(CNS): Along with a number of significant amendments to the Development and Planning Law which passed in the Legislative Assembly this week, government has made a number of changes to the planning regulations. During the final occasion that regulation changes will come before the country’s lawmakers, the seven storey height restriction on Seven Mile Beach was lifted. Developers will now be able to build up to ten storeys in the islands’ main tourist zone — one of 15 changes to the specifics of the law. The premier said he expected some people would disagree but the poorly defined definition of height meant some buildings on the West Bay Road were already this high. The change, he said, would give momentum to development on the beach, allowing old properties to be renovated or rebuilt. (Photo – one of the highest buildings on 7MB)
The regulation change means that hotel and condo developments along Seven Mile Beach will surpass the heights of the beach’s existing tallest buildings, such as the Ritz Carlton, Caribbean Club and Watercolours.
Speaking in the House late on Monday night McKeeva Bush the current definition of height refers to vertical distances measured from the centre line of the fronting road. “There has been no end of discussions with this through the years,” he said. “After Hurricane Ivan, many persons have increased the height of their property, making the problem even more acute. The revised definition uses the average finished height of the development site instead of the road centreline.”
Bush told his legislative colleagues that this would more accurately define building height and provided more clarity based on roof style. Buildings will now be measured to the lowest point where the underside of the roof slope meets the exterior wall.
The height increases will apply to buildings in the hotel/tourism Zone 1 which is the area bounded to the north by the West Bay Cemetery and to the south by Dixie Cemetery. The maximum height of buildings will now be or 130 feet (or ten storeys, whichever is less).
“As you know, the current regulations allow 7 storeys or 91 feet,” the premier reminded the House, emphasizing that the changes do not apply to other tourism zones but only to the West Bay Road tourist belt.
“I know some of my colleagues … may seek to disagree with this measure. I am sure they will agree that attracting development to the denser area of Cayman’s tourism product is preferable as it will encourage inward investment. This will give momentum to the renewal of some of the older properties on the beach allowing them to be renovated or rebuilt,” Bush stated.
Given the way the previous definition for building height has been interpreted, he pointed out that there were already some buildings in the area that approach that height at the moment.
Bush added that there are no changes to height limitations in General Commercial Zones with seven storeys downtown and five storeys in other General Commercial Zones.
In high, medium, low and beach resort residential zones, the maximum height has been increased to 40 feet from the current 33 feet, but the maximum number of storeys stays at three. The extra seven feet, the premier said, was to allow for higher ceilings, air-conditioning equipment and structural beams.
The amendments to the development and planning law, as well as changes to the regulations were all passed in the legislative assembly on Monday evening with support only from the government bench.
Vote in the CNS online poll: Do you support the removal seven storey height restriction on 7MB?
I agree with most people in saying that Cayman does not need any 10 story buildings but who are we to disagree with the boss?!?
My only question is; has there been any research done on the Cayman Islands to see what damages those types of structures can do? As a previous writter wrote we will soon be another underwater attraction that is if they can find us. God bless us all.
Ok CNS I see my original post did not pass posting grade, so let me try again. Why are people surprised that this happened? Where else are the casinos that are coming next supposed to go?…further more, I recall a certain real estate company owned by a person in politics made some real $$ when the the law was changed to allow 7 stories. The people who are crying and moaning about the current actions of his most high needs to just take a look a history:
First Cayman Bank
Removed from office by previous Governor
Proposed Selling Cayman Airways
Status Grants
Raising building heights to 7 Stories
Raising building heights to 10 stories
Proposed removal of Pirates Week
Turtle Farm or Boatswain Beach
Removal of rollover for bankers and the like
Attack of the FOI law
Attack on the Media
Proposed North Sound Dredging
Raising of Turtle Meat
Raising of Business Fees
Raising of Permit fees
Raising of Import duties
Raising of Petrol
Raising of Planning Fees
I am neither UDP or PPM….I am the Country I love and lost.
cns: can you please look into a mobile site for us who love to visit by mobile devises…you can even charge a low fee for access, thx.
CNS: It’s on the list but would be – for us – a major development. Soon come!
Great idea…I fully support this. Lets get people back to work. We Caymanians gave up West Bay Road a long time ago.
Seven Mile Beach has been trying to look like a small (and very scruffy) version of Miami for years so will this really change anything?
