AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Money and Power Clash In San Pedro Land Dispute

Tropic Air may control the bulk of the local traffic in the skies, but back here on earth, the Lands Department has the control and, tonight, the leading local airline says that Lands is dispossessing them of a prime piece of real estate. The land adjoins the San Pedro runway. Tropic air had hoped to use it to invest substantially to expand their operations since San Pedro is their base. But, then, their lease was cancelled - and it emerged that two private landowners, Breth Feinstein and Marilee Pou had separate titled lands within the leased area - though their titles were also mixed up. Today, Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega told 7News that Tropic Air ended up with the lease as a result of human error - and the Department had to correct the error:..

Hon. Gaspar Vega, Minister of Natural Resources
"Yes the lease has been cancelled. It's an error that the ministry made. It's an error coming long before 2008 and instead of rectifying - we try to rectify the problem and another problem gets done. I am going to be honest and say it's a problem created by the ministry. The errors were not calculated, it was just a human error and it has compounded problems."

Jules Vasquez
"Specify the error? Tropic Air should not have ended up with a lease for that entire tract of land? I know that numbers were mixed up between Ms. Pou and Mr. Feinstein as well."

Hon. Gaspar Vega
"What happen is that there was a lease issued, another lease was issued for the same land. A title was issued to Mr. Feinstein on a land that he did not survey, just by wrong numbers and we rectified by then a lease was issued to the other party and that is the complication. But I am certain that we will be able to settle it. I wouldn't want to say more than that Jules."

Jules Vaquez
"But Tropic Air is at the disadvantage now because their lease has been cancelled?"

Hon. Gaspar Vega
"Yes, because Feinstein had a title and that's where we are. We are trying to see if we have both parties compromise along with us to see how we can fit them. Neither one will be able to get what they want, but we are hoping that that will be the conclusion."

Hon. Manuel Herredia, Minister of Tourism
"I have tried to mediate in both side, but at the end of the day Jules it is those power against power right. I still believe that I will continue to see how I will speak with the Deputy Prime Minister. I have spoken with Ms. Pou that probably Tropic can buy out that property and then we will relocate Mr. Feinstein if he so agrees. So I have sent message to him that if there are possibilities that we can continue the negotiations meanwhile this matter is in court because an injunction has been put over there which to me, injunctions can last up to 3 years over there. In the meantime there will be an eye soar in the airstrip which was what I was trying to avoid."

"I am just a humble person trying to do my job, but when it comes power between power then I will only do as they ask him. That is what I know about this issue."

And while both ministers proposed a conciliatory solution, Tropic air is not interested in that. They say their 2008 lease is fully paid up, valid for 30 years, occupied, and they are intent on maintaining possession of parcels 5621 and 10959. Furthermore, last year they started construction on a 6 million dollar building and never got any notice of the cancellation of their lease. Now, a lawsuit has been filed against the company - a cease and desist order which means that all work on their building has been halted.

This afternoon in San Pedro, Monica Bodden spoke to d, the CEO of Tropic Air - he explained their position:..

Steve Schulte, CEO - Tropic Air
"We did a survey of April of 2014 and a deed of April 15th 2014 well into the construction of our building. We were in contact with the lands department pretty continuously since we started this project and there was no challenge to our lease up until about March. In March we were called at the lands department and we were told that we had to meet with Mr. Breth Feinstein and with Minister Vega and I went to that meeting and I was shown a deed for the land next to us which was in Construction Depot Limited, Mr. Feinstein's company I understand. Leaving that meeting I determined the best of my knowledge that there was no dispute about the land. They own the land next to us and that is a separate lot and we still had the full area of our lease. Subsequent to that there had been a whole number of instances where we've been ask to stop construction or interfere with construction on the lot and in each case we consulted our lawyers and determined that it was legal and proper for us to continue the construction which we had done up until the court gave us this cease and desist order on Tuesday."

