Our petition on Smugglers Cove
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Petition
To: Dr. The Hon. Orlando Smith
TO: DR. THE HON. ORLANDO SMITH
CHIEF MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND TOURISM
ROAD TOWN, TORTOLA, BVI
Dear Sir,
We the undersigned accept SOME appropriate development at Smugglers Cove; however, we are concerned about certain aspects of the current Villa Paradiso Proposal and request that the following issues be addressed:
1. DECLARE A NATIONAL PARK IN SMUGGLER’S : Retain the Palm Grove as public land - Revoke the right of first refusal to buy the Palm Grove.
The whole area (parcels 2, 268 and 267) should be designated as a National Park. We do not support the future construction of any resort around the entire beach, and into the Palm Grove.
2. Entire beach remains public - No segregation.
There should be no division of the beachfront itself into private / public areas. Our families and communities have been using Smuggler’s Cove beach for generations and no one should have the right to tell local beach users where we can and cannot sit or swim on the beach. Public facilities are appreciated but not in exchange for segregation. Resort facilities should be set back a suitable distance from the beach.
3. Absolutely No Dock.
Sea conditions in the area would often make any dock useless and therefore an unnecessary impediment to the use of the beach. One plan puts the dock at the middle of the beach – the best location for swimming.
4. Significantly reduce the proposed density.
The density being proposed will create a massive amount of sewage. To avoid polluting the beach and the water, the proposed maximum density should be reduced to a level consistent with the surrounding developments on Dawson and Belmont estates.
5. MORE DETAILS REQUIRED.
A detailed master plan also open to 28-day public-comment prior to approval showing location and size of all the buildings with all necessary setbacks included should be submitted so that we may have further input.
Sincerely,
Petition Background information sheet
1.WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED
Villa Paradiso (Tortola) Ltd. proposes to build 22 villas (each with 3 or 4 guest rooms, and each with a private swimming pool and parking), a hotel with 15 suites (each with 1 or 2 guest rooms), a restaurant, spa, tennis court, common swimming pool, a generator, and a sewage treatment plant.
All this is to be placed on 12 acres (parcel #2, of 11 acres, and parcel #268, of 1.3 acres). The number of persons on this site can average 200 resident guests, around 40 restaurant/bar patrons, and any number of service workers.
The proposal includes a dock extending far out into Smuggler’s Cove. Three different locations are proposed for the dock: in the text of the development agreement, it is twice given as being in front of parcel 268; and on the map at the end of the agreement, it is shown as being in front of the existing beach bar. Both these locations are in the swimming area. However, on the map that was distributed at the public meeting, the dock is shown as being to the west of the swimming area (that is, in the coral area).
2. WHAT IS THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
This agreement was made in October, 2006 between the BVI Government and Villa Paradiso(Tortola) Ltd (VP). Among other clauses, the Government gives VP:
- The right to construct their proposed development on the 12 acres they are seeking to buy. The land has not yet been sold.
- The right of first refusal to buy or long lease the 109 acres to the east of this (parcel 267) including the rest of Smugglers Cove, the Salt Pond, the Sugarloaf, the Arawak archeological site, and the Palm Grove. This entire area had been designated for National Park and conservation by the Planning Department, and the National Parks Trust (see point 3, below).
- The right to construct housing for off island construction workers on part of the area now designated for park, and to remain there for a period of 7 years or more. Since this provision allows for buildings to be constructed on park land, it is unlikely to be returned to park use after this period.
- The right to import, free of duty and taxes, anything related to the resort, including all construction materials, cars, golf carts, boats, trucks, furnishings, any and all items for a period of 10 years or longer. The Government would thus forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenues.
- Government has agreed to issue work permits within 14 days, and to fast track non-belonger land holding licenses (in no longer than 90 days).
- Government is prohibited from building on or using its own land (# 267) in any way VP considers to be harmful or detrimental to VP’s resort.
3. WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED BY PUBLIC AGENCIES
A management plan prepared by Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) was developed in 2001 and revised in 2005. It covers all of parcel 267 and all of Smugglers beach., defined as including:: " Belmont Pond, Smuggler’s Cove Beach, Belmont Bay beach, Belmont Coconut Grove, Belmont Peak and Belmont Grove" (page 3). The TCP plan proposes the creation of a park system with a number of permitted uses: historic, cultural and archeological ; nature, educational and scientific; recreational activities on both land and water; and infrastructure development, such as restrooms, beverage and souvenir stalls, landscaping, and parking for users of the beach, retreat house and the Arawak archeological site.
In addition, the National Parks Trust (plan for 2007-2017) has included the Smugglers Cove-Belmont area in their list of “protected areas”, for conservation and park use.
Obviously, none of these plans advocate the use of these lands for commercial or real-estate development. On the contrary, these lands are to be retained for public use and enjoyment.
Concerns
1. Roads
The Steele Point road is extremely narrow, dangerously so in one part, and for about 1 mile it is solid rock. There is a serious physical question as to whether expansion to a two-way road to serve as main access to the development is practical. How is the traffic going to be accommodated? Are houses along the bottleneck at West End Ferry Terminal Road or the Terminal building going to be removed to expand the road?
If the only practical width is essentially enough for one way traffic - especially heavy construction traffic - then the way in (or out) is going to be across the private roads of Belmont Estate through Long Bay Hotel and the bottleneck at Sebastian’s. Will the government be acquiring the private roads in order to provide paved access to the development?
2. Sewage treatment
Any malfunction of the Development’s sewage treatment plant will discharge sewage onto the beach or into the water harming the reef and affecting the quality of the water for swimming. More details are needed on the proposed sewage treatment plant to assure that contamination of the public swimming beach will not occur. The EIA was deficient in this respect also. As stated previously, project density should be reduced to address concerns regarding sewage carrying capacity of the property itself (i.e. absorptive capacity of the soil, depth of water table, etc).
3. Water supply
The capacity of reservoirs supplying West End are inadequate to supply the development, unless changes are made to existing system. The roofs being proposed for the villas are to be made of thatch, which do not provide much (if any) water collection for the cistern. The desirability of using expensive potable water to fill so many private swimming pools should be investigated. Perhaps this aspect of the project could be redesigned to be more sustainable, e.g. reduce number of pools, or have an alternative catchment system. Fire safety conditions should also be addressed.
4. Electricity, Noise and Fumes
We request the Government’s assurance that approval will be conditional on the noise-level from the property’s generators being limited by adequate sound proof enclosure to the WHO standards of 55 dB during the day and 45 dB at night, and the generator being maintained so that neither noise, nor fumes cause a nuisance to residents or the bathing public. We support any efforts the government makes towards encouraging developers to incorporate sustainable energy into their development.
5. Pests
Appropriate control measures must be put in place to address rats and other pests. The project area has a high rat population. The construction of this project will disrupt and disperse the rat population; and the thatch roofs are likely to provide future habitat for them. More details on rat eradication should have been discussed in the EIA.
6. Schools and Social Infrastructure
Let us ensure that appropriate investments into social infrastructure are made to accommodate population growth from this and other large projects coming on stream. Perhaps the developer could be required to contribute annually to the primary schools in the area or scholarships for West End students going overseas. The issue of limited response capability of the emergency response services to handle these large resorts should also be addressed.
7. Vegetation
We do not support the 100% importation of plants for landscaping the development to look like some other country. We support the use of majority local plants.
8. Tax breaks
We request more information demonstrating or educating that the government concessions in tax $ and give-aways and infrastructure for the developer in order for the BVI to retain this development will really be beneficial in the long-term.
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