A 95-apartment residential complex is being proposed for a low-lying area of mangrove forest, to the dismay of neighbours who remember storm damage caused by Hurricane Ivan.
Members of the Central Planning Authority hear an application – already once rejected – today for a large development on Willie Farrington Drive in West Bay.
The application by 20 North Development is for 95 apartments, with a total of 119 bedrooms, plus cabanas, a pool, a gym, storage, and 177 car parking spaces.
The design, by Tropical Architectural Group, has changed little from its previous submission, which was rejected in August 2023, except to decrease the number of proposed parking places from 219 to 177 and add a drainage channel around the perimeter of the property.
In its analysis, the Department of Environment has informed the Central Planning Authority that “The site is very low lying, averaging around 1 foot above Mean Sea Level … As such, drainage is likely to be a significant concern.”
However, the DoE said it was pleased that “revisions to the plan feature a number of areas that have been used to incorporate detention basins or retention ponds and the perimeter of the property features a swale.
“If incorporated effectively, these measures can be beneficial to the drainage of the site, as well as the surrounding area.”
A swale is a shallow drainage channel with gentle side slopes where water running off a site can collect and soak away. Swales can be used to channel run-off from roads, yards and car parks where it collects into pools before soaking away.
However, the National Roads Authority warned the planned 6-foot drainage swale “will be inadequate” and should be at least 10 foot.
The NRA also warned: “The area is prone to flood and if this application is approved as is, it will cause major flooding issues for homes, etc., around it, therefore, the applicant needs to think more holistically.”
At least 10 nearby residents have objected to the application, both because they say they were not properly notified, and because the area is so flood-prone and needs the protection of its mangrove forest.
James Moore wrote, “When hurricane Ivan hit, the entire region was submerged under six feet of salt water.
“If a storm of that size ever occurs again and all of the mangrove and other vegetation is completely gone, it will only make the situation in the neighbourhood worse than it was during Ivan.”
Jenny Manderson said she did not object to a residential project in the area but called the application “a threat to my home and my neighbourhood”.
She went on, “The loss of the protective mangrove and wetlands constitutes a danger from rain and storm floods.”
Gwendolin McLaughlin pointed out: “Although the current application is for a 12 unit block of apartments, the longer-term plans show a much larger development.”
She added that the area “has long served as a buffer that protects the neighbourhood during hurricanes.
“It should be noted that during Hurricane Ivan the sea caused damage to homes in the area with this buffer intact.
“If this buffer is removed, it could be catastrophic for the homes in this area when faced with another hurricane as intense as Ivan.”
Planning officials have advised members to look particularly at whether the area is suitable for apartments, and whether to grant a variance in lot width from the standard 100 feet down to 87 feet in this case.
The Central Planning Authority will consider the application in its meeting on Wednesday, 27 March, but prevents the press and public from observing its members’ deliberations or learning which way each member votes.
Its members’ lack of transparency has been repeatedly criticised by the Auditor General.
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