I can remember when there was nothing built over three stories and the Caribbean building standard was, "no higher than the tallest palm."
Sadly, it’s progress folks. The damage has already been done and you can’t turn the clocks back. Money talks…………!!!!!!
3 points;
1. In defence of our elected Government, it is fully entitled to change the planning regs in order to stimulate redevelopment of SMB. This will create construction jobs, no doubt about that. However;
2. this decision has considerable long term aesthetic implications to all, so the least we expect is full prior public consultation – residents and tourists – not a low key announcement sneaked out in a graveyard LA evening session.
3. Changing this planning regulation creates huge windfall opportunities overnight due to the instant big rise in the value of the affected beachfront land. Existing SMB low rise condo owners will happily pick up a new condo worth 50% more for no cost upon the inevitable redevelopment carrot dangling that will now be offered by developers & realtors to the stratas, but the real $ millions will all go to these same developers and realtors. Most of us know who. What is worrying, as anyone who knows recent Irish politics can confirm, is the high risk of corruption behind the scenes to get decisions like this pushed through. The lack of public consultation, the vested interests some politicians have, their temptation to take a slice of the cake, and their short term mentality reputations, sadly only raises such suspicions.
"with support only from the government bench."
Isn’t everybody else in the LA considered government?
big mac takes a lot of heat everytime he tries to do anything. recently he has done a lot of things that have made me shake my head, but it doesnt mean that everything eh does needs to be attacked.
in this case, this is a good idea. these morons arguing abotu a concrete jungle simply do not understand the requirement for developers to get return in order to take on the risk of large projects. the higher they can go, the better return potential on the same peice of land, and more likely places like the old hyatt (and other older places) get redeveloped.
there will always be people moaning, and complaining, and in cases like this those that moan the loudest typically understand the least. this is a smart move by big mac and this will create money inflow and jobs. kudos to mackeva on this one.
Glad you used the Caribbean Club photo…that building is already 10 storeys above the road!! They used a little trick of mounding up the entry level two to three floors to achieve that height.
Not sure what all the fuss is about, really, if it will bring construction work to Caymanians and import duties.
They are only trying to build something taller than Mount Trashmore!!
tell me this ain’t so. when is this man going to stop? when are we going to put a stop to this man? the 7 mile beach is ruined enough, what an absolute disgrace.
Ladies and gentlemen its already passed!! If you really think that tourists don’t like 7 mile beach the way it is , then why are they buying it?? We are not the ones that buy these properties. If tourists really don’t like concrete jungles then why aren’t they going to little cayman or cayman brac? Some tourists like it, they sold most of all the new condos already. Remember some tourists come from cities . They really don’t have a problem with skyscrapers.
Very short term vision. Someone once said that a statesman looks to the next generation but a polition only to the next election…..I think we know what we are dealing with here……
This is too funny skyscrappers in Cayman what a joke? Honestly everyday i have to say to my self what in the world is Mr. Bush really trying to prove beside distroy the country that has gotten him where he. A word of advise there is nothen a good ole hurricane cant take down and now a days even earthquakes so go ahead let them build. Some men feel that they are above the law but one thing they are not above and thats the good man above.
Forget about Equipment the Emergency Services does not even have the man power to deal with one of these monstrosities catching fire,I wonder if MACKCHAVEZ and his RICH string pullers thought about that?probably not XXXX
This recurring Fire argument is overcome by the requirement for both Fire Sprinkler systems and smoke evacuation systems in high rise buildings. the first to out the fire if possible whilst the second allows people to escape. If it keeps burning after that then it will burn to the ground and be rebuilt.
I am surprised that higher levels aren’t going to be allowed for commercial buildings in George Town.
Taller buildings with multi-level car parks in their lower levels would solve several problems.
You do know there is no requirement that water be available for those sprinkler systems, don’t you?
Forward planning would have prevented a lot of the same problems.
Mactator – this man needs to be stopped – along with all the people behind him who are approving all this nonsense without considering the public’s needs, wants, desires for our country’s future. This includes others in the LA with him andthose outside of it.
Has anyone in UDP stood up to this man with success, or do they stand along and the rest of them just follow his ‘lead’ (into the darkness).
Where was the public consultation on this one?
How many more things is he going to destroy even further for our country?
