The Central Planning Authority has approved the building of public bathrooms at Governors Beach, replacing the portable toilets that have stood at the site for several years.
An earlier iteration of the government’s plans for the site had included four cabanas, a playground and a dumpster, but those plans were downsized to simply include public restrooms, with bathrooms and outdoor showers for use by beachgoers.
The minutes of the 8 Nov. planning board meeting, at which the application was heard, indicate that planning permission was given to the project, subject to a number of conditions.
Outlining its reasons for granting permission, the board stated in the minutes, “In this instance, the Authority is of the view that the proposed bathroom facility with outdoor showers is compatible with the character and function of a public beach situated in the [Public Outdoor Space] zone.
“The facility will enhance the experience of users of the beach by providing a modern and clean bathroom facility. Further, the Authority is of the view that the proposed building is directly associated with the principal purpose and actual use of a public beach in the POS zone.”
At the meeting, representatives from the Public Works Department presented the plans to the board, and objectors from The Pinnacle condos next door made their views known, though they ultimately agreed to the revised plans.
Conditions of approval
Among the conditions the Public Works Department must meet before going ahead with the project are: submitting a landscape plan which shows extensive landscape screening
between the building and The Pinnacle property; providing a plan for turtle-friendly lighting as Governors Beach is a turtle-nesting site; and ensuring there are no turtle nests on site that will be negatively impacted by the commencement of works.
Construction fencing associated with the work must also be positioned at least 100 feet from the high water mark and at least 2 feet deep, to prevent turtles entering the construction site or digging under the fencing, during nesting season, the board stipulated in its conditions.
If insulating concrete forms are used in the construction of the restrooms, the Public Works Department – which is undertaking the project on behalf of the Ministry of District Administration and Lands – must use screens or other enclosures, along with vacuuming, to ensure that any shavings or foam waste is completely captured on site and does not get blown into the sea and beach.
The planning board also stipulated in its conditions of approval that any sand that is excavated during construction must be retained on site “and only with the prior consultation and approval of the [Department of Environment] will beach quality sand… be placed along the active beach profile”.
It also noted that the finished floor level for the building should be at least 7 feet above mean sea level.
The restrooms will be set back 40 feet from the fence at the edge of The Pinnacle property, which the planning board said was a “sufficient distance to dissipate any odours that may come from the facility, especially when there will be a landscape buffer between the facility and the property line and it will be connected to the public sewer line – there will be no
odours leaking from a septic tank”.
The board noted that there was “no evidence that the facility will increase noise beyond the noise level currently associated with the use of the public beach”.
Residents of The Pinnacle, at the 8 Nov. meeting, had raised concerns about people loitering at the site at night, and had requested that the property be secured to ensure the area is not used for illegal activity.
At the meeting, Public Works Department’s Dudley Ramsay had pointed out that several other public beach-side restrooms are locked at night, and suggested that this could also be done at Governors Beach once the new facilities are erected.
In the minutes, the planning board stated that the unauthorised use of the site was “not within the remit of the Authority”.
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