Ministry: “Stringent Conditions” Attached To SDO

Government says it has gone “to great lengths to ensure the protection of Bermuda’s environment through the stringent conditions” attached to the Special Development Order for Tucker’s Point.

The Ministry of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy also reiterated the proposed SDO for the East End hotel provided in-principal approval for expansion plans only — stressing the proposed multi-million dollar revamp would go through the normal planning approval process, allowing environmental groups and other objectors to voice their concerns.

Both the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce [BEST] have been highly critical of the SDO, saying Tucker’s Point plans to add 78 private residences and 70 additional hotel rooms to the five-star resort would encroach on protected lands and the island’s delicate cave system.

BEST has also argued that allowing ”speculative” private residences to be built on land specifically earmarked for tourism purposes “appears to be an abuse of the SDO concept.”

BEST said they have at least five areas of concern, which appear below:

1) SDOs were designed to permit developments deemed to be of national importance, they were never intended to enable construction of speculative residential units. Such a use, as this appears to be, is an abuse of the SDO concept.

2) As this is a housing development that will, as we understand, encroach on possibly four conservation areas (nature conservation, woodland conservation, coastal conservation and cave conservation) there is every reason for the Bermuda public to have its rightful opportunity to view, comment and or object to the development. The issuance of an SDO effectively cuts out the plans from public scrutiny until after a decision is made. Such a process on major tracts of protected lands is anti-transparent and unjust.

3) If the previous SDO enabling the developer to build on Ship’s Hill has not had the economic effect that was used to browbeat the then government into permitting, what confidence can there be that this will prove different. This is particularly pertinent given the recent economic distress at Newstead/Belmont Hills.

4) This area, as we understand it, includes lands from which mostly black families were forceably removed in the 1920s to enable the promotion of tourism. It is a betrayal to now allow these lands to be sold off as real estate.

5) It increasingly appears that tourism facilities are morphing into real estate speculators and selling off Bermuda land some of which is zoned specifically for tourism purposes. The Bermuda government should be using its powers to prevent rather than assisting such behaviour.

Environment Minister Walter Roban and Tourism & Business Development Minister Patrice Minors have both backed the Tucker’s Point SDO, with Ms Minors saying Government is “very cognizant of the delicate balance a society must have to maintain quality environmentally enriched open spaces and sustainable economic viability.”

The full statement from the Ministry is below:

The Ministry has gone to great lengths to ensure the protection of Bermuda’s environment through the stringent conditions attached to this SDO.

The Ministry would like to make two points clear from the outset:

Firstly, that the Ministry has gone to great lengths to ensure the protection of Bermuda’s environment through the stringent conditions attached to this SDO, under the consultation of the Department of Conservation Services, the Sustainable Development Unit and the Department of Planning.

And, secondly, that the Order grants in-principal approval only and that any applications for final approval will be subject to the conditions outlined in the Order and the regular planning approval process. This includes the normal public notification, public review, comment and appropriate objection.

In an article which appeared in “The Royal Gazette” on Monday February 7th, entitled “Rosewood Tucker’s Point plans criticized”, the article claims that The Bermuda National Trust is “extremely alarmed that a large swathe of pristine land will be built on under the plans, and habitats of major significance will be lost.”

The Ministry would like to address this by saying that one of the conditions attached to this SDO is that any identified critical habitat or existing mature specimen endemic, native or ornamental plants must be recorded; and that these sites and plants must be protected and provided with an adequate setback buffer.

In fact, as the Ministry has already stated, a landscape principle of 40% endemics, 30% Natives, 20% non-invasive ornamentals and 10% of any combination of these will be applied to each proposed lot to be developed.

Furthermore, the majority of areas subject to this Order will require a Conservation Management Plan prepared on an area wide basis.

The Bermuda National Trust’s Jennifer Grey was quoted in the article as saying, “Below these hills are globally important caves joined by extensive passageways which sustain a disproportionate amount of diverse and unique flora and fauna. More than 60 endemic species have been identified in Bermuda’s caves, and due to the vulnerability of these ecosystems to threats such as development, 25 of these species have been listed as critically endangered.”

The Ministry would like to be clear here that the SDO has gone to great lengths to avoid any disturbance to the cave systems in this area.

For example, as a condition of the SDO, any existing or newly discovered cave features on the proposed development sites will require a subterranean topographical survey be completed by a qualified cave survey specialist to geo-reference the cave voids for terrestrial development potential considerations. All mapped caves, cave features and new caves will require a minimum setback buffer of 30 feet for all structures and excavation.

Furthermore, all development must be designed with shallow tanks of minimum below existing grade depths of no greater than three-foot depth finished level and four-foot maximum excavation grade. No excavation will exceed four feet due to potential contact and impact with known or unknown cave systems and any required sewage trenching deeper than four feet must rely on test boreholes to demonstrate that such trenching works will not compromise an undiscovered cave.

Additionally, no development should utilize wells for water or deep sealed bore holes for sewage, other effluent or grey water disposal and all utility cables, including cable television relay cables, shall be placed underground, in trenching no deeper than 3 feet.

Also, as a compensatory measure, Mangrove Lake together with two areas comprising 7.45 acres and 1.64 acres respectively on the western and northwestern sides of White Crest Hill, are proposed to be donated to the Government for conservation management purposes.

Both the Department of Planning and the Department of Conservation Services assisted with crafting the conditions attached to the Order to ensure an effective balance between development and environmental interests.

In the RG article Stuart Hayward of BEST said: “As this is a housing development that will, as we understand, encroach on possibly four conservation areas [nature conservation, woodland conservation, coastal conservation and cave conservation] there is every reason for the Bermuda public to have its rightful opportunity to view, comment and or object to the development. The issuance of an SDO effectively cuts out the plans from public scrutiny until after a decision is made. Such a process on major tracts of protected lands is anti-transparent and unjust.”

On this point the Ministry would like to stress the Order is for ‘in-principle approval only’, and the application for final planning permission must be made to the Department of Planning and the Development Application Board. All final plans for development will be subject to normal public notification, public review, comment and appropriate objection.

Furthermore, we have now tabled an amendment the Development and Planning Act 1974 to clarify that a Special Development Order is a Statutory Instrument and thus subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Appropriate scrutiny would then be via the affirmative resolution procedure, thereby enabling the legislature to fully consider and debate all the permissions and conditions to be attached to a SDO.

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