The Central Planning Authority is set to consider a number of large apartment-complex applications at its meeting this week, including a $100 million development in Bodden Town.
F.S. Inc is applying for planning permission to build a 157-apartment, five-storey luxury complex called SeaGlass on 6.3 acres of seafront land at Moon Bay on Bodden Town Road.
The application, for six buildings with basement parking for 243 cars, three pools and two cabanas, first came before the Central Planning Authority in November last year but was adjourned to April, so it could be considered by the National Conservation Council. It was again adjourned in April because the proposed development’s initial application featuring six storeys did not comply with planning regulations, and the applicant was asked to revise plans to reduce the structure to five storeys.
At the April meeting, Rob Johnson with Johnson Design + Architecture, the project’s architectural firm, contended that the application was for a five-storey building, as the ‘basement’ car park would not be included in the storeys, as it would face a large ridge that is about 19 feet above mean sea level.
The Department of Planning noted that the revised drawings submitted by the applicant had introduced a 5-foot-wide vegetated planter around the building, which brought the maximum height above the elevation of the planters to 65 feet to the roof edge, which would comply with the planning regulations.
The developer, in the application, stated that SeaGlass would be constructed in three phases, with each phase consisting of a pair of buildings at a time.
The application states that the design of building aims to “preserve and retain, as much as possible, the natural features and character of the site, especially along the waterfront”.
It added, “We have worked hard in an early integrated, team approach with the client team, CI government authorities and core consultant groups to put forward a project that’s both sensitive to the site and delivers exceptional residential buildings.”
The site is located on currently vacant land, just west of Moon Bay Condominiums.
The Public Lands Commission, in its feedback on the application, noted that the area is zoned as Hotel Tourism, and that the relevant part of the development and planning regulations requires landowners in such zones to set aside 6-foot-wide public rights of way from the road to the sea every 200 feet on the property.
The commission pointed out that F.S. Inc’s parcel appears to have a shoreline length of 1,050 feet and that the developer is offering two, 20-foot-wide public rights of way – one at each end of the parcel. It requested that the developer adhere to the regulations and provide 6-foot-wide rights of way every 200 feet, rather than roll them into two access paths.
It added that the CPA does not have the power to modify or extinguish a registered public right of way, and this can only be done via an application to the Grand Court.
Several objections have been submitted to the Department of Planning in relation to the development, including one from the strata of Moon Bay Condominiums. The objectors raised concerns about traffic delays and potential accidents, as well as increased sewage levels and the environmental impact of construction on the surrounding waters.
One neighbour said there will be a negative cultural impact of a complex that size near to Bodden Town, and called for the quaintness and historical importance of the district to be preserved for future generations.
The application will be heard by the Central Planning Authority on Wednesday, 2 Oct.
Conservation council to consider South Church Street development
Another application scheduled to be heard Wednesday is for a $12 million development by Kel Thompson, which consists of 34 apartments on the seafront of South Church Street in George Town, next door to the Jackson Point fuel depot.
However, the Department of Environment has instructed the planning board to apply for approval from the National Conservation Council before making a decision on the matter.
The site, on which a private house currently sits, is located adjacent to a marine reserve, the DoE pointed out in its response to the application.
The department stated, “It is important to ensure that the construction will not have any unacceptable adverse effects on the Marine Protected Area as it contains sensitive marine resources.”
It added, “Without appropriate controls, there would or would likely be an adverse effect on the designated protected area, namely Section 2(f) of the [National Conservation Act]: the discharge of pathogens, dissolved or suspended minerals or solids, waste materials or other substances at levels that may be harmful to wildlife or the ecological or aesthetic value of the area.”
In its response, the DoE, referencing damage done to properties along Grand Cayman’s shoreline in a nor’wester storm in February, also recommended that no habitable structures be placed within 150 feet landward of the mean high water mark, due to likely seawater incursion.
The DoE, in draft directed conditions for the development, ordered that construction materials be stockpiled at least 50 feet from the mean high water mark or on the landward side of the construction fencing to reduce the possibility of run-off washing material and debris into the sea. It also ordered that if the construction uses insulating concrete forms or other polystyrene materials, screens or other enclosures, along with vacuuming, must be used to ensure that any shavings, foam waste or polystyrene debris is completely captured on-site and does not impact the surrounding areas or pollute the adjacent marine environment.
Shamrock Road development
RSI Properties Ltd. is applying for a $6 million, three-storey, mixed-use building on Shamrock Road in Prospect, consisting of 24 apartments and 12 retail units.
In its application, the development stated that the building would consist of ground floor retail units and two floors of one-bedroom apartments above.
One neighbour objecting to the application raised concerns about the use of heavy-duty jack hammers to create foundations for the three-storey building, stating that those would be likely to “create tremors in the area and form cracks in our apartment”. That neighbour asked for the developer to arrange an assessment of the apartment and an assurance that, if the construction damages the apartment, the developer would pay to repair it.
The site is zoned neighbourhood commercial. The Department of Planning, in its analysis of the application, noted that the nearest mixed-use development similar in scale to the proposed development would be the Harbour Walk development in the Grand Harbour area, which is almost a mile away.
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