Who are the people who voted for him and keep voting for him – are they all blind? or just ashamed now? or are they all somehow benefitting and getting a payout from the short term ‘development’ with no long term sustainability.
Look at the damage he’s doing to this country which belongs to ALL of us!!
HELP!!! S.O.S. !!!
This is enough now man! If he and his like-‘minded’ people want to live somewhere that looks like the Bahamas or South Beach with concrete jungles, no views of the beach, no quaint, peaceful ISLAND scenery ….. GO LIVE THERE NUH! and please…. the sooner the better. We’ll be just fine without you.
if people want quaint, peaceful scenery why is cayman brac the most successful place in caribbean??????
Anybody got a depth estimate yet on the Cayman Trench???
Cuz, wid all dis foolishness, looks like we are going to be the next lost city of Atlantis. (Well, I guess that’s one way to etch our way into the history books eh?!?)
Oh and let’s forget about Hurricanes – one good lick from that and good luck travelling on SMB road for a long time.
REMEMBER:"The foolish man built his house upon the SAND"!!!
Dam fools!!!
I don’t see any discussion about who is going to build and then work in these highrise buildings. The Premier better be thinking of removing the rollover policy for all, and not just financial people and domestics, or we will have an influx of untested labour in Cayman, the like of which has never been seen before, even after Ivan. I don’t bother mentioning that the Government make the change, as well all know it’s a one man show!!
Seriously now folks is this a surprise? Mac XXXX is a pro developer not by association but because he only sees money. This is so sad from the Cayman of 30 years ago when I was growing up and would walk SMB and see red chank crabs, almond trees and conchs in abundance, I am so pissed off. He doesn’t get it as he’s too ignorant to see what he’s doing and for him he’s got it easy now since Burns Conolly and AL T are his little side joes who are in for these sort of buildings.
We have lost our culture, values and now any charm that we had are all gone. Mac do us all a big favor and just quit yet I know that won’t happen now and we shouldn’t had allowed you to run after the First Cayman Bank scandal. Tourist are leaving and residents who would have stayed are in fear because of crime, high fees and social issues.
I wish and hope that we can all get the Conservation Bill passed soon yet Mark Scotalnd can’t do jack because of Mac who is eager to develop every last parcel of lot in Cayman. Pray that our grandchildren will be able to see a bald pate pigeon, butterfly, lobster and parrot before it’s too late.
Take care and blessings,
When last did you eat Red Shanks and almond tree leaves? You should be thankful someone is trying to bring money to Cayman.
Ignorance is bliss my friend. Not because things bring money means its progress and that’s exactly what has happened to the Cayman. Once you lose your culture, values and ideals then you’re a lost man. I’m for development as long as it’s sustainable and unfortunately it ain’t much of it occuring in Cayman. We could easily encourage residents to open their homes as B/B’s and promote Caymanian culture to tourist this will bring in cash for goverment and the small man and not have to build skyscrapers. Selling the dump and goverment investing in a Solar farm would be the right move. So please try to see the big picture before you post a comment.
Looking on the bright side, Cayman can now cater to tourists who want to sleep in late and have a high risk of skin cancer. The sun won’t hit the beach much before midday. (If they approve a plan to burnoff Trashmore twelve miles off shore, out to the west, imagine the beautiful sunsets too!)
They must be out of their mind. We don’t need any more high rise buildings in Cayman to further destroy our island’s natural beauty. Like seven mile beach doesn’t have enough concrete hidding its beaches.
We keep selling out our island at this rate, we will soon have nothing left for our future generations. These politicians better get their act together soon.
I do not believe the other UDP MLA’s were even consulted and even if they were, they cannot speak up or MacKeeva will kick them out of the party or lamblast them so much, they will NEVERseek to vote or speak up against him ever again. They are afraid of their leader. SIMPLE!! What is wrong with you guys, don’t you have any Spine in your bodies? Are you going to sit down and let this XXXX man finish destroy these Islands, for the love of money? XXXX and ALL his bills paid for by the people and the rich people, it is time you young UDP Elected members stand up to this man and vote him out as YOUR leader. He is reckless and do not care for these Islands, much less the people. XXXX
in response to whodatis…
oh plueeeze, let’s not make excuses where excuses are not warranted. mckeeva is no puppet just as there are no martians pulling on obama. there may be people and special interest groups clamoring for attention and influence, but ultimately, mckeeva does what he thinks is politically and economically expedient – simple as that. as to why would he be fool enough to introduce unpopular changes?? 1. because he wrongly equates "action" of any kind with leadership 2. because he actually thinks that his proposed changes may solve cayman’s troubles 3. because they may benefit him and his cohorts personally 4. because he’s a lot less bright than people think or give him credit for…listen to him speak on occasion – its indicative of his level of intellect and education. btw, i note that you’re somewhat of a conspiracy buff. not all that you read on the internet is true – just a thought.