"Right now we have a response to that, we only had a few hours between the time we were served 4pm in the afternoon here in San Pedro and 10am the next morning, so we didn't have time to mount a defense and to show all of our records. Currently our lawyers engage to that. We intend to pursuit it vigorously. We believe if this is a mistake or an intentional deeding of lands that are involve in our lease it has to be rectified. We went to the government in 2013 and showed them our plans. We told them that the lot wasn't wide enough that we needed additional land. The Cabinet approved that according to the information that was sent to us by ministers Castillo and Herredia and so we then applied for permission to survey and it was granted in May. It took until December until we received that lease which is this second lease that I referred to here "entry #15-158" its dated December 13th, 2013. At that point we started construction because there was no challenge. Then this parcel that originally deeded to Construction Depot Limited seems to be not what they thought they had and so they pursued this with the government and as I mentioned we had the meeting. That was the first time I saw their deed and my understanding of that. That deed I believe is part of the record of lawsuit. My understanding of that was that that was their property and there was no challenge to the date of our original survey of the land in early 2007 and there was no challenge to the lease prior to April of 2014. Actually, the very parcel that's disputed is where we erected our cargo terminal and operated for years since 2008. Six years we operated off of that property and now all of a sudden its no longer."

Breth Feinstein told us the matter is already at court and they prefer not to fight their battles in the media. He would only say that he has done nothing unethical.

Channel 7

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Injunction served on Tropic Air's $10 million expansion project; GOB erroneously grants a second title to a portion of Tropic Air land lease

The work on a new $10 million maintenance facility constructed by Tropic Air Limited on Ambergris Caye came to a sudden halt after Tropic was served with an injunction order. The injunction stems from a claim being made regarding approximately one-quarter of the property on which the facility is being built on. Tropic Air Limited has been in possession of a lease title of the entire property in question since 2008, but in April of 2014, Construction Depot Limited, owned by the Feinstein family in Belize City, were granted ownership to a portion of the same property by the Government of Belize.

The property in question is a portion of parcel number 5621 in the San Pedro Registration Area, measuring approximately 300 feet by 77 feet, that has been registered to Tropic Air Limited at both the Lands Department and the San Pedro Town Council. But Construction Depot Limited, a company owned by Sean and Brett Feinstein, has obtained ownership to a property measuring 100 feet by 100 that the Feinstein's claim is where a portion of Tropic Air's new facility is being erected.

According to Steve Schulte, Chief Executive Officer of Tropic Air Limited, on Thursday June 12th, the injunction was served on part of the construction at Tropic Air and has since been cordoned off with yellow tape by order of the court. The suit was filed by Construction Depot Limited, but by Friday, June 13th, Tropic Air Limited filed a counter suit since they also have documents showing ownership since 2008.

"Their suit alleges that they own 100 by 100 feet of the property that we have been building a maintenance facility on, and they asked for an injunction against continuous construction. We have had a lease on that property since 2008 and we have been occupying that property since 2008 with a cargo facility with a part-storage warehouse. We have poured parking slab measuring 150 feet by 40 feet on a portion of it. As far as we could determine from the Government of Belize, we had a clear and fulfilled lease on the property, and in December we started construction on the building," said Schulte.

According to Schulte, the Feinstein's simultaneously obtained permission to survey and title a portion of Tropic Air's lease in April 2014. The title was issued on April 15th, and since then, Tropic Air has been (verbally) told to stop construction. "In an effort to adjust the entrance to the airport, we discovered that there was an interest by a construction depot on our actual property and not on the lot next to us which we understood they had title to. Since then the matter has escalated to them serving an injunction against us� Up until April 15th, it was clear to us that that we had an unencumbered lease. I don't think they (Feinstein's) recognize that, but that was the understanding we had from the government," explained Schulte. He furthered stated that in 2013, they applied and were granted permission to survey, and also obtained lease certificate to an additional portion of property. Up until then, the records at the Lands Department showed Tropic Air Limited as sole lease title holder to lot number 5621 for seven years with an extension granted for up to 30 years.

