Backbench MLA Osbourne Bodden has called for government to consider enacting legislation that would require home and land owners to keep their property to certain levels of repair and tidiness.
By bringing the idea up in a private member’s motion during Legislative Assembly, Mr. Bodden called on all MLA’s to support the initiative and to contribute in the debate.
‘The driving force of this private member’s motion primarily come from my constituent duties in Bodden Town,’ he said, explaining that particularly since Hurricane Ivan hit in September 2004, many homes in the district are in a state of disrepair and untidiness.
‘There are a number of properties that have remained in a derelict state, and on top of that, become overgrown with vegetation,’ he said. ‘It’s unsightly to say the least.’
Mr. Bodden said that it was his duty to make sure Bodden Town looked as good as it could, and that he had tried to get property owners to clean up their homes and lots.
He said that if an owner did not want to fix up his property, the current Planning Law and Regulations offer little help in making him do it.
The process involves abatement notices that could eventually lead to court action. However, even if a person is convicted, there is only a $200 initial fine and a $10 per day fine for each day the offence continues.
‘Even if it does reach a court action, these things go on forever and ever.’
Mr. Bodden said the matter is governed by Section 27 of the Planning Law.
‘It came about in 1971 and this section has never been revisited, at least not that I can see,’ he said.
‘There’s really not a lot of teeth in that legislation.’
Mr. Bodden said there was some urgency in getting some better legislation enacted.
‘It’s been almost three years post-Hurricane Ivan,’ he said. ‘Some people have used the opportunity to develop their own nastiness, by thinking they could throw their trash everywhere and blame it on Hurricane Ivan.’
Mr. Bodden called some of the properties ‘unsightly, unsafe and unsanitary’ and said it was depressing at times to have to look at these properties day-in and day-out.
The exact details of the law would have to be worked out, based on a variety of input, Mr. Bodden said.
‘There are many elements of this and it has to be carefully though out,’ he said, adding that any minimum property standards provisions in the Planning Law would have to be fair.
Mr. Bodden pointed out that in Florida offences to property standard laws carried $500 initial fines and $500 per day for repeat violations.
‘That is something that gets your attention,’ he said.
Mr. Bodden said Cayman didn’t have to follow Florida’s rules, but he used it as an example because of its similar climate and building code to Cayman,
‘I am confident… we will be able to formulate property standards that will be suitable in the Cayman Islands and not unduly harsh,’ he said.
Mr. Bodden said there could be a warning period of one month here before fines started, which would give the property owner time to rectify the problem.
Should a property owner not be able to afford to do whatever it was that was needed, Mr. Bodden said the government could always step in and do the work, but put a lien on the property so that it would be in a position to recover the costs.
Another point raised in his debate was land owners misusing their residential properties for commercial purposes like the storage of heavy equipment or other construction materials.
Fellow backbench MLA Alfonso Wright, who seconded the private member’s motion, said he supported the private member’s motion.
‘I believe it to be a very worthwhile and long-time-coming motion,’ he said.
Mr. Wright commented also on the effects of Hurricane Ivan.
‘After Hurricane Ivan, people sort of got used to seeing damaged buildings and abandoned vehicles,’ he said. ‘While some people got used to it, it cannot be tolerated.
‘Many of us don’t want to see it and our tourists and visitors don’t want to see it.’
Broadening the topic a bit, Mr. Wright said there were other aspects relating to the cleanliness of the island that should be looked considered in any legislation. Those aspects included illegal dumping; the hanging of event banners and posters; the cleanliness of construction sites; the upkeep of public open spaces; the abandoning of derelict vehicles on other people’s property; and landscaping companies that use blowers to blow grass and weed clippings into the street.
‘Where does it end up?’ he asked. ‘On someone else’s property.’
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