AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Environment south beach development?

Well, that's better than I thought. But still, if we aren't paying our property taxes, there isn't anything to keep. HOw do they police who pays and who doesn't?

If you don't pay you property taxes the San Pedro Town Council will eventually file suit to attach your property.

Good. I wonder if they have someone who keeps track of who has paid, or is just by the luck of the draw that they catch those who don't? Seems that I've heard others say they haven't paid taxes in awhile, and although no one really likes to pay them, they enjoy what services the tax dollar provides. Just thinking it would be nice if everyone who owed, paid.

concerning the peninsula here, i asked the D.O.E representative if they had a 'plan'.
they admitted they did not and agreed they should try to come up with one.
as they were approving the next 1,000 person project.
they have no plan!
just collecting the immediate funds. what happens later,, not their problem?
IMHO
Belize has a image now of an Eco-tourist type destination.
the latest surge of mega-super-luxury-theme type projects will change that image completely.
personally,, from what i see,, the general population doesn't want that, but are so wanting to,,, get stuff(for lack of a better term) that they believe it when the GOB says this is the way.
as usual,, i could be way wrong, and will be told so.

edit: i should add,, i don't believe the BTB is paying attention either.

double edit: if the occupancy rate hovers around 40%, is the answer to add thousands of more rooms?

Ambergris Caye has been "reviewing" a master plan since at least 1994 - I would have to find my copy to remember exactly when it all started. A lot of qualified people expended a lot of time and energy getting the plan together.

The master plan was "adopted" by the town and many recommendations were utilized as "guidelines." The plan has never been introduced into law, and therefore the requirements are not enforceable by law.

I asked the current town council about the master plan, and have been told that it is under review... again.

We call this paralysis by analysis, and it happens here, as well. Only difference is those who don't want it band together and protest the change, to have their voices heard. It gets attention, and often times helps prevent the change from happeniing. Not always, and sometimes only worsens the situation. But in situation like this, if your voice isn't heard, if nothing is done to stop it, then you can't complain when it's finished.
The thouhts here are that if you build it, they will come. It will mean a huge increase in revenue for the merchants and the tax offices. Not such a wonderful thing for the residents, unless the roads/water/police/ect. are improved. I guess time will tell.

The island is, more or less 65 sq miles. With 18K residents I wouldn't say that it is "crowded." San Pedro town is densely populated, and I understand that is what happens in towns and cities.

We do have room for thousands more residents, we don't have the infrastructure to handle them.

The popular dive and snorkel sites will need to be monitored closely and it is possible that limiting the number of guests per site might become imperative over the next few years.

But although Barnacle may have been to Hol Chan 15 years ago and it was crowded - I went there for my birthday last month and I was the one and only person in the water the whole hour that I was there. It was glorious. Locals learn to visit Hol Chan, Shark Ray, Coral Gardens etc during "off-peak" hours. It's like avoiding rush hour.

Since South Beach is being constructed on private lands, and no doubt the developer will have to submit to an Environmental Impact Study and obtain all relevant approvals from local and central government departments - including forestry, fisheries, coastal management, geology etc. etc. I don't know what folks are considering protesting.

Protesting the fact that we don't want any more development on the island is ludicrous. We have new kids born every day and few deaths. If our population is 18K now, what will it be in 5 years, 10 years? What jobs will be available for our kids if we stop development???

Yes, we need to regulate development, yes we need to improve infrastructure, yes we need to enforce the rules and laws that we have - but stop development! I don't think so.

If you think about the situation in an objective manner (ie as if you were an observer not a concerned participant) would you say that San Pedro and its people need jobs, would you say the thousands of kids on the island have a right to make a living in their home town? Would you agree that if we continue to develop, with the improvements that should go along with this growth, San Pedro could support the 50K people we will probably have here within the next 10 years or so?

I would love to see some of the folks on this board getting more involved in the issues - lobby for schools, hospitals, roads, parks, parking lots!!!

We all know that if the property taxes were more in line with the needs of the community we would be able to achieve at least one of those goals.

The property tax on my previous home was $45 Belize per year. My current home is around $800 per year.

Because I know these taxes are ridiculously low, I give more to the community, I sponsor local events and charities etc. etc. If we opened a fund that allowed folks to donate the balance of what they KNOW their property taxes should be we could make some of our dreams a reality very, very quickly.