Tropic Air's CEO also said that in March of 2014, he attended a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega, after Construction Depot Limited claimed that the airline company was trespassing on Feinstein's property. "From our surveys we knew that Construction Depot Limited owned the property next to us�. After the meeting in March, we also left with the clear understanding that the property that we were shown at the meeting was the one next to us." The property next to the one Tropic Air has title to, is parcel number 5511. According to property tax records at the San Pedro Town Council, lot number 5511 is owned by Construction Depot Limited who has been current with municipal taxes.

According to Schulte, when the dispute came to light, the government agreed that a mistake has been made and they were willing to work out a rectification. "They had agreed to the mistake made and they could work out a rectification of the mistake if there was a slight adjustment in the eastern angle of the boundaries to our land and we were agreeable to that term. We understood from that time, that the matter had been settled and we were surprised that Construction Depot Limited insisted in stopping our building project."

The claim of ownership by Construction Depot Limited is for a quarter of parcel 5621, which is about one-third of the total construction that is in process. The $10 million investment has been in the pipeline for Tropic Air since 2006 and according to Schulte, the maintenance facility is necessary since their company continues to grow annually. Now, not only are over 75 people displaced from their construction job because of the injunction, but the loss to the company and the tourism sector can be in the millions if the construction is stopped completely.

If completed the expansion to Tropic Air will create between 50 to 100 new highly skilled jobs for Belizeans. "If somehow our lease is cancelled, we have over $1 million invested already in construction, but the entire project would be in jeopardy because the portion that is in dispute is integral to the company. If our project is cut it would not cater to our expansion needs. With a fleet of 15 airplanes going into the next tourism season, we require the ability to service five airplanes under shelter so that the elements of the weather cannot stop us. The economic impact would add up to the millions in tourism dollars and in revenue lost and so it can seriously hurt Belize. Stopping our project is like putting a cap over tourism in Belize."

Tropic Air Limited is the pioneer of the local airline industry in Belize. In 2013, Tropic Air Limited reported that they transported over 300,000 thousand passengers and in 2014, it is expected that those numbers will increase.

The matter is expected to be heard before the Supreme Court on Wednesday June 25th. The San Pedro Sun tried to contact both Sean and Brett Feinstein, but our calls requesting an interview were not returned.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun

Land dispute in San Pedro - $6 Million project by Tropic Air comes to an abrupt stop

A six million dollar project on the island of San Pedro has come to a complete stop, and Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega says the reason is human error in the Lands Department. Tropic Air has a valid lease to a piece of property just off the municipal airstrip. The site is allocated for the construction of a high-tech maintenance facility, and construction started in December 2013. But another company, Construction Depot Limited, from the Feinstein Group of Companies, also has a claim on a significant portion of that same property. They received title in April 2014, months after construction on the property got underway. It’s a mess, and it's happened before, many times. That is absolutely no consolation to executives of Tropic Air, whose project was stopped by court order after they’d already pumped two million dollars into it. Mike Rudon was in San Pedro this morning and has the story.

Mike Rudon, Reporting

What you're looking at here is a six million dollar project in process. It's designed as a maintenance facility which can service five planes at a time, with space for a parts depot, training rooms, and office space. At least that was the plan. But none of that's certain at this point because a portion of this land, the piece seen here marked with yellow tape, is apparently the property of a company called Construction Depot Limited. Tropic Air has a lease for this entire section, issued in 2008. In April 2014, however, Construction Depot got a title for this parcel within the area held by lease.

Steven Schulte, C.E.O., Tropic Air

"Our lease was straightforward and clear until April of this year, 2014. We began the construction in December, ordering supplies. We started delivering them in January. We were aware that the lot next to us was owned by Construction Depot Limited and we were informed in February that Construction Depot Ltd…Brett and Sean Feinstein I believe are the owners…had claims upon our land here."

