St. Maarten Private Eye

What a bunch of bla bla bla,
Isle de sol property? Was this not supposed to be the plan years ago?
What has Hoppenstein done? Build only the marina -when he promised to build the hotel along with it years ago.
We have heard this crap before, Hoppenstein along with Jeff Boyd and Michael Ferrier have created a huge mountain of dredged Simpson Bay lagoon sand to sit there doing nothing.
They promised years ago that a hotel would be built along with a marina.
And what did we the locals get??? not a damn thing! We lost our dear Snoopy island, a place we used to camp as kids and teenagers.
A place that had stingrays and other marine sea life years ago.
Now we have to pass through security to get to isle De Sol, to get to a lousy ass building that has only offices, a small restaurant and a very small pool.
And ofcourse to see the huge pile of lagoon sand just sitting there.
Am I the only one tired of the bullshit bla bla bla from Peyeton Cromwell, Hoppenstein, Jeff Boyd, and other real estate agents?
Oh yeah, I forgot all we locals belong in a low income housing project, so basically we are creating a third world country where the locals will be at the bottom looking up at the rich developers and outside foreigners.
Watch out SXM government, I do hope you are not deliberately creating a situation that will come back to haunt you in later years.

Facts!!
First of all, Snoopy Island was CREATED when the Simson Bay lagoon was dredged in the sixties. (Go to the main thread titled Simson Bay Lagoon. This picture is actually taken in the 60's and shows the dredging works and bridge construction taking place. Notice that there is no Snoopy island) It was created to hold the excess dredge sand and used as partial payment on the overall contract (including the first bridge) that was carried out by then ZINKIE SMITH now DEVCON.
Snoopy Island never belonged the the Island territory of SXM although it had ample opportunity to buy it over the years. In fact If I'm not mistaken the ownership of Snoopy Island passed through at least a half dozen hands over the years. Regardless, it has always been in private hands and it has been used as a dredge fill site for virtually all the dredging projects that took place during the 80's and 90's, always with the owners permission
From the time of its creation until Isle Del Sol was started snoopy Island was used by boaties as a refuge, it was used by anyone that wanted to for camping, fishing and exploring and it was used by drug and people runners as a transhhipment point. It eventually became quite an eyesore and a site for some serious wrongdoings. Snoopy Island was never quite the same after Luis in 95.
Then Isle Del So was built which was a catalyst for the burgeoning yacht industry. Now the owner of the property wants to proceed with building a resort.
Comments!!
What did we locals get??
A source of revenue that anyone can take advantage of.
Providing services to yacht owners and crews is an incredible source of revenue that needs more people to get involved. Figure out ways to get involved and to make damn good money instead of feeling neglected. The industry needs more people. The security gate and security in general at Isle Del Sol is mandatory to comply with ISPS regulations Michael Ferrier never had anything to do with Snoopy Island.
I have my own not very favorbale opinion of Payton Cromwell but don't forget that he couldn't sell or buy anything unless someone had it for sale. Think about it!!!
Should Dr. H be allowed to proceed with his plans? If its to the benefit of us then yes. Otherwise no.
Nobody is forcing anyone to live in low income housing. Opportunities are there. They have to be found and taken advantage of. The hard part is to realize that no one is going to give it to you. It takes hard work, dedication, determination and a bit of luck.
Robbie

Government never owned Snoopy Island? Who told you that? Government does own Snoopy Island. Snoopy consists of two registered parcels of land (45/1977 and 100/1979) of 36000 square meters and 20000 square meters respectively and are owned by the island territory.
By deed of december 30, 1986, they were issued in long-lease to Hop Inn of Dr. Hoppenstein from New York. It was always intended for tourist development and the deed also specifically mentiones a Marina. In 2000 government started to put pressure on Hoppenstein to do something with the Island as it had become a real eye sore and slowly turned into a dump for shipwrecks and hurricane left overs. We indeed all seem to have forgotten that. Hoppenstein then cleaned it up and built the Isle de Sol Marina. Whether you like the development or not is personal. Fact is that a different source of income was created and lots (not all) of us benefit from it. This new source of income (mega-yachting vs. time share) was much needed also as Sint Maarten had its eggs in one basket for too long. We should now stop with new developments and first turn Sint Maarten into an exclusive destination where it is a privilige to reside and own instead of and Island where anybody can come and live and built what they want, how they want and further do as they please. I fear that we have come close to that stage and I hope that we will be able to reverse the situation. Voicing criticism on current government policies as done on this site may fuel and steer that process. Very healthy development if you ask me.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

A couple of choice lines -

"Bringing the big names to the island is excellent; it is stabilizing the island and creating long term employment and good governance," said Peyton Cromwell, the owner of the Remax franchises on Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saba, Saint Eustatius, and Saint Barthelemy. -

Er.... right Peyton, your opinions are highly questionable and debatable, particularly when so much of the story is about you and other real estate agents filling their pockets.

Since development has come, it is refreshing to see that those financing and building the projects are paying attention to the environment; it is, after all, what people are flocking to the island to see.

Er..... where is this exactly?

What a bunch of tripe and shite.

Flipper

You know Frankie, it's comments like yours that make my day!

Most of the writers here support a moritorium, as in Anguilla, for major developments until the big picture has been studied, like a ship we need to check our course and make adjustments. Local people with smaller developments such as home buiilding and extensions to business would not be affected. The probem is, the only politician that I know who would support this is Gracita Arrindel.

