More public consultation needed:
By ERICA WELLS, Guardian News Editor -
Nassau, Bahamas:



Beach access, land availability and foreign land ownership are historically very sensitive issues for Bahamians, especially those who feel as if more and more, The Bahamas is slowly being turned into an amusement park for the wealthy, leaving little left for the average Bahamian.

The billion-dollar Albany Beach and Golf Club and the proposed New South Ocean Development are two of the latest projects to bring this concern to the forefront.

While it appears that the majority of residents and concerned citizens who attended the recent town meetings on the southwestern developments felt the benefits outweighed the disadvantages that the projects present, tensions ran high when it came to the critical areas of beach access, a proposed road diversion and opportunities for Bahamians arising from the projects outside of employment.

But there are some who say that the town meeting was too little too late, raising the question, is public consultation taken seriously enough when it comes to development in The Bahamas?

reEarth director and founder Sam Duncombe would say, no.

Duncombe wants the government to hold more town meetings on the two major developments slated for the southwestern end of New Providence.

She says there are still too many questions left unanswered about the Albany and New South Ocean projects, that she says mirror the controversial Clifton Cay development in many ways.

"All the concerns we had about Clifton [Cay], you could practically drop on top of South Ocean and Albany and it would be identical," Duncombe told The Nassau Guardian in an interview.

"Marinas concentrate pollution, that's an issue — they are two marinas — cutting into the beach is an issue, the exclusion of Bahamians other than as workers is an issue, the removal of acres and acres of trees is an issue. These are all issues we had with Clifton."

For Duncombe, the current system related to public consultation on proposed developments is, simply put, "backwards."

"What should have happened was, if a developer was interested, plans should have been put to the public and the public should have had time to make input on those plans before anything was done. Those concerns are supposed to be included in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), not let's go ahead and do an EIA and then see if there are any concerns," argued Duncombe. "You don't do the EIA before the public has the chance to weigh in on the project."

While she concedes that South Ocean's 370-page EIA has been posted on the BEST (Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology) Commission's website — up to press time yesterday Albany's was not — and that this was a step in the right direction, the consultation process is still several steps behind where it should be.

For Duncombe, it remains a concern not only for the Albany and South Ocean developments, but it is a concern across the board when it comes to development in general.

She says that the public should be given adequate time to read and digest something like a 400-page EIA.

The Albany project encompasses 565 acres of land and includes 350 estate lots, a club house, an Ernie Els-designed championship golf course and a condominium complex. The New South Ocean development company proposes to redevelop the former South Ocean Golf and Beach Resort, which has been closed since July 2004. That plan will include two hotels, a casino, a marina designed for mega-yachts, golf course, racquet club, and hotel and condo units.

Duncombe also makes the point that in most developed nations, efforts are being made to actively deconstruct inner cities by trying to make more green spaces, while in New Providence, where two-thirds of the population live, it appears as if the opposite is taking place.

In the case [of the Albany and South Ocean projects], two miles or more of sea will be diverted from the public, she notes.

"People with money will have the benefits that Bahamians should also have but are excluded from," said Duncombe.

She also noted that a development like Albany's residential estate plan could take half a century to fully develop, pointing to Lyford Cay, which is 50 years old this year, and land is still available "behind the gate."

Meanwhile, Bahamians will have to immediately foot the bills for utility infrastructure from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the Water & Sewerage Corporation. Can we be guaranteed that we will get a comparable return on that investment?

And in the meantime, that land is gone forever, says Duncombe. "Our voices don't seem to have any impact."

Also, the issue of land acquisitions for private development was raised in a letter to the Guardian's editor. (See page 6A). Etienne Dupuch III writes: "If government acquires private property from Bahamians to facilitate the private developer, not only will they break trust with the Bahamian people, they will also set a precedent that any government can take any private property anywhere in the country for a private developer at anytime and any purpose."

When it comes to the South Ocean development, Duncombe says that Bahamians need to take a long, deep breath, sit back and weigh the pros and cons before proceeding with the development.

"We have to live with it forever and ever. If the developers are not prepared to let us thoroughly examine the issue, they can't really be a friend of The Bahamas," says Duncombe.

Otherwise, the meetings amount to a superficial exercise, she adds.

A number of questions still need to be answered, said Duncombe, such as, does New Providence need another two anchor resorts, what became of plans left in place by the Clifton Heritage Park Board, like the establishment of a marine park, and why developers have been given permission to develop structures such as finger canals, which are prohibited in places like Florida. These all need to be answered, said Duncombe.

For its part, as far the Albany project is concerned the government said it did what it could in terms of public consultation, given that the project had already been approved by the previous administration.

Minister of Works Earl Deveaux made it clear even before the town meetings were held that the government would honor the Albany agreement. The government is currently reviewing permit applications for the developers and construction is expected to start in short order.

However, Deveaux did note that the government would take stock of the concerns expressed.

"We have to see whether or not those strong feelings have traction in the wider community," Deveaux told The Nassau Guardian.

As far as the New South Ocean development is concerned, that project is still pending, but it is directly linked to the Albany development. Deveaux said that while no further town meetings were planned for the Albany project, the government would have no problem holding additional meetings related to the new South Ocean development, and more public meetings in general would be held when it came to developments for The Bahamas.

"When we receive development proposals we will make every effort to have discussions and interact with the Bahamian public," said Deveaux. "In the case of Albany, we did the best we could. There was a signed agreement. It was the only option we had in this case."