St. Maarten Private Eye

Jadira, you state the following:

"What the foundation was looking forward to hearing yesterday is about zoning the estate as a green and heritage area.
Also nothing was mentioned concrete in the IC meeting and in the resolution about firm plans to purchase the estate.
We believe that zoning the estate would bring down the purchase price to a non-commercial price that the Island and NGO's can afford."

Zoning is regulated in the same EROP that was extensively referred to yesterday, and requires a procedure, whereby a plan is developed and put out for the public to inspect, townhall meetings, etcetera. But the crux is in article 18 of the same EROP. It states that if due to zoning the property loses value the Island is to pay the suffered damage (to be established by the court) out of the Island's funds. And I guess that is where the crux is.

And as you rightfully state, the property belongs to someone, and that someone wants to sell. Zoning as envisioned, will negatively influence the price as you also correctly state and as a consequence the island would have to contribute that.

Therefore the Executive Council in its proposal to continue the court case on the basis of the "planning permit procedure" will just keep everything in limbo.

And if you heard correctly yesterday, a list of monuments has been compiled but has never been ratified, and this in the legal sense of the word does not exist. That is why they had to change the resolution yesterday to reflect that it has to go through a procedure.

The only correct thing to happen is that the Island zones, pays the indemnification to the owner and then the owner can sell at a rebate price to EWEF.

I personally found it very strange that the Island Council would make provisions for a road and other needs in the common interest. It is like .......... how to put it, acting as if you are the owner when you are not. And quite honestly a road through the middle of the estate would be terrible.

Getting the property in the name of the Island Territory could mean that in the future if need arises all sorts of construction might take place..........