Environmental groups: why no sign of new parks watchdog?
Environmental groups are calling for planning applications for developments on public park land to be put on hold until a National Parks Commission has been re-established.
David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, disbanded the commission last December, and said that a new body would be set up once legislative changes were made in the first three months of this year.
But amendments to legislation have yet to be tabled in the House of Assembly, and critics argue it could be months before the law is changed.
They pointed out that the Government will be acting unlawfully if applications for developments on parkland were approved without input from the commission.
In a letter to commission members last year, Colonel Burch said that it had acted beyond its authority and that there was a need for “legislative change” before a new commission could be established.
He added: “We will be making modifications and administrative changes in the first quarter of 2023 and I am choosing to take the Parks Commission in a new direction.”
Yesterday Karen Border, the executive director of the Bermuda National Trust, pointed out that planning applications on national parks could not be passed or rejected without input from the commission.
She said: “The National Parks Commission is a legally mandated body, so the failure to reappoint it, or to present legislation proposing a change, means the Government is acting outside the law.
“There are several government processes that require the input of the Parks Commission and cannot function properly without it.
“For example, any planning applications for developments in parks, and all park management plans, must be reviewed by the Parks Commission.
“Until such time as the Parks Commission is operational again or the law is changed, no new developments in public parks can be properly approved.”
Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, has come under more pressure to reject an appeal by developers to build a car park on coastal woodland.
The Development Applications Board turned down the application for the parking area and adjoining events lawn at Southlands Park in Warwick last month.
The Bermuda Housing Corporation appealed that decision on the basis that the project was essential to the success of the neighbouring Bermudiana Beach Resort.
Last week planning experts advised Mr Roban to reject the appeal.
And on Tuesday the Bermuda Audubon Society weighed in on the debate, giving a catalogue of reasons why the appeal should not be allowed.
In a letter to Mr Roban, Janice Hetzel the president of the society, said: “We fully support the decision of the DAB to refuse this application and have issues with both the proposed development and the process that is being followed.”
Ms Hetzel went on to explain that the area under threat from the bulldozers was coastal forest rich in high quality native and endemic vegetation, which provided a habitat for a number of birds and animals.
She said: “This unique and complicated ecosystem has taken at least ten to15 years to develop. It will not so easily be re-created in another location.”
She said that the forest provided a “natural visual buffer” to extensive developments going on in the area.
Ms Hetzel said that the application failed to provide an up-to-date conservation management plan, adding: “It is impossible to assess the full extent of the environmental impact of this proposal without a comprehensive and accurate survey of the existing vegetation.”
And she said that, under planning laws, no development at Southlands can be considered until a management plan for the park had been completed.
In her letter, Ms Hetzel referred to Section 14 of the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986, which states: “Until a management plan required under this Act is in effect for a protected area, management of the area shall be undertaken in such a manner to ensure protection of the natural or historic features that existed at the time of its declaration as a protected area and no change of use that may in the opinion of the Minister diminish the natural environment or historic features shall be allowed.”
Ms Hetzel also insisted that the plan could not be approved because it had not been put before the National Parks Commission, which was disbanded by Public Works Minister six months ago.
The society has used that argument to launch an appeal against a third development – the conversion of an old cottage at the Arboretum into a meeting area and horticultural centre.
Planners gave that proposal the go-ahead in April, but Ms Hetzel told The Royal Gazette that an appeal was filed by the society last week.
That view was backed by the Bermuda Audubon Society, which, like the National Trust, had representation on the commission.
A spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette: “We are still very concerned about the failure of the Minister to appoint a Parks Commission.”
In a letter to the Department of Planning this week objecting to a proposed concession stand on John Smith’s Bay, the society said: “The Bermuda Plan 2018 has very clear and specific policies regarding consultation of the National Parks Commission for development proposals within any of our national parks.
“Failure to consult the National Parks Commission on this application would be a violation of these policies.
“The Bermuda Plan 2018 unequivocally states that the consultation shall be with National Parks Commission. Consultation with the Department of Parks is not an acceptable substitute.
“This policy has been in place since the 2008 Bermuda Plan, and no changes were proposed in the recent review and tribunal. It has been in effect for almost 15 years and has ensured reasonable and appropriate development throughout the national park system.
“There is currently no National Parks Commission in place, due to the failure/refusal of the Minister of Public Works, also the applicant, to appoint one, contrary to his obligations under the Third Schedule to the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986.
“The board is not capable of approving the development in the absence of consultation from the NPC, notwithstanding that no NPC is currently in place.
“As a matter of good governance there is the legitimate expectation that applications … would not be approved without consultation from the NPC.
“Therefore, this application and all others within our National Parks should be denied or deferred until such time that the NPC has been appointed and its comments sought.
“The Department of Planning and the DAB have a duty to uphold the rules and policies of the Development and Planning Act 1974 and the current Bermuda Plan 2018.
“This would require that development applications in the National Parks be deferred or denied until the Parks Commission has been reconstituted.”
The Royal Gazette sent a number of questions to Col Burch through Government’s Department of Communications. No response was received by press time.
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