Most politicians on St. Maarten have nearly always been voted into office on votes bought either though family loyalty or a bribe, not on their abilities or policies. They vote for a color, red or blue mainly, but Gracitia's orange made big strides in the last election in January. We here are trying to help people to see the rest of the picture and to demand more for their vote. It may take many years to bring about that change, but it is happening and I believe SXM PE is playing a small role in this.

I would like to draw the attention of other readers to this You Tube video of Arianna Huffington on the Colbert report last week. Although it refers to US politics, the message is the same for St Maarten. We need an epidemic of fearlessness, we need people to stand up and say 'hang on just a minuite'.

We haven't advertized the site as yet, word of mouth seems to be doing very well for us with an average now of 200+ visitors daily and growing, but we did last month launch our first T-shirt which you can find in the SXM PE Gift store. We don't sell them though, we send them as thank you gifts for donations. There is also one for the Dolphins and we will add SXM Pride and OceanCare in the next month of so, both organisations well worth supporting.

Again, thank you very much for your comment, you made my day. Please share the site with your friends. And in advance, thank you for your planned donation, it is very welcome and very much needed. If I could find a sponsor like George Soros then I would be blogging all day myself.

Flipper

Flipper,
Thanks for your informative reply, I have learned alot in the last 24 hours.
I am looking forward to watching and learning from the site. I recently contacted Paul Mooij regarding onsite waste water systems (Septic Systems). I have some info that I thought he would find usefull. Paul immediately responded and I was taken aback slightly due to previous attempts over the years to contact environmental officials in SXM. I was surprised to hear back from him at all and I was curious. So I hunted around a little and stumbled upon the site. After reading and learning about Paul on your site I realized why he was different and why I actually got a response. I am now nervous for SXM that Paul's role may not be extended. I hope this is not the case as he in my book is the kind of person who will make an impact. Anyway I'll be in touch and will be sending my first donation this weekend. Thanks again.
Frankie

Although I understand it's not the same conditions and he is currently looking for a new home that he can afford. If anyone knows of a nice place available for a decent rent or if you want Paul as your neighbor, drop a note here.

This evening we will have a little surprize in the way of a couple of documents, stay tuned.

As the header says, we try to Give Light, so people can see what's going on.

Flipper

Prosecutor Mooij's contract has been extended for another year.
I would like to thank whoever is in higher authority in the Federal Government for allowing Mr. Mooij to stay with us longer as we desperately need his expertise here on St.Maarten.
St.Maarten is going through a tremendous building boom.
The island has not been able to keep up with the monitering of many developments which is resulting in many environmental infractions happening on a daily basis.
Mr. Mooij has been working closely with the environmental groups on the Island trying to bring awareness accross to the general public about waste matters, monitering that developments build within their building codes, bringing people to court for violating the environmental and police laws.
I truely hope that after Mr. Mooij leaves us next year, that the justice Minister and prosecutor general in Curacao sends us a man of the same calibur as Mr. Mooij to fight environmental offenses.
Sint Maarten will be needing a prosecutor to deal only with environmental offenses, concentrating on the problem and trying to bring a total revolution in terms of thinking across to our Government and to the general population.
We simply cannot enter into a new independant status while allowing all developers and the each and every person to run their waste water on the road, allowing developers to build outside their property bounderies, especially on our public beaches, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to do as they please without fear of the law.

I congratulate Mr. Mooij with his extension and I applaud his bosses that see the need for this fine man to stay on and help with the daily environmental battle.

Jadira Veen
Sint Maarten PRIDE foundation
President

Regarding construction work in a residential area. Is there time limit during which heavy construction work may take place?

Reason is, I'm getting very tired having to wake up at 6.30-7.00am every morning, my guest too, a vacationer.

Any advice welcome and thanks in advance.

John Doe

II doubt whether building permit or planning permit imposes restrictions. That would be the best document to regulate it. My best guess is the Police Ordinnance (article 46 has some relevance) the general rules of tort and rules on neighbouring properties will provide guidelines. Pretty good chance that waking up people at 6 will be considered hindrance by the court and will be stopped. The question is not real difficult. Any lawyer should be able to help you. Good luck.

There are areas that are protected from developers. If the construction is on properties listed below, you might use this ordinance...
Island nature conservation ordinance of St.Maarten, AB2003/25. Prohibits catch and possession of all sea turtles and their products, and DISTURBANCE OF SEA TURTLES OR THEIR NESTS. Maximum fine of $550,000 or 4 years imprisonment. Notwithstanding extensive coastal development there are still a few remaining nesting beaches in St.Maarten, which, as the last nesting beaches, need extra protection; these beaches are: Guana Bay: Lat 18' 01" 900, Long. 63' 01" 200. Dawn Beach: Lat. 18' 01" 900, Long. 63' 00" 800.
Gibbs Bay: Lat. 18' 02" 500, Long. 63' 01" 175.

Dear Disturbance ordinance writer,

Can we issue the fine and imprisonment to Westin developers now that they have developed the entire beach, they have left no quite beach areas for turtle nesting grounds.
While the Eratos have not started as yet, they too should be made aware along with the new developers for Marriott Constellation that beach areas should be left with the beach grass, dunes and natural vegetation to allow the turtles to nest.
No bars with music should be allowed, no loud beach parties.
Not only the turtles will survive, so will the residents in the area and the local population that has had more than enough of the huge over development that is infringing on our sanity.

I know in Florida they have daily beach watchers for turtle nests & if located they construct a fence a around these nests. Warning the public to stay clear of these nest or fines & imprisonment will occur. Does anyone have a plan here to monitor these beachs for turtle nests and construction of fencing . If not why not?