Dart accused of eco-destruction by landowners
(CNS): Harris McCoy, one of several landowners in dispute with Kenneth Dart over the bike trails he is cutting in North Side that are encroaching on their land, has said Dart’s workers are destroying trees and endangered plants on his property, including rare endemic orchids.
Speaking via Zoom as an objector at a Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing on Friday, the North Sider told the panel that he is doing his best to save upwards of 50 orchids and other plants and trees on his own land, as Cayman’s wealthiest investor and developer has strayed far from his own property.
Arboretum Services, one of Dart’s network of companies that holds land in North Side, applied for planning permission last year for a helipad on property he owns in the Hutland area of North Side so he could use his helicopter to access the area to engage in recreational extreme mountain biking.
The Central Planning Authority (CPA) declined the application in April, largely on the grounds of nuisance because, while remote, the proposed development is in an area of agricultural-residential zoned land.
Most of the surrounding landowners, including McCoy and the former MP for the district, Ezzard Miller, objected to the project, as they are keen to preserve their land, which is some of Grand Cayman’s most pristine natural habitat, providing a home to many of its endangered flora.
Dart’s helipad application has been viewed with suspicion by the landowners, who believe that it is part of what will become a much larger commercial venture that will have far wider implications than just the noise disruption, or the potential accident issues arising in such an inaccessible location.
The landowners believe the encroachment by the teams employed by Arboretum and the trails being cut on Dart’s property and well beyond are indicative of a much bigger project, since the people doing the work have said openly they are clearing trails for a future eco-resort.
The signposts and gates that have been erected and the magnitude of the trail clearing, including the removal of large trees and rocks, all seem to support a potential resort development, the landowners have said.
McCoy said there has been considerable damage to his land as a result of this trail clearing but he has yet to be compensated in any way. He is now battling to save the flora, including the rare orchids, as he is trying to conserve his land in its natural state.
Miller appeared at the tribunal in person as a landowner in his own right and on behalf of several of the other residents who all have family connections with the land. He made it clear that he had not appeared at the previous hearing before the CPA as a politician.
He accused Dart of “disrespecting the landowners”, trespassing and trying to manipulate them into giving up sections of their own land to Dart to enable him to expand the trails. He told the tribunal that Dart has placed ‘no trespassing’ signs, even gates, on other people’s land.
Several of the landowners have also said that, where required, they have offered Dart use of their access roads to his land and the helicopter is by no means the only way he could access it. Miller confirmed to the tribunal that Dart has been provided with access from both Further Road and Hutland Road.
Dart’s legal team, headed by Waide DaCosta, has argued that the decision of the CPA to refuse the helipad was unreasonable and illogical, given the precedent for helipads and how far this one would be from any residential area.
DaCosta also challenged the idea that Dart even needed planning permission for the helipad because it is lawful to land a helicopter on your own private raw land. He said the only reason why the issue has arisen as a planning matter is that Dart wants to install a plastic pad over the land as well as a windsock and fire-extinguishing gear.
DaCosta said he believed that his client’s application had been politicised.
While the tribunal is confined to deciding whether or not the CPA was wrong in law to refuse the helipad application alone, the wider project is raising public concerns. The project is linked to a controversial potential agreement with the National Trust for the Cayman Islands that would have allowed Dart to cut bike trails on land it also owns in the area.
While there are already walking trails on Trust land open to all, this deal would have seen Dart widen these trials and require all of them to be closed to the public whenever Dart or any of his guests were using them in exchange for a monthly fee.
This raised concerns among the ordinary members, who pressed for a meeting via a petition. That meeting was held last Thursday, when the Trust chairman confirmed that the deal had been withdrawn.
Dart does not require permission to cut trails by hand on his own private land provided that no heavy equipment is being used. But it is understood that there are several people working to clear the trails which landowners in the area report are considerable and far more than one would expect for one man riding a mountain bike across his property.
Miller told CNS that he believes the island’s largest landowner was using his weight to trample other landowners’ rights. He said whenever the landowners have raised their concerns about his encroachment and the destruction of their property, he has either ignored the requests or disputed land boundaries.