Schulte says they met with Minister of Lands Gaspar Vega in March. It was arranged that the boundary between the land owned by Construction Depot Limited and Tropic Air would be adjusted, and that would be the end of that.

Steven Schulte

"He said that a mistake had been made in the Lands Department and he asked that we adjust the boundary a few feet from our lease which we understood would be maybe five feet. Actually what it did was change the angle of the boundary. We agreed to that and at that point we thought that was what was required by Construction Depot to resolve the matter. About two weeks later my partner Johnny Greif received a phone call from Mr. Vallejos saying that the matter had been resolved."

But it wasn't. Last week, fully six months into construction, Construction Depot took Tropic air to court.

Steven Schulte

"We were notified a week ago Thursday that Construction Depot had filed an action against us in court. So we therefore responded by filing an action against government to enforce our lease on Friday. But the matter was brought up suddenly. I think it was Friday afternoon that our lawyer called us and said that we would be served and at four fifteen we were served with a notice that court was Monday at ten o'clock."

They asked for more time to gather their documents and got another week. But in the meantime they have had to stop construction on the portion of the land which is under dispute.

Steven Schulte

"I would guess that we're close to two million in the project of planning, architectural fees, engineering, drawings, construction that you see here. And I don't really know how much of it is viable because the main entrance to the building and the portion that opens on the street would be cut off. So you would essentially have only…we'd lose two full maintenance facilities and all the associated rooms, all the offices…pretty hard to say. I would guess that the company would be a couple million dollars into this by the time we counted up all the losses and the contract fees and so forth. And then of course who can put a value on the jobs."

According to Schulte, the project which is absolutely necessary for the expansion of Tropic Air isn't viable if they lose in court.

Steven Schulte

"It's a terrible loss. It's inexplicable and not understandable to me. I think we've done everything that we can to try to work this out."

The case is scheduled for June twenty-fifth. Mike Rudon for News Five.

Minister says San Pedro land dispute due to glitches at Lands

That story was done in San Pedro at around midday today. At almost exactly the same time in Orange Walk, Minister of Natural Resources, Gaspar Vega, broke the news that his Ministry had cancelled the lease issued to Tropic Air. The title issued to Construction Depot will stand because it is a title, even if it was only issued in April 2014. The minister seemed uncomfortable as he spoke about what can only be described as a comedy of errors. But comedies are usually funny, and we're absolutely sure that looking to lose an investment of two million dollars, Tropic Air doesn't find the situation the least bit humorous.

Gaspar Vega, Minister of Natural Resources

"The lease has been cancelled. It's an error that the Ministry made. It's an error coming long before 2008 and instead of rectifying it…we tried to rectify the problem and another problem gets done. I'm going to be honest and say it's a problem created by the Ministry…how to say it…the errors were not calculated. It was just a human error and it has compounded problems. We have tried to mediate so that we solve the situation and it has gotten out of a little control and we are hoping that it will settle quickly but it's not…you know it's an error that the Ministry made, but it's an error that started long before 2008."

Reporter

"But specify the error. Tropic Air should not have ended up with a lease for that entire tract of land? I know that numbers were mixed up between Miss Pou and Mr. Feinstein as well."

Gaspar Vega

"What happened is that there was a lease issued. Another lease was issued for that same piece of land. A title was issued to Mr. Feinstein on a land that he did not survey just by wrong numbers. And when we rectified, by then a lease was issued to the other party and that was the complication. But I'm certain that we are going to be able to settle it. I wouldn't want to say more than that Jules."

Reporter

"But Tropic Air is at the disadvantage now because their lease has been cancelled?"

Gaspar Vega

"Well yes because Feinstein had a title. So that's where we are. We're trying to see if we can have both parties compromise along with us to see how we can fit them. Neither one will be able to get what they want. But we are hoping that will be the conclusion."

