Plan to tackle shacks on
landfill being drafted
PHILIPSBURG--A plan to tackle the cluster of garages, shacks and other poorly constructed buildings on Pond Island (the landfill) is being drafted by the Department of Environmental Development and Property Management (VROM), Commissioner Roy Marlin told The Daily Herald on Tuesday.
The view from the back offices of the new US $15.5 million Government Administration Building to be constructed on Pond Island will be of these “buildings.” Based on this, the department was instructed by the commissioner to begin preparing a plan in keeping with the Philipsburg and Greater Great Bay area Development Vision for the area prepared by the Almere Group.
A number of the “buildings” were built without any lease agreement with the Island Government, which owns the land, Marlin said. A way to tackle and possibly remove these buildings, many of which were not constructed according to the building code, will be outlined in the plan.
In this area bordering the landfill, a large number of persons live in more than 50 small, poorly constructed and cramped “dwellings” in a very unhygienic manner.
Some of the properly constructed buildings with leases on Pond Island include University of St. Martin, the Island Receiver’s Office, TelEm Earth Station, Turning Point Centre and Little League Ball Park.
The development vision for this area suggests that “unsightly areas should be hidden from sight with greenery.” Pond Island will be “reserved for larger scale commercial and institutional buildings and environmentally friendly businesses providing a suitable setting for University of St. Martin, sports facilities and other events and possibly a residential zone (in the next 20-30 years) on the northern part of the island.”
The vision also proposes that anyone wishing to build on Pond Island should submit, in addition to the building plan (including future extensions), a landscape plan and parking plan showing that sufficient parking and storage facilities are present on the user’s lot (or can be created in the future) to meet present and future needs. “Building plans for business or industrial purposes must include proof that the activities to be performed are environmentally friendly.”
St Maarten Apartment for vacation rental
