SXMElections.com

MULLET BAY--A large pile of rubble was placed to block a Mullet Bay entrance on Friday, November 7, causing a stir among the public and business owners who operate on the beach. The move by Mullet Bay management seems to be technically legal, because it still allows the public access to the beach by foot. However, it directly results in nearby business owner Leopold York not having vehicle access to his establishment, where daily offloading is needed for almost everything the business needs to operate. This is not the first tiff between management and business owners. York, who has been established at the location for some 17 years, said he had been told to move several times by security, management and by the police, although he has a business licence to operate there. Another time long ago, management reportedly took pictures the day after Easter Monday when there was rubbish nearby, to say that he did not keep the property tidy. Much-needed clarity on rights and property lines seems to have stalled along with the Beach Protection Ordinance, which should have been drafted and implemented by mid- to late August after a beach access motion by former MP Romain Laville was passed in Parliament in April. The motion tasked the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI with “strengthening legislation towards maintaining the recreational and ecological value of St. Maarten’s beaches, including improved control, enforcement and penalisation.” It also tasked the Council of Ministers with “drafting and implementing a Beach Protection Ordinance … [which] should include the principles and regulations outlined in the Beach Policy and set additional regulations aimed at protecting the recreational, ecological and natural values of St. Maarten’s beaches and securing unrestricted and unobstructed public access and ample parking spaces.” VROMI Minister Maurice Lake said in an invited comment that the ordinance “is nearly complete” and that VROMI was “working with Nature Foundation to make sure all beaches are accessible.” He said the Ministry had looked into the situation straightaway and had filed a report, and that he had spoke to management. He said the property owner was within his rights and he could not force him to keep the direct access free as long as the public still had access to the beach. The motion stated, among other things, that beaches must be “freely and easily accessible to the public by land,” that “it is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to gain access to St. Maarten’s beaches” and that “there is an undesirable trend whereby some developers block off access to public beaches and limit parking possibilities.” The already-established beach policy calls for beaches to be openly accessible to the general public, free from both physical and mental barriers. No warning reportedly was given to the businesses before the blockage was put into place. Mullet Bay representative Clarence Derby maintained that he was within his rights to place the blockage because it was his property. He said the main issue was that access to the beach had not been blocked and that people driving onto the sand could be dangerous. He said the boulder previously set in the same spot had been moved. He dismissed questions on the timing of the blockage as irrelevant, although security had been telling York recently that he should move his portable toilet farther up the beach and closer to his business. York’s establishment has no GEBE connection and he preferred not to have the public toilet too close to the snack bar. Laville, who also started working at the location in his father’s water-sport business November 1, said he had been harassed by security officers daily and he did not blame them for doing their job, but Mullet Bay management seemed to feel that they were above the law and had been acting in a spiteful way. Although it was not confirmed by Minister Lake, Laville said VROMI inspectors were not sure whether the rubble had been put on private property. According to the Beach Policy, a beach spans as wide as 50 metres from the high-water line. He said that since working at the beach he had become “directly aware” of the harassment faced by businesses and pointed out the restriction imposed on emergency services, for example. In a statement supported by environmentalist Rueben Thompson, he said the rubble contained not just dirt and rock, but plastic waste. Both Derby and Minister Lake said Laville might have his own agenda for his position, but Laville maintained he was sticking up for the St. Maarten public. He did not respond directly to the question of whether his father’s business permit had been given during the last brief and somewhat controversial lifting of the vending moratorium. He said instead that several ministers had lifted moratoriums for several reasons. Thompson agreed that dumping the “unsightly waste material” to block the entrance formed a physical as well as a mental barrier. He said driving on the beach was not condoned from an environmental perspective, but there was an exception for offloading. He added that the motion still stood. Environmentalist Tadzio Bervoets of Nature Foundation said in an invited comment that driving on the sand was only a concern for wildlife, including turtles, if it was done somewhat farther out than the existing route used for York’s offloading. Both environmentalists, as well as the police and VROMI, had been called to the scene following the blockage. VROMI and the police filed reports. Police spokesperson Inspector Ricardo Henson could not be reached for comment. In the meantime, York will have to haul most of the business’ necessities daily, without being able to offload near his snack bar “Daleo Snack.” This includes not only food, drink, and umbrellas, but also coolers, an electricity generator and water to wash up, as the establishment has no GEBE connection.Maurice Lake mentioned 1 time
Rueben Thompson mentioned 1 time
Romain Laville mentioned 1 time