This evening, News Five spoke to C.E.O. Steven Schulte who told us that it is the first time he has heard anything about the cancellation of any lease.�

Channel 5

San Pedro Land Dispute Simmers, Legal Daggers Drawn

The land dispute between Tropic Air and Brett Feinstein, which we told you about last night, is still simmering - and multiple attorneys are engaged on all sides to initiate suits and counter-suits.

Last week Thursday Eamon Courtenay filed suit against Tropic Air on behalf of Brett Feinstein - and on Friday Agnes Segura filed for judicial review against the Ministry of Natural Resources on behalf of Tropic Air.

Right now, Tropic has the most to lose -its multi-million dollar facility has been put on hold, and the company has been served with a cease and desist order by the Central Building Authority . More than that, Natural resources Minister Gaspar Vega says their lease has been cancelled - a lease which he himself signed off on in December of 2008. And, contrary to what Vega said, the lease also originated during the UDP's term in May of 2008. Tropic says it hasn't gotten any notice of a cancellation - and it has done nothing to have its lease cancelled since it is fully paid up and is improving the property. So that's why the company is seeking judicial review.

But Government says Feinstein has title, which trumps the lease. But even though all sides are getting ready to go to court, there should be room for compromise. This map shows the area in blue as the leased area, while the area in red is Feinstein's titled land. The Ministry of Natural Resources has urged all parties to come together and negotiate, but no agreement has been reached yet.

Channel 7

And people wonder what is wrong with the country? Here is the one company, Tropic Air, that I know of that is growing and I assume profitable. Treats its employees well the best I can tell and now some of the local gangsters in cahoots with the politicians are trying to extort them. There is no way this is not a set up planned before hand. To run this scam on them is not only illegal but shameful and makes me and everyone else completely averse to investing int he country. If I owned Tropic I would pick up and move to another country.

Tropic Air and the Feinsteins are all Belizean. They are not going to pick up and move to another country. This is a dispute over land titles. The government has admitted 2 titles were issued for the same piece of land and both land owners are simply working in their own best interests.

They will get this figured out.

The Feinsteins are also renowned to be good employers and this is a difficult situation for all.

Just another example of someone posting that has no accurate information of the situation. Sure would be nice if people stuck to the facts - if they knew them, otherwise said nothing. But then we would not have rumors and gossip allowing people to get wrong impressions.

Sounds like the Obama administration Amanda. We are not corrupt we are just incompetent.

Exactly.

Lands million-dollar screw-up

Local airline's $6M project in San Pedro may be halted; $1M already spent

Case will be heard this Wednesday; Lands Dept. says "human error" responsible

A multi-million dollar airline maintenance facility that is presently under construction by Tropic Air in San Pedro Town has been brought to a standstill following the recent issuance of an injunction order which came about after it came to light that two other private landowners both possess separate land titles within the same area due to an apparent mix-up by the Lands Department concerning the layout of the property and the scope of the titles.

The two landowners are Brett Feinstein - who got a title in April 2014 - and Marilee Pou. Tropic Air's problems are with Feinstein.

In December 2013, Tropic Air Limited, a local airline company, started construction on a high-tech maintenance facility to substantially expand their operations on the island; however, the Central Building Authority has placed works on hold via a cease-and-desist order sought by Construction Depot Limited - which is a member of the Benny's Group of Companies - whose proprietor, Brett Feinstein, also has a claim on a significant portion of that same property.

Tropic Air has had a valid lease for the entire property in question - which is located just off the San Pedro Municipal Airstrip - since May of 2008, and has reportedly invested over a million dollars into the project, but in April of 2014, Construction Depot Limited, which is owned by the Feinstein family from Belize City, was somehow granted a land title to approximately one-quarter of the same property by the Government of Belize, four months after construction on the property by Tropic Air had already gotten underway.

