The Development Control Board, which has given planning permission for a resort that is also seeking to build overwater bungalows in a protected marine area in Little Cayman, has released the reasons for its decision.
Following a meeting on 13 Jan., the board gave the green light to the land-based part of the resort at Kingston Bight, which will include eight two-storey and single-storey buildings. The overwater part of the project, for which the developer has submitted a separate coastal works application, involves building a 450-foot-long dock and 19 one-bedroom bungalows.
The applications were submitted by Peppercorn Investments Ltd., owned by William Maines, Matthew Wight and Naul Bodden.
The Development Control Board, which oversees planning on the Sister Islands, in the minutes of the meeting which have been recently released, said it had approved the land-based part of the development as it complied with planning parameters, and that objections submitted could be reasonably mitigated by imposing conditions on the grant of planning permission.
Two neighbours had objected to the project, over concerns about parking and odours from sewage disposal. One of the objectors had raised concerns over the plan to build overwater bungalows, but as that part of the development was not examined by the board, they were not taken into account.
Peppercorn has submitted a separate coastal works licence application for the overwater bungalow part of the project, which will need to be considered by Cabinet and the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency.
An earlier application to the Development Control Board had contained details of the overwater bungalows, but Peppercorn said those were included merely as “background information and reference”, and not officially part of the planning application. The board subsequently agreed to hear the application solely regarding the on-land part of the project.
The Department of Environment had asked for the planning board to hold off on making a decision on the land-based element of the development until after Cabinet had come to a determination on the coastal works licence, which the DoE has urged Cabinet to reject. The department recommends Cabinet turn down the coastal works licence application, “based on the principle of prohibiting construction and establishment of habitable structures in a Marine Protected Area”.
The DoE is recommending that, if Cabinet is considering approving the coastal works application, an environmental impact assessment should be carried out for the entire project – both the land-based and overwater parts.
Architect John Doak addressed the board on the project at the 13 Jan. meeting, stating that it would be eco-friendly and and that Peppercorn’s owners were Caymanians who shared concerns about the scale and massing of development in Little Cayman.
The board, while granting permission for the project, imposed a number of conditions on the developers. These include a requirement for at least 49 parking spaces; that a walkover survey by the Department of Environment be carried out prior to any construction to ensure that no iguanas or nests are present; that all sand excavated during construction work remain on site; that a stormwater management plan be submitted to the Department of Environmental Health; and that construction drawings for a wastewater treatment and disposal system are submitted to and approved by the Water Authority.
Landscape and construction operations plans must also be submitted by Peppercorn to the planning board to ensure the development will be “constructed without interfering with or obstructing adjacent roads, properties and fire lanes”.
Read the minutes of the planning meeting here.
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OMG! Seriously!! The pristine “Little Cayman” becomes a victim. Once you lose your beautiful marine life, you have lost your soul. People need to protect their paradise!