"btw, i note that you’re somewhat of a conspiracy buff. not all that you read on the internet is true – just a thought."
Lol!
Not all that YOU watch on CNN and BBC today is true – just a thought.
nice to see that you took it in stride…lol…and yes, i do agree that not all that one sees on CNN, BBC or any other networks is the truth…
It is clear once again that this man XXXX. in his next term I guess he will raise it again to 15 stories. Does he realize that what he is doing to Country will make it so undesirable for any one to invest here that it will all be a moot point.
I can almost guarantee that the first people to express any interest will have all the new fees waived.
I wonder where He does his offshore banking???
there is no oppsition here in Cayman Mac is allowed to do what he wants Charles and the PPM are not going to fight back Cayman just give up and let him do what he pleases we are writing on CNS in vain nothing is being done about Mac all PPM do is have an article saying they oppose
Bloggers of the Caymans….why do we keep getting all excited about every single pronouncement that comes out of Govt? nobodys listening except ourselves anyhow…and i dont think there’s even 100 of us, its always the same bloggers blogging……if we know so much, why are we not in govt making decisions? shame on us really.
look, so McKeeva is now increasing heights on SMB…..it really doesnt matter….here’s why – the only blocks that will benefit immediately are Royal Palms and the old West Indian area, i think its Dart land…….they’ll probably merge those two areas and create one mega 7-star resort for Camana Bay….it’ll probably look fantastic……it’ll probably have a casino……it’ll definitely set the bar for Cayman and increase a load of revenue…..sure, its the same old people making the mega bucks….but the trickle down will benefit us all
no other areas on SMB will really go 10 storey anytime soon…..maybe Villas of Galleon, as thats next to Ritz and Ryan must be thinking of taking it over soon now that he could build maybe a condo-hotel tower after this legislation change………maybe the Westin, it was never really re-furbished after Ivan, it smells of mould whenever youre in there……but nowhere else has the landmass nor real strata-voting block that will create 10 storey developments over night……
McKeeva has no choice, hes got to do something and fast….we have a tiny population……so create extra tourism, we need bigger hotels and condo resorts….then we need a longer runway…….we also – if reports of home-berthing are to be believed – we need more rooms to allow cruise ships to home berth….this is all 10-20-30 year strategic planning, and we’ll all benefit
if Mckeeva doesnt bring in changes like this,he’ll have absolutely no choice but to bring in property taxes, possibly consumption taxes…..hes simply got find revenue from a very small base……
does anyone have any alternatives?? of course not…..but its always easier to complain than to offer solutions…..and even easier on the sidelines…..the govt are not listening to the blogs or the radios….well, they may be listening, but its only lip-service because all we do is criticise and then vote them back in….they’re laughing at us and probably frustrated too that eveyr single thing they try is being absolutely attacked…its crazy.
3 more stories on SMB…so what? SMB is already ruined anyhow…..no different to the Harbour and the Cruise piers argument….so what? its already ruined…..best to create more damage on already damaged parts than to bring it around to the East and North………again, McKeeva has absolutely no choice but to try to bring in revenues…..
well said… i dislike mckeeva just as juch as evrybody else but i haven’t read one sensible argument from people who are against this…except it will ruin our siland…etc…how?
smb has already been developed and cannot be seen from the road…. this proposal will only lead to better mmore modern, more economical development….
I’m beginning to see where Mac is going with this. With a stroke of the pen he just increased the wealth of Cayman and provided an exciting opportunity for economic expansion.
The real question is whether this goes far enough. At some point the cost of engineering a taller structure jumps enormously and then you need more stories just to recover the higher structural costs. When you add in the additional cost and space needed for more parking its quite possible that adding a few more stores to a building is not practicable at all. Hopefully all of this was considered before the new height restriction was selected.
