Karakter has five days to obtain a building permit

~ Or remove foundation on beach ~

SIMPSON BAY--Karakter Beach Bar has built a foundation on private property for what appears to be a deck that partially extends onto the beach although management does not have a building permit, according to Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Inspection Department head Henry Ellis.

Ellis said Karakter had received a removal order and had five days from receipt of the order to remove all illegal structures on the beach. It is unclear, however, when this removal order has been issued and if a building stop has been put in place.

Jorrit Heekelaar of the beach bar's management team explained that he had left the responsibility of organising the relevant documentation up to the construction company hired to put up the foundation. Heekelaar said he was not aware that the permit had not yet been approved or denied; he only knew that the paperwork had been submitted.

He explained that Karakter, operational now for three years, was equipped with all the necessary permits and licences, that management was leasing the property from a private person and all activities were being carried out within the boundaries of the property.

Moreover, he said, the foundation was constructed five metres from the property boundaries and this had been checked and confirmed by the Kadaster office about three weeks ago.

St. Maarten Pride Foundation raised the alarm about this allegedly illegal construction after enquiries over a two-week period from beachgoers and patrons of the beach bar about whether an establishment could construct a foundation on the public beach.

Pride argued that it would be irrelevant if Karakter management could present a permit to put up the foundation, because it would be a violation of the Building Ordinance in relation to the beach policy, which defines beaches as: "The strip of sand with a width of at most 50 metres, of which the surface consists of natural sea sand situated along the sea, or, in absence of natural sea sand, the strip of land with a width of 25 metres from the high water line, situated along the public waters."

Moreover, it states that "consequences of this beach policy are that the Island Government will strive to ensure that no construction works or activities that occupy the space on the beach in a way that restricts normal use of the beach for others will occur on the beach."

As a result, Pride is calling for the immediate demolition and removal of the foundation, which it noted had been furnished with a railing in the last couple of days.

In correspondence with Ellis, Pride said, "One needs to move away from allowing these structures to be legalised after the fact for the simple reason that they have already been erected. Case in point is the illegally constructed sea wall on the Esperanza property at Ocean Club Cupecoy, whereby Mr. Esperanza was given the opportunity to file for a building permit after his wall had already been constructed."

Pride said it had not forgotten about this case, on which this newspaper also had reported quite extensively, and would pursue a solution publicly if one was not secured by the Inspection Department.

Pride also noted that the construction is taking place in close proximity to important Sea turtle nesting sites and is therefore in violation of the Island Nature Ordinance Article 2, Article 17 and a number of international treaties for the protection of sea turtles.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/16292-karakter-has-five-days-to-obtain-a-building-permit.html

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