Any takers??

i agree with you. when i don't want to go, i won't go 'gracefully'. i will go kicking and screaming.
but i/we are getting beat down. it is too discouraging.
we have multi-million dollar projects going up what seems like every 100 yards all up one of the worst mud roads in the country!
those that do have supplied water are worried about keeping it as they all want to tap into the same source to accommodate what they hope to be 10-20 thousand more people in the area!
there is no sewer system, no phone lines for most of the peninsula.

power, as we all know, is sketchy at best.
we just got a fire truck, don't know much about it or anything.
we have, what, maybe 4 cops? and sometimes they have a vehicle, but no gas.
40% occupancy rate, and yet they just keep right on building more, more, MORE!!


ONE QUICK NOTE FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT REALIZE THAT BARNACLE IS TALKING ABOUT THE PLACENCIA PENNINSULA - NOT AMBERGRIS CAYE

As I was checking into Banana Beach a couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a gentleman who was checking out. He said that he works for an NGO (I really wish I could remember the name of the organization) which is providing counsel to the Government of Belize regarding the reef. He had spent the prior several weeks exploring the reef and documenting the very evident damage. While it's widely recognized that Belize lost nearly half of its reef in 1998 when global warming and the "El Nino" weather phenomenon combined to cause the highest sea temperatures ever recorded worldwide ( http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0609-01.htm ), this organization's concern is centered more on the damage being caused by the ongoing development of the cayes. Above and beyond the lack of infrastructure sufficient to support development of the cayes, he stated that the sheer volume of sewage waste alone is dramatically negatively impacting the reef. It was his theory that the present uncontrolled growth on the cayes is significantly contributing to the destruction of the reef, the very thing upon which Belize is dependant to attract tourists.

His is not the only organization expressing this concern:

"The 2004 Reefs at Risk analysis rated 63 percent of Belize's reefs as being threatened by human activities. Sediment and pollution from land-based sources were identified as a threat to about half of Belize's reefs. Two major sources of nutrients entering Belize's coastal waters are the run-off of fertilizers and the discharge of domestic sewage. Land conversion and agricultural activities are estimated to reach reefs predominantly in the southern half of the country, which is impacted by the plumes of large Guatemalan and Honduran rivers. Large amounts of fertilizers are used on banana plantations located in the central and southern parts of Belize near rivers in areas of high rainfall. Citrus plantations in the coastal plains to the south also require the use of fertilizers. In the north, sugar cane is the predominant crop.

"Coastal development was rated as a threat to 11 percent of reefs, especially around the larger cayes and tourist centers such as Amergis Caye and San Pedro Town, which are rapidly growing as a result of tourist-based economic activity. Also, marine-based activities threaten an estimated 8 percent of reefs, particularly around the port facilities of Belize City and the cruise ship anchorage at Goff's Caye.

"Tourism, including the cruise-ship industry, is focused primarily on coastal centers and is rapidly becoming the major economic force. Direct damage to corals has been reported from areas with intensive boat and diving activity, including anchor damage, boat groundings, and direct impacts from divers. A high proportion of visitors to Belize make use of the marine resources. For example, in 2002, out of 186,097 visitors to the country, 46,404 visited the Hol Chan Marine Reserve."



Seems to me that unlimited quantities of "the dream" simply are not available. Without significant control everyone's dream is quickly going to turn into a nightmare...


Postscript:
As Amanda notes, the Island may - some day - be able to support thousands more people, but the reef won't. And without the reef there will be considerably fewer tourists resulting in considerably fewer jobs resulting in... well, you get the point.

Amanda, I so agree with you. I think regulated growth is a necessity, especially for areas like San Pedro. My comments about protesting were directed at those who do nothing but complain about the inevitable and continue to complain without doing anything to make a difference. I think everyone has a right to be heard, and sometimes, if they feel passionately enough, can group together with others who feel the same, and be heard clearer.
I think the growth will be good for SP, especially for the merchants, and those who will stay on the island after reaching that age of reckoning. Here on the East Coast of Virginia, we have a very small island that has resisted growth with full force. The younger population is boated to the mainland for school, and in the winter, the food has to be air dropped, because it is difficult for the delivery boats to get in at times. The young adults are leaving, for many reasons, but mostly because there isn't any work on the island. There isn't a hospital, nor is there a mall or shopping area. No movie theater, no place to party with their friends. Spouse selection is VERY limited...since most of them are related by now. Very depressing. The watermen who were born there, worked there, and will die there are saddened because there won't be anyone to "carry on" the family business. I can't help but think if there had been a controlled growth, some of the youngsters might have wanted to stay.
I am all for growth, with control. Who wouldn't be? I think the scary part is what will happen to the island itself, like roads/sewer/water/trash. It's bad now, and will only get worse. All of this can be addressed and settled in an acceptable manner. But, not if these concerns aren't brought to light.