Developers behind a proposed $100-million apartment complex in Bodden Town have been asked to revise their building plans downward to comply with the five-storey height limit for hotel/tourism zones.
According to minutes from an 10 April meeting, Cayman’s Central Planning Authority resolved to adjourn hearing of the SeaGlass development application, saying, “the plans depict a 6-storey building and that does not comply with Planning Regulation 8(2)(e)”.
The regulation states that in a hotel/tourism zone, the maximum permitted height “is sixty-five feet or five storeys, whichever is less”.
This is the latest snag for the 157-apartment development, funded by F.S. Inc, a corporate entity owned by Frank Schilling.
The application previously came before the CPA in November and was referred to the National Conservation Council. It was then sent back to the CPA.
Schilling: I want to preserve the natural look
Schilling, speaking with the Cayman Compass on Thursday about the CPA’s decision, said he was aware of the latest delay and will be working with his team on “tweaks” to the plan to follow “the letter of the law”.
However, he insisted the building in question was not six storeys, as found by the CPA. Planning minutes indicate one of the five proposed buildings includes top-level parking and measures 77’6” in height, about 12 feet above the legal maximum.
Schilling said architects from Johnson Design + Architecture have already commenced the redrawing.
He said he is hoping to have the application back before the CPA at its next meeting.
Schilling said the timeline for the project will be “largely dependent” on the progress of the application and approval of the necessary building permits thereafter.
He added that he wants to preserve the area’s natural beauty and the beach ridge.
“I want it to look right for the neighbourhood that it is in,” he said.
He said the rigid letter of the law, however, has “boxed” in developers like him and this is why the community is seeing so many “unsightly” concrete-style buildings.
“The law is not as progressive as it should be,” he said, adding that developers are left with little choice.
He said he will have to review what can be done to make the proposed project more in line with regulations, adding that if he has to make changes to preserve the beach ridge, he will.
Five storeys versus six
The regulations define ‘storey’ as “that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above”.
CPA, in its adjournment of the SeaGlass application, concluded that “the applicant is required to submit revised plans showing the building reduced to 5 storeys, with the reduction in storeys coming from above the parking level. The parking level must remain as it is, i.e. no encroachment into or disturbance of the beach ridge.”
The development proposal includes six buildings with three pools and three cabanas, planned for a vacant lot west of the Moon Bay Condominium complex.
The complex would include 157 seaview apartments with “floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall glass facades”, as well as two, 256-square-foot cabanas, three swimming pools, and shared subterranean parking for 243 vehicles.
The proposal also includes two, 18-foot-wide public right-of-ways, one on the east side of the proposal and the other on the west side.
This seeks to satisfy Regulation 32, which requires six feet of public right-of-way for each 200 feet of frontage. The property has 1,037 feet of frontage.
The Public Lands Commission has requested “that the individual 6 ft public rights of way to the sea be located every 200 feet as provided for in Regulation 32; i.e. not rolled up into two x 20 ft public rights of way at each end.”
Residents of Moon Bay condos, in a letter, objected to the project, saying it is “disconcerting” the government is allowing more construction without considering the environment or people.
They expressed concern about traffic delays and accidents as well as the environmental impact of construction on the surrounding waters.
The letter objected to any new construction of complexes to the east of Savannah and suggested the government enforce a moratorium, pending research on impact.
Construction work on the 6.3-acre site is slated to take place in three phases, with two buildings constructed at a time.
The planned buildings will contain one- and two-bedroom apartments with penthouse units on the top two levels.
The Department of Environment flagged a turtle sensitive area around the development and has asked, among other recommendations, that “no construction work, vehicle access, storage of equipment/materials or other operations should take place on the beach during turtle nesting season (1st May – 30th November yearly) without the express consent of the DoE”.
There is no official indication when the application will return to the CPA agenda for determination.
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The Public Lands Commission has requested “that the individual 6 ft public rights of way to the sea be located every 200 feet as provided for in Regulation 32; i.e. not rolled up into two x 20 ft public rights of way at each end.”
So they want the right of ways to run through the apartment buildings? Sorry but a 20ft right of way at each end of the property makes much better sense. It would even be possible to park in the right of way at both ends too.