Additional thought needs to be given to the planning guidelines on aesthetics, green space and a general feeling of openness with generous provisions for pedestrian traffic and a feeling of community. This is very manageable even with much taller buildings. Look at Coconut Grove and Brickell Avenue or even Brickell Key in Miami where ground floors start at 30 feet above sea level. Great places to live and raise a family.
Hopefully this will spark a development boom and not encourage years of vacant land speculation. I for one am tired of seeing Governor’s Harbor remain undeveloped and ungroomed with bad roads for the last 36 years.
All this rabble rousing is no longer fun. Mac is making it too easy. Maybe that’s his plan?
This is absolutely ridiculous, Cayman doesn’t need any even higher buildings to contribute to the already growing concrete jungle along 7MB.
Maybe Government would be better off spending their time finding ways to preserve the little that is left of 7MB, maybe looking at ways to aquire some of the few remaining pieces of beach land so that public will have more beach access. As this would benefit locals and tourists both, as I am sure tourists are not coming here to look at buildings and swim in pools.
What exactly is this thing called "development"? Is it the process of displacing natural endowments with man’s artificial farce?
Does one ever take pause and ask himself if development is necessarily a good thing?
It seems that everything that was beautiful and unique about Cayman is being progressively destroyed because of this insane and irrational urge to rank alongisde quote-unquote developed countries.
One also gets the distinct feeling that these urges are not driven by democratic interests (that is the will of the masses) but by the interests of a few developers who stand to benefit the most from these changes.
WHO allowed development on Seven Mile Beach to get to those "already high heights"
GUESS WHO – McChavez
He changed the law once before and now again to apease the developers. I wonder what the incentive will be for him personally.
The wrecking of more distruction on Cayman’s landscape
GOODBYE CAYMAN OF OLD
if you like the cayman of old then move to the brac! see how long you will last then….
What’s wrong with the Brac? It’s not like you’re in the jungle fighting to survive for God’s sake. It’s the best of the three islands and yes, I’m from the Brac. Like Goldilocks said"It’s just right."
Have we not learned our lessons from the past? Are we that dumb as to swallow this ‘pile of fertilizer’ that ‘The Great Dictator’ is feeding us?
This is about one thing only, GREED !
XXXXXXX
Do we not see what ‘7’ Stories is already doing to SMB?
We can’t even see our beaches from the road anymore. The Beauty and Tranquility that have made us a preferred destination for the ‘Select’ is to be Sold, for what? To create a CONCRETE and STEEL Jungle along SMB?
What next Mac? Will you Sell our ‘Right of Access’ to the Beaches as well?
These are OUR decisions to make. WE (the people) need to put this greedy Dictator in his place!
‘Whips and Chains’ for him and his butler .
Dear Cayman,
Re: The Unseen Sleazy Cowards
McKeeva is not really the bad guy here you know folks … mind now, I don’t like or respect him (as a politician) in the slightest – however, it is clear that he is not the actual "leader" of the Cayman Islands.
Just yesterday I briefly touched upon the President of the USA being a puppet put before the people with powers and entities controlling him from behind the curtains.
McKeeva is in an identical situation.
No one knows Cayman and its people like McKeeva, and he is no fool. Therefore, even before he makes these ludicrous announcements he knows what will be the general reaction – yet he does it time and again.
Now, we can continue to fight, argue and bicker amongst ourselves as we express our dislike for McKeeva and the UDP (and PPM) – but what are we actually achieving in the process? Nothing.
We need to be going after the string pullers. They need to be named and shamed and exposed for who they are. In any battle one must attack the head of the organisation – McKeeva is nothing but the elbows and knees of those that are truly in power.
Let us try to regain some focus on this situation and direct our outrage at the individuals that truly deserve it (as well).
Welcome to modern democracy by the way.
whodatis
so who are the names of the string pullers!?
all will be revealed when we see who benefits from the next high rise building to go up
Thank you.
(To the poster to my original post … what he said.)
Who are these so-called mysterious string pullers? Are we going to have ourselves a little witch hunt. I nominate you as our leader – let’s go get them.
whodatnot
Whodatis……a reasonable point of view but IMHO it is flawed. IF you really know Mr. Bush you will know that there no puppet strings attached to his suit. Mr. Bush IS the premier, the power broker, the decision maker period. He is the elected leader of the country who does what ever he wishes contrary to opinions from the other ministries, UDP elected members and the opposition. Our political system has been morphed over the past 20 years to allow this type of district leadership. You can point fingers at as many non elected power players in the back room as you wish to no avail. They are shrewd educated businessmen who are private citizens. Bottom line…..Mr. Bush has the power…no need to keep looking anywhere else.
