St. Maarten Pride Foundation has been closely following the developments regarding the Olzina/ Vorst Estate Planning Permit and the subsequent variance request, for the past two years and paid keen attention to Monday’s Island Council meeting on the matter.
The Foundation unreservedly supports the factions in the island council that voted to withhold the granting of "Planning Permit PP#0090002 "Vorst Estate Variance-03019".
Contrary to insinuations made by Island Councilman and former Commissioner Roy Marlin, the Foundation’s objections to the Variance request were not solely based on the fact that the building is a major eyesore. The undeniable fact that the building is an eyesore is mentioned as an addendum to a number of objections the Foundation submitted against the variance request.
It does not surprise the Foundation that Councilman Roy Marlin dismissed St. Maarten Pride’s objections and the Cay Hill Residents’ petition, which was signed by over a hundred people, as unimportant as the councilman’s opinion that "permits are frivolous details" has been well documented in local media over the past few years. Former Commissioner R. Marlin’s disregard for the public’s right to submit objections to projects requiring permits and his apparent inclination to allow developers to build whatever, however and whenever they please is evident in the rather disastrous legacy of his tenure as Commissioner of Environmental Affairs, Spatial planning and Public works.
Spatial planning and in some cases architectural failures such as Babaron, Aquarius at Red Pond, the Indigo Bay project, Westin-Resort, Rainbow in Cupecoy, and Porto Cupecoy all date from the councilman’s term as Commissioner and are a result of Marlin’s unwillingness to take note of objections and set regulations for developments by drafting Zoning Plans and updating the Building Ordinance which dates from 1935.
"Caretaker" Commissioner Heyliger’s proposal to grant the planning permit variance request "with an added condition that the company submit and carry-out a beautification/ Greenery plan" is one which would set a bad precedent and may encourage developers to violate permit requirements, considering that the consequences of such a violation would be relatively negligible.
The Foundation is rather taken aback by the fact that Council members neglected to mention the serious intimidation Foundation members and Cay Hill residents suffered at the hands of the developer, whether directly or indirectly, after the respective objections were filed.
St. Maarten Pride Foundation stands by the objections filed and recommends that the Island and Executive Councils withholds the granting of Planning Permit PP#009002 "Vorst Estate Variance -03019". The foundation furthermore urges Authorities to launch a thorough inquiry of how the developer managed to obtain a building permit which was was in clear contradiction of the planning permit he was issued and calls for an investigation of all other irregularities associated with this Planning Permit Variance request.