In the cases where the landowners have proved the trespass, they have been offered ridiculously low prices for their land.
“This is a national disgrace where persons who have tremendous wealth can simply do as they feel,” he said. “The government agencies are useless and have sold our Caymanian birthright for eight pieces of silver and a mess of pottage… He is illegally constructing lockable gates on the traditional public six-foot paths that were established by the Cadastral Survey in the 1970s.”
Miller said claims by the Dart companies that they have a letter from the Registrar of Lands stating the public footpaths are private and that they can lock them off has never materialized.
“I have been given assurance from the chief officer in charge that no such letter was written by the Registrar of Lands but yet the relevant authorities simply sit idle and let them continue to erect lockable gates across these public footpaths,” he said, as he urged those in authority to act.
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Category: development, Land Habitat, Local News, Science & Nature
I find a lot of what Ezzard and Harris are saying difficult to believe. They have seemingly offered no evidence of damage or encroachment on their properties by the Dart trail creators. And since when has Ezzard given a damn about native orchards, native trees or anything else to do with nature? I suggest these reports are greatly exaggerated.
Yes it is true the Dart trails have signs on their gates saying No Trespassing. And so what? What’s the big deal? And yes they have gates that are “lockable” … but are not in fact locked. Again, so what? No one has a right to walk about on others’ private property. The signs are perfectly reasonable.
Ezzard’s just making a big fuss over nuttin cos he can’t bear anything to happen in NS that’s not under his control. And he’s probably also wound up by the fact that Jay’s getting some things done in this district, and people appreciate it. Land has been cleared, for example, for badly needed low-cost housing. Roads are being fixed, we have a new parking area for cars and trailers by Old Man Bay dock.
Why not ask them as it appears you know how to find them …. it was not a forum for them “to provide evidence” but sure you knew that already …
When and how will the damn dump be fixed? Where will all the new waste go from the extra 20000 residents and growing? Probably going to be in North Side as well!!
The Cayman Islands needs to make use of corporate ANTI-TRUST actions. We have to power to do everything legally and manage persons and corporate entities; just no one is stepping up to it.
Charitable donations, foundations and support of local charities should be a gift without an exchange for the populations sole. That’s all I have to say about that.
It would be interesting to hear Jerome’s thoughts on application standards for this helipad, having survived his retaliatory hell seeking a minimal loading pad in George Town. We can only guess Susan Olde doesn’t own property in Hutland.
On helicopter nuisance: PACT must update and amend CIAA flight operation rules and Regulations in regards to Airport Authority Law (2005 Rev), ASSI and OTARs to moderate rotary/helicopter traffic nuisances and adjust minimum safe operational flight altitudes in the Cayman Islands. That especially includes the police helicopter, when not involved in an active pursuit. The Falkland Islands has an operational exemption; BVI and Monserrat have special Governors instructions, where we do not. Therefore there should be minimum altitudes observed for both civilian and non-civilian rotary aircraft when flying over populated urban residential / Hotel tourism areas, outside of active pursuits. Anywhere else, in the civilised world, the minimum altitude for this sort of traffic is 1000 ft above the highest obstacle, with a horizontal radius of 2000 feet. Over water, a minimum of 500 feet to allow a margin of safety for autorotation, and emergency landing path selection. One would have to imagine that our state-of-the-air composite helicopters, each equipped with wondrous expensive technological suites, can manage an even higher “stealth” altitude operationally…or what was the point? We should never have police or civilian helicopters rattling menacingly over residential areas, well under 1000 feet, for long periods of time, as has been routine. Even more pressing that we are on the cusp of a next generation of affordable electric taxi drones, which hold the potential to increase recreational nuisance dramatically, without a unifying framework to address it. We shouldn’t be waiting for an accident to highlight this recklessness, and those wearing uniforms shouldn’t conduct themselves as though there were an implicit variance to their station, that doesn’t exist in reality. There’s already too much of that on the ground.
Its very telling how an articles like tis gets little to no comments but the article where Chris Saunders is pushing for employment of Caymanians is filled with over a hundred (mostly vitriolic) comments.