Whodatis – Boy do you have McKeeva’s number – you are so on the money. I could have written this post myself! Kurt couldn’t make up his mind but at least when he did, he wasn’t being spoon fed by others. McKeeva on the other hand does not have an original thought in his head, he is simply being wound-up by a bunch of self interest individuals and he won’t tell them NO. Ahhhh boy, same thing happened in Jamaica … and the rest is history.
This only leaves bigger buildings for us to worry about when they go out of business. That the Marriott Courtyard for instance, imagine that as a 10 story building.
If one has been following the media and their reports lately where Bush is doing his thing one thing is most outstanding and that is his use of the phrase "my govt"Everything is his by all accounts so is there any wonder he does what he does without any form of consultation with the public?It really makes me sick to see the rest of the Cabinet sit idily by as he says "jump"and they ask "how high massa"Will somebody please tell this man that he needs to work for what is right and best for this country and stop listening to the rich high and mighty?There used to be 3 classes on this island.but now there are sadly only 2 and they are the "Haves and Have nots"Maybe Mr.Premier you should look back at history and see who put Cayman where it is today and it was certainly not the rich and famous as you seem to think.
Does the Fire Service have the equipment needed to deal with fires at this height? Does this mean new special purpose equipment for use on a relatively very few number of buildings?
Our landfill is already full so how is it going to cope with the quantity of additional garbage coping our of Government?
Firemen go up inside tall buildings all of which have sprinklers, fire doors etc. Remember 9/11? Only in Cayman do we worry about ladders being long enough. Not saying this is a good thing just saying how it is.
As a blind and dumb UDP supporter I need a little clarification from my Premier.
Should I be telling people that they will have to pay property taxes and income tax if this change in height is not approved?
CNS Note: The change has already been approved.
What about emergency services????? will this not be an added cost to government . I am sure that the Fire Service will have to purchase Ladder trucks and not just one, a few. Then you have training for the fire service which is not available here I don’t think as yet.
What is MAckeeva doing? can not the government "Cabinet" stand up to their LEADER, you don’t have to be a "Yes Man" all the time!!!!!!! . Have some BALLS, do what the PEOPLE ellected you to do. Do we really need 10 story buildings on West Bay Road???? come on, this is outrageous.
Well I guess we are all going to Hell in a hand basket. STOP MACKEEVA, he is a Dictator pretending to be a Christian and fooling a lot of people with this Coat of many colours he is wearing.
May God have mercy on these Islands and all who live on them
My poor people….think small and worry big
The damage has been done already with the eyesore that is 7 Mile Beach and West Bay Road, so this change probably won’t make any difference unless you currently live in apenthouse there and are about to have 5 more stories built above your house.
Spoiling Cayman further just to line the pockets of the rich. Disgusting. We can all see through the Premier’s talk, but sadly can/will do nothing about it.
Another reason could be so Mt Trashmore isn’t the highest structure on Cayman; so when it reaches 12 storeys the buildings will be allowed to go to 15!
Such a shame, as with everything else.
Knee jerk reaction to creating inward investment instead of thinking outside the box.
The Premier is using scare tactics much like Dubya did. If you scare the public into thinking the sky is falling (ie we’re in such an economic mess) and we will never recover unless we do what he says. He moves from so-called recovery plan to so-called recovery plan without even pausing to allow the plan he last implemented time to actually see results.
Locals are allowed on the beaches anyway, except for 7 mile beach and a few ‘public’ beaches here and there. Security guards are always on stand by to move us along so honestly I can’t remember the last time I saw our shoreline and now it will be further blocked by huge buildings.
In my interaction with tourists, they leave their own concrete jungles for ‘paradise’, they want simple, caribbean, close to nature experiences and instead of tapping into that we’re going to further surround them with concrete. This breaks my heart.
This is really ridiculous! If this goes through we will lost what little charm we have left on the island!
CNS Note:Both the law and the regulations were passed in the parliament on Monday night.
