Two government entities, the National Conservation Council and the Central Planning Authority, are set to go head to head in court in June.
Department of Environment Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie reported to the Council on Wednesday that the novel legal challenge was scheduled for 14 and 15 June.
She was speaking at the NCC’s general meeting, where she provided an update on the judicial review.
The case was filed last year by the NCC after the CPA ignored its directive and approved property developer Cayman Property Investments Ltd’s application to rebuild a cabana and seawall at the water’s edge on Boggy Sand Road.
Through the judicial review, the Council is seeking to determine where its powers really lie, and how it is to be exercised.
Back in November, Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale ordered a stay of the planning permission granted on 14 Oct, effectively halting the project, after determining there were sufficient grounds for a judicial review to proceed.
The Department of Environment, under authority delegated by the Council, directed the CPA not to approve the application in a written submission to the planning board. It pointed to the expected detrimental impact on the marine environment and the beach as ground for refusal.
In 2019, Justin Schmidt purchased the cabana structure and seawall, which had been built by the former owner in 2009.
The wall adjoins another seawall, which was built by government along Boggy Sand Road after the road was washed away by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Over the years, that particular area has been heavily impacted by costal erosion resulting in beach loss.
The DoE, in its submission on the application, pointed out that the site was “not a good location for built development and the seawall probably should never have been granted planning permission a decade ago. It is evident that within a very short period the structure is failing, partly due to an inappropriate design and partly due to its position in an inappropriate location. It would therefore seem futile to try to permit further development on this problematic site.”
The CPA still approved the application, despite the direction from the Council that it be rejected because the project would likely have a negative impact on the Seven Mile Beach marine park, which is a protected area.
The planning authority indicated it did not believe it was legally obliged to follow the direction, on the basis that it considers the Council’s delegation of that power, to the Department of Environment, to be invalid.
It is expected that the court will clarify the NCC’s powers, which will determine the next steps for the Boggy Sand Road project.
Feral cat dispute nearing end
Meanwhile, Ebanks-Petrie also reported to the NCC, at its Wednesday meeting, that government is in the final stages of confirming settlement of the application for judicial review initiated in 2018 by the Humane Society and Feline Friends challenging the Little Cayman cat control programme conducted by the Departments of Agriculture and Environment.
“After a couple of years of negotiations, it appears that the lawyers for both parties now are close to a settlement, and this means that the application for judicial review can be concluded very shortly we hope. So we hope to be in a position to deal with this in a couple of weeks hopefully,” she told the Council.
The application for judicial review by the two animal welfare groups was initiated to stop the culling of feral cats believed to pose a threat to native wildlife on the Sister Islands.
The two animal welfare groups were granted an injunction from the Grand Court to halt that planned cull.
Ebanks-Petrie reminded that the injunction was still in place and the departments gave an undertaking not to trap cats until it had been lifted.
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