Its Dart’s Land, they are his tracks/road… he is not using mechanical machines, so he can do what he wants. What’s the fuss?
Welcome to Dartania, a playground for the world’s rich and famous. Comprised of three islands, in the beautiful Caribbean Sea, Dartania is chock full of activities to do! Go mountain biking on the scenic Mount Kenneth located right next to the capital Camana Bay. Pick some of the rarest and endangered flowers in the world for your loved ones. Go hunting on our annual cull of local pests (or catch a Caymanian to keep as a pet). Have brunch over turtle nesting sites and enjoy the cool, soft ocean breeze while your pets play and frolic on the beaches up to the high water mark.
If you make at least $100k per annum or your family makes $150k, you are eligible for our golden ticket pass! Enjoy a two year vacation here at Dartania with full access to our 7 theme parks: East End, West Bay, Bodden Town, George Town, North Side, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
At Dartania, fall in love again. At Dartania, all your dreams come true!
Amazing that no one asks the Kirkconnell family why they sold Royal Palms to Dart? Why didn’t they invest in the property? Build a hotel, new bar or restaurant? Invest in the long term future of Cayman? Employ Caymanians? No, instead they just cashed Dart’s check for $50 million and walked off into the sunset.
After Captain Charles Kirkconnell’s passing, his family are good people but not of the same business calibre as Captain Charles.
Cashing out was probably the best option for his children. Not a stab at them. Just straight honest facts.
Shhhh! We can’t talk about Caymanians selling out Caymanians. It’s too sensitive. We prefer to point at the forriners and blame them for our woes.
Dartistan would be a better description given the arrogant disregard for others in their march over Cayman.
I love how some of you now don’t want development in Northside? Sounds like one of our major industries that brings revenue to our economically hit country is a win-win? You don’t want a private helicopter to land on private property but a police one is okay? You don’t want tourism to come to Hutland but growing crime is going up? I give up, good luck. Maybe we can grow weed instead that would be better?
What development are you fantasising about? This is a belligerent rich guy ordering his minions to seize and annex both public and private land for his expanding labyrinth of occasional recreational bike trails. Also seeking to privately regulate access to exploit National Trust nature preserves for a monthly hush payment. Erecting gates and locking them. These are plain vanilla trespass and misconduct issues, and who he is shouldn’t insulate him from sanctions. Sanctions that should pierce the corporate veils to the common underlying UBOs, and add an extra scrutiny asterisk that should carry forward to every corporate land application they file from now on. A smackdown is long overdue.
Wow. Very well said.
1.47am It’s North Side.
Don’t let the facts ruin a good story… they are private easements!
DART, “is illegally constructing lockable gates on the traditional public six-foot paths that were established by the Cadastral Survey in the 1970s”
Miller, “accused Dart of “disrespecting the landowners”, trespassing and trying to manipulate them into giving up sections of their own land to Dart to enable him to expand the trails. He told the tribunal that Dart has placed ‘no trespassing’ signs, even gates, on other people’s land.”
McCoy, “said there has been considerable damage to his land as a result of this trail clearing but he has yet to be compensated in any way. He is now battling to save the flora, including the rare orchids, as he is trying to conserve his land in its natural state.”
Prove any of the above allegations. Didn’t think so..
They are not public right of ways….
Me thinks Mr Miller doth protest too much. What about all those North Side land owners who slash and burn their land to plant cassava?
http://archive.caymannewsservice.com/2014/06/20/miller-attacks-national-trust/
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”
Martin Luther King Jr..
These friends?
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/06/four-mlas-vote-no-to-land-conservation/
How’d it work out for him in the end?
Thankfully DART’s investment benefits to our economy and to his corporate growth, far outweigh the needling and complaining that spews his way from some sections of the population .
Thank you DART for your continued trust in the Cayman Island and the thousands of jobs and countless education and mentoring opportunities your companies offer. I for one am personally thrilled that you chose Cayman. Surely not without fault and in some cases, self serving but overall, DART Corporation has blessed us tremendously. Again, thank you!