Last Thursday, June 12, attorney Eamon Courtenay filed a lawsuit against Tropic Air on behalf of Brett Feinstein of Construction Depot Limited in regards to the 100 by 100-foot portion of the property being claimed by Feinstein, which has since been cordoned off with yellow tape by order of the court.

On Friday, June 13, however, Agnes Segura, attorney for Tropic Air Limited, filed a countersuit seeking judicial review against the Ministry of Natural Resources because the company - which has documents showing ownership since 2008 - has claimed that it hasn't gotten any notice of a cancellation of their lease, which, they said, should have not been cancelled anyway because they have made all requisite payments and improvements on the property since its acquisition.

The land under dispute - Parcel 5621 - measuring approximately 300 feet by 77 feet, is reportedly under lease to Tropic Air Limited at both the Lands Department and the San Pedro Town Council, but Construction Depot Limited alleges that their title guarantees them ownership of a 100 by 100-feet portion of the property.

Steve Schulte, Chief Executive Officer of Tropic Air Limited, told the media last Thursday that the company has been occupying that property since 2008 with a cargo facility and a part-storage warehouse, and has already poured a parking slab measuring 150 feet by 40 feet on a portion of it, since they believed that they had a "clear and fulfilled lease" on the property from the Government of Belize.

He said that in April of this year, the Feinstein's gained permission to survey a portion of the property which, at the time, was leased to Tropic Air, and by mid-April, their (the Feinstein's) title was issued, after which Tropic Air was told - verbally at the time - that they needed to stop construction on that part of the property even though Schulte stated that records at the Lands Department showed Tropic Air Limited as sole leaseholder to lot #5621 for 7 years, with an extension granted for up to 30 years.

Tropic Air's CEO then said that in March of 2014, he attended a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega after claims of trespass were being made by Construction Depot Limited, and it was agreed that the boundary between the land being claimed by Construction Depot Limited and the portion leased by Tropic Air would be adjusted, especially since the government agreed that a mistake had been made and they (GOB) were willing to work out a rectification.

Last Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources, Gaspar Vega, explained to the media that the complication arose when an initial lease was issued to Tropic Air, but then another was issued for the same piece of land as a result of human error - an error which he claimed happened long before he became Minister of Lands in 2008, and one which the Lands Department had to correct by cancellation of Tropic Air's lease by virtue of the fact that Feinstein has title to the property (a title which was reportedly issued on April 15, 2014), which outweighs the lease.

He said, "The lease has been cancelled. It's an error that the Ministry [of Natural Resources] made. It's an error coming long before 2008 and we tried to rectify the problem and instead of rectifying it, another problem [is caused]. I am going to be honest and say it's a problem created by the Ministry. The errors were not calculated; it was just a human error and it has compounded problems."

The situation has been described as a major blunder by the Lands Department, and Schulte told the media that Tropic Air is prepared to go to court to defend its claim on the property, which was slated to be the grounds for a $6 million expansion project which has been in the pipeline since 2006, but now hangs in the air.

The maintenance facility is designed to service five planes at a time, with space for a parts depot, training rooms, and office space, and will reportedly create between 50 to 100 new highly skilled jobs for Belizeans.

While the materialization of the project is now pending litigation, Steven Schulte said that he is hopeful that a settlement can be negotiated between both parties in light of the fact that a great deal of money, time and labor has already been invested in the project, and furthermore because of its implications for tourism and the company's ability to meet the demands of the tourism industry.

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court this Wednesday, June 25, but even though all sides are getting ready to go to court, the Ministry of Natural Resources has urged all parties to come together and negotiate. However, no agreement has been reached yet.

Today, Amandala reached Schulte by phone, but he told us that he was meeting with government officials at the time.

Late this evening, we attempted to find out what was the outcome of that meeting and if an agreement was reached; however, Schulte informed us that he is not presently able to speak on the matter because he is "bound by a non-disclosure."

We also tried to contact Brett Feinstein, but we were not able to get his comments on the matter.

Amandala

Just happened to get title in April 2014? Right!