Poll all the visitors staying here. They don’t want high rise hotels, so the theory of "attracting development to the denser area of Cayman’s tourism product is preferable as it will encourage inward investment. This will give momentum to the renewal of some of the older properties on the beach allowing them to be renovated or rebuilt,” is crap. How in the heck is allowing builders to go up 3 stories going to attract investors. They’re not changing the market, those who want to renovate or rebuild would do so without this restriction lifted. MAC YOUR METHODOLOGY SUCKS.
POLL THE TOURISTS
Beauty os in the eye of the beholder. If you see the opportunity to get exclusiveselling rights of appartments/condos by allowing buildings to be built ever higher then no wonder you see beauty in it.
The trouble is tourists come to these Islands to get away from the Miami/Bennidorm style resorts.
The LA in allowing these changes are fools. If the problem as [the premier] has stated is the definition of how high a floor is then make that definition clearer but dont increase the height. XXXXX
Well, 7MB is already a concrete jungle so no great boo-hoo from me on this one.
However, I only wish that our past national planners had the foresight to restrict all construction on our shoreline.
In the all important spirit of preserving our crucial natural beauty and pristine surroundings, we should have taken the firm stance of forcing developers to build more inland away from the sand and water.
Yes, this is paradise, yes it is beautiful, and yes we know you took a long flight to get here … however, your $3,000 per week is simply not worth us risking our island’s beauty and our very lives (storm surge / sand shifting / water inflow) Mr. and Mrs. Tourist – surely you agree?
I am sure some would object, however, again I will remind the room of the protected and untouchable stretches of coastline in the UK and Europe that extend by as much as 5 miles inland at certain points (Imagine such laws in Cayman – our ENTIRE island would be a protected zone!)
Some may say that our situation is different as we are a tourist destination and it is in our best interest to not go the route of such protectionism … we should all think about that for a minute. (If the cold and gloomy EU feels it important to enact such restrictions – why are we lagging behind? Oh yes, that’s right – $$$ … not ours of course – the new dude’s.
Compare the stakes, available land area and contributing portion to our economy and way of life and it is clear that much more attention should be paid to these issues in the Cayman Islands.
More and more developed coastal regions all over the world are regretting their past decisions and are battling with ways to combat the associated problems. (E.g. The reports and video footage you see of coasts and river-side towns are often incorrectly presented as proof of new increased storm activity and climate change … a lot of it has to do with unnatural structures, roads, trenches, bridges etc. that had no initial place within nature’s plan. Freak flooding, severe floods, land erosion, landslides etc. can all come about as a result.)
God forbid, but if we do see major development in the eastern districts I do hope that serious restrictions will be placed upon construction at our shorelines (*cough, cough* – CARGO PORT – *cough, cough*). Keep it (development) on the other side of the road please, many thanks.
this is beyond disturbing.
It is already impossible to see the skyline, let alone our radiant sunsets from driving along west bay road, so why stop at a mere 10-storeys?? More is better is it not? Go to 12, then next year perhaps 25? Or would that be too absurd?
Ah boy!
Yes and it all looks disgusting! Especially, the Ritzy prison!
Having lived on the beach since 1977 I am very dissappointed in seeing the height go from 3 stories to 10 over the past 23 years. In the 60/70s Caymanians specifically did not want it to look like Miami Beach and yet tourism prospered.Most of the old hotels that we have lost such as the Beachclub, Royal Palms and the Galleon were only three stories high. Tourism lost out becausethe developers came along and build very much higher and ugly looking condos. Building higher hotels is not the answer. If you drive down West Bay road you will note that most undeveloped land is very narrow such as that just past the Courtyard Marriott whilst many have only 100/200 running feet. Unless therefore a new hotel has a highway going through the middle of it like that maursoleum called the Ritz-Carton then there is clearly insufficent space to develop a hotel that will be feasible. Moving the road is the only answer but getting the land owners to agree is impossible. It was tried before and failed. Back to the drawing board!
Mr. Primier you are evidently on a path to destroy the Cayman Islands so that you friends can benefit.
Mr. Premier you and your friends are not for Caymanians!
Why comment anyway because you do not care about us only your rich gambling friends matter anymore.
Do the UDP members we all look up to really support your destruction of our Cayman Islands?
"but the poorly defined definition of height…"
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
And thanks for the public consultation!
How lovely…blah