIA must be submitted as part of the approval application for any proposed resort within a protected area.  An EIA has not been submitted.  Instead, the Department of the Environment (DOE) has allowed the developers to submit a "Limited Level Study" and has failed to post the LLS on its Website as promised in a public notice of meeting about the proposed resort.  The notice was published once, in The Guardian, and comments were due the day after the public meeting., essentially denying public consultation.  As of 19 February 2009, the LLS has STILL not been posted on the DOE Website.
     

  • Harvest Caye:  Proposed are:
     
    • Airport
    • Apartments:  Seven 3-story buildings - 14 one bedroom apartments, 28 2-bedroom apartments and 14 3-bedroom apartments - total of 122 rooms in 56 apartments. 
    • Beach villas to be constructed on stilts (6 feet in height) (10 one-bedrooms, 5 2-bedrooms - 20 rooms in 15 buildings)
    • Over-the-water villas (not clear how many on smaller part of caye
    • 10 acres of hotel rooms, over-the-water villas, conference center and utility areas (large part of Harvest Caye)
    • Spa
    • 3 restaurants (one on a pier, one on the beach and one in an open area
    • Marina
    • 4 piers
    • Retail shopping center
    • 2 beach areas
       
      371,628.7 cubic meters of fill will be dredged from northeast of the caye, lagoon, access channel area (dredged to 8-10 feet) and area of proposed runway

      760 guests at full capacity.

      Water will come from Big Creek.

      Garbage will go to the Big Creek dump.

      76 employees will be needed, with 26 living on-site

The Road:  Road work seems to be proceeding apace.   No pavement yet, still working on the base.

 
 

 

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Last modified: March 07, 2009

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İMary V. Toy, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006