And thank you DART, thank you for the illusion you’ve created to which I choose to be stupefy myself with, and thank you for showing me that ignorance can be a blessed virtue, and thank you for your examples of token gestures in that I may duplicate them to get what I want, and thank you Dart for demonstrating greed can be presented as co-existing in a sustainable future, and thank you Dart, thank you for facading sincere consideration for our environment, thank you Dart, I don’t really know who you are but I love you and everything about you very much, 🖕🏽U very much
Yes, Thank you Dart! Disregard the doers-of-nothing and givers-of-nothing whose only contributions are the bile resulting from selfishly stuffing their own faces.
He must love this place with naïve people like you kicking around. You’re grateful for the crumb while he takes the loaf.
Charitable donations, foundations and support of local charities should be a gift without an exchange for the populations sole. That’s all I have to say about that.
He’s a nuisance, he’s a pest, he’s the fly who thinks he’s entitled to the leafy green salad you’re trying to enjoy on the terrace, – and WTF was all that helicopter activity a few days ago for about an hour from approx 6:30am at CBay ? 🤬🚁🪰
Tell us about these fellows now.
“McLean and Miller have for many years voiced their suspicions of the conservation law.”
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/06/four-mlas-vote-no-to-land-conservation/
5:47 fustilarian, – It looks like you’ve tagged comments three times with this link but have you even read it ? The story is completely different to that of what’s being relayed in this article and doesn’t relate at all to the context of what you’re attempting to troll, goodnight 👹
What a despicable little man Dart is. I wonder why anyone ever thought he would behave any differently here than he did in any of the other countries he pillaged. Arriving with his 20 bodyguards with guns and a hummer sitting in the parking lot and the other 10 bodyguards sat and stood inside blocking all the exits and entrances whilst he ate dinner. If you work for him it must feel like you’ve sold your soul to the devil.
But the pay and benefits are really good!
Sell your soul, not me thanks.
But that aren’t compared to anywhere else on island. It’s an illusion. Don’t sell yourself.
Historians of the future will have a hard time figuring out how so many organized groups of strident jackasses succeeded in leading us around by the nose and morally intimidating the majority into silence.
At this point I’m willing to give him the rest of cayman an throw in little cayman if he will pay add more roads to ease the traffic from the east. Two hours to work in the morning 2 home if you lucky there are no accidents. Road rage constantly which is expected. Or how about we privatize the public transportation system and make him run it in exchange ? And throw in a twice weekly ferry to the sister islands
Could never be this Ezzard Miller though….
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/06/four-mlas-vote-no-to-land-conservation/
Typical Ezzard. Everything changes when self interest involved.
Disgusting.
Wonder what McCoy and Miller would be saying if Dart had agreed to pay for a 30ft road into their land?
THIRTY Foot. Now why would these two desperate to preserve land in its ‘natural state’ need a 30′ road?
Shhh. They don’t want people to know what it is they are really pissed about.
You mean this champion of the environment?
https://www.eracayman.com/2017/07/03/road-plans-spark-controversy-in-northside-bodden-town/
Or a different Ezzard Miller?
The NTDP National Development Tourism Plan and the Go East Initiative calls for or indicate future development of upto 14,800 Hotel Rooms, 5,000 Apartments, Cottages, Botique Hotels and Mixed use Developments with offices in North Side, East End and Cayman Brac
Keep in mind that most people have forgotten that the Sammy’s Airport Inn, the Hyatt, Seaview Hotel, Victoria House, Indies Suites and other hotels closed after Ivan and we’ve lost hotel rooms in our hotel room stock along with hundreds of permanent Tourism Jobs
People are in traffic bumper to bumper from 5:00 am in the morning to reach work by 8:30
75% of our land mass in East End, North Side and Cayman Brac are undeveloped
Our East West Arterial Road was held for years by incomplete paper work that the government has now indicated they will process to ease traffic congestion
http://cayman.loopnews.com/content/paperwork-delaying-completion-east-west-arterial-road
Hundreds, if not thousands of Caymanians are out of work and actively serking gainful employment.
