It loomed large on the front pages, the airwaves and in public and private debate: “SDO” seemed to be on everyone’s lips.March saw the Special Development Order for Rosewood Tucker’s Point debated again and again, before the controversial proposal touted as vital to save the Castle Harbour Resort from ruin finally won approval, albeit in amended form.At first, the SDO called for 78 homes and 70 hotel rooms to go up on 240 acres of Tucker’s Point. It was endorsed by the House of Assembly after the debate ran into the early hours of March 1.Although the SDO was supported by many Government MPs, the history behind the land at Paynter’s Hill and Quarry Hill had many wrestling with their consciences.Lifting zoning restrictions on the land would allow for the development of land from which mainly black families were evicted by force 90 years earlier.And a war of words continued between conservationists, opposed to the development of virgin woodlands, and SDO advocates keen to draw tourist dollars to an Island hard-hit by a deepening economic recession.The SDO enjoyed firm Government support, with Environment Minister Walter Roban calling the development vital for Bermuda’s future.Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Shawn Crockwell spoke out in favour of it. But it faced vehement resistance from United Bermuda Party MPs.For environmental and historical reasons, the SDO was also opposed by the Bermuda Audubon Society, Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), Bermuda National Trust, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda, Greenrock, Tucker’s Town Historical Society.Thousands of Bermudians toured the land on March 6, many of them seeing the disputed areas for the first time.Vantage points were posted along the route, with displays showing walkers how the wooded corner of Hamilton Parish could be altered if the SDO were given the go-ahead.As the Senate vote drew near, supporters such as former Premier Sir John Swan urged Bermudians to back the project. Tucker’s Point was said to face insolvency without it.A strident public campaign, meanwhile, petitioned senators to turn it down, and demonstrators prepared to gather on the grounds of Cabinet.On March 18, it was the Senate’s turn to contend with the SDO, while banner-waving campaigners stood outside and Front Street motorists honked in support of opponents. A defeat of the measure seemed possible.But the Upper House, deadlocked after hours of debate, called off the proceedings, and Premier Paula Cox pledged a “rethink” to take into account the objections raised by Independent and UBP Senators.A scaled back version of the SDO made it through the Senate on March 25.On March 28, the House approved the revised version of the SDO, with 18 PLP votes in favour. Six in the UBP voted against, and one in the BDA.The amended SDO still drew controversy with the removal of extra hotel rooms from the order. Opponents charged that with the Quarry Hill development discarded, new work at the resort amounted to little more than a property development, not a tourist development.