So if Dart want’s to build an eco-hotel on his property in North Side, then let him build it, we need employment opportunities and foriegn income to come into our island
If people want something to complain about, then press our government to put Enforcement proceedures in place with Worc to insist that Caymanians are hired in the positions when they become available
STAY the EFF AWAY!! Y’all done destroyed town and West Bay. We do NOT want that up here.
go east was a good idea but it is dead. Health city is building their new cancer hospital at camana bay what a joke
There are a bunch of serious issues here that you failed to grasp, and none of them involved employment opportunities at a sad inland bike hotel:
1. He’s instructed his underlings at Arboretum Services to scout, trespass, and seize public and private undeveloped lands they know aren’t theirs.
2. They’ve already gated public access roads that also aren’t theirs, and locked public out.
3. DART also sought a corrupt arrangement with the National Trust where he and his idiot cronies propose to close nature reserves so that they can haul ass privately on bikes through pristine low-traffic nature preserves, whenever they feel like it. Which could be all the time, for all we know.
DART further assumes these galling violations are “fait accompli” with all agencies.
Let’s see what Planning does. Cayman is ridiculous with kow towing to Dart
I bet the majority of you all bashing Mr. Dart would change your tune if he made you a generous offer for property you may own. Perhaps you’re more jealous than anything else.
I’ve remained ambivalent about Kenneth Dart’s presence in Cayman for the past 25-30 years – there have been clear benefits – employment (yes, many Caymanians), some development (eg. Camana Bay, CIS) and some negatives (tunnels, eg.). As far as I know, it’s never been revealed that he stole any land in the Cayman Islands and as a Caymanian now, he has the right to buy any piece from whomever chooses to sell it – clearly he’s taken A LOT of those opportunities. So, whether we’re constantly critical of Dart or not, when you see that company leave Cayman it won’t look pretty here.
However, as far as protecting the environment, as per the alleged destruction of endemic woodlands in North Side, please let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are speaking about a branch of the same corporation which had rights to de-forest (destroy) hundreds of thousands of hectares of the Brazilian rain forests in the 1970s and undertook a similar arrangement in the Belize rain forests in the 1980s – all to provide pulp for Dart Container products!
I doubt that Kenneth Dart is of a personal culture that has conservation close to the top of any list when he’s considering his purchases or developments.
I cannot think of anything Darthas done…. unless it was for Dart.
Are you joking??? Dart only does things for himself! Not me, not you, not anyone else!
If gating and locking public roads isn’t stealing, then I don’t know what is. Ask the owners of these northside properties how they feel to have someone else cutting trails through their land! See also: beach access removals, promised public beach camp ground that is now Indigo hotel, Sunrise learning centre re-neg, rugby pitch re-neg, an illegal sea wall and gazebo on seven mile beach, and related private property signage.
Dart is probably repairing and clearing the old donkey trails on land where other owners have failed to maintain them?
I totally agree 3:57. I like your post, i wish i knew who you are.Until we are not afraid to sign our name things will remain same old same old.
Michel 21 @ 9:20pm – I respect your comment about posting my name and applaud you for doing so, but I have my reasons.
BTW you do know me.
Thank you for your response and i understand fully.I want to thank you for your intelligent post. God Bless.
Yeh he killed out the white crabs
yawn….dart is damned if he do and damned if he don’t.
the guy should do a willy wonka and close up shop on cayman….
cayman economy would be on its knees in 3 months.
Further to my other comment, perhaps the reason Dart wants to buy the dump is so there is an actual mountain for his extreme mountain biking.
Cool man, you can have smoke coming off your mountain bike.
Said it on the other article, will say it again. This quote in the context of Cayman has to be one of the funniest things i have heard:
“so he could use his helicopter to access the area to engage in recreational extreme mountain biking.”
In simple language.
He wants to fly in his chopper from Camana Bay to his land in Nortside, get out with his bike and ride his trails, get back on the helicopter and fly home.
Inconvenience and noise nuisance which could be avoided by accessing his land by vehicle, not a consideration.
Metinks there’s more future plans afoot than a man , his helicopter and his bike.
I agree. To me, this article mainly highlights the stupidity in needing to travel by helicopter anywhere in Cayman! For gods sake it’s only 20 odd miles. Get in your car, put a cushion on the seat if you can’t see over the steering wheel and drive up there.
Absolutely NO NEED for a helipad, for him, for the Governor or for the Queen.
True helipad not needed
More anti-Dart rhetoric, why is this news? If he is on your land sue him, if not leave him alone. Caymanians sold their soul and had no issue cashing Dart’s checks for land and all sorts of businesses, is that regret I hear?
True that. I’m sure they’d be quick to forgive and forget about the orchids if he opened up his cheque book and made them offer like all the other precious Caymanians that complain then sell out at the first opportunity.
I guess you missed the part about how Arboretum “Services” are erecting gates and locking them, on public access roads – and yes, there are calls for the CIG to take action on this, which many of us in the public would support. CIG should review past regime shirked contracts and promises, and either see that they are honored or expropriate them back to the crown. CIG can auction forfeited properties to other bidders. Pretending the CIG has no recourse against this bad actor is a losers game.
Cool story, except it’s entirely fictional.
How is this a surprise given the source of funds ; styrofoam! Not the most eco friendly product around.
and that is your takeaway from this?
My takeaway is in the Styrofoam
The original wealth was from styrofoam, however with his share he has invested in everything (Russia/Brazil/Argentina/distressed debt/pharmaceuticals/cayman land (& numerous other places)/cayman companies.
Close the styrofoam down & he’s still a multi billionaire
For sure, a Billionaire, until a 20th Century cleaning bill is assigned to these chemical industry heirs by a scapegoating future populist regime. Don’t think that’s not going to happen when the ice sheets melt. Why do you think DART, DuPont and other legacy 20th Century chemical and petroleum families are land-banking millions of undeveloped wilderness acres via hundreds of nominee corporate names? Is there any legitimate reason to be doing that, so methodically, other than squirrelling-away these ill-gotten proceeds and obscuring the trail? Welcome to Cayman.
Forgive me for not giving a damn. Sell your soul to the devil and this is what you get. Caymanian’s greed has caused this.
True. He was buying up land in the 90’s & no one cared as they were getting the dollars. Then McBeater gave him status…
In case you missed it NOTHING prevents foreigners from buying and owning property in Cayman
Dart the man didn’t need status.
Hundreds of foreigners buy property every year.
So why did you give a damn in dragging your raggedy roots to Cayman
???
Vote PPM back in…they will pass laws that he can put trail through our houses….lol
The python is about to strike again and once more the victims will be the hard pressed local people…where will this bullying end?
Dart constricts and squeezes so slowly many haven’t noticed. We need to listen to those with firsthand accounts, believe them when they warn us that we are supper!
Well said.
Well said.
Dart’s been eco-destroying since he step foot in these islands.
Yep; they call it “sustainable growth” nowadays…..
Same with the “Kaboo” site.
Pretend it’s for an Internationally significant event just to get permits to clear and fill, load it with services and infrastructure well beyond the needs of a “Music event” which then gets cancelled.
So now we have a site ready for his Planned Area Development.
Why lie and mislead, why pretend the foundations for a future hotel is for a pedestrian crosswalk..?
Ezzard is right, the Dart organization cannot be trusted.
I still love the idea that he’s going to build a hotel on top of that tunnel (that blocks the entirety of his property). Like he’s reeeeaalllly going to want a hotel peering across the top of his property. Hahahaa
Still can’t believe you folk fell for that. All because planning wouldn’t let him build an 8ft wall… He showed you!! He waited and waited until everyone forgot that part.
Once a upon a time, I dreamed of a 50 storey hotel upon a tunnel.
So easy to get Planning Law changed, to create volumetric parcels for example, but impossible to drag it and the develpoment plan into the 21C nor fully implement Conservation Law. NCC and DOE are left to fight rearguard actions.
Unfortunately Ezzard cannot be trusted on environmental matters. He never gave a damn about the environment when he could influence things.
Show me one thing Ezzard did after all those years for the Caymanian environment?
Hard for me to feel sorry for him.
Well before that, single-use plastics.
If Caymanians could find the Time and a Miracle to do something for them selves, they would not even know their
was some body name DART, on this Island!
Well said.