Activists worried over plan for NHDT homes in SS basin
(CNS): Local activist group Sustainable Cayman has raised concerns that plans to build affordable housing in the South Sound basin are being resurrected by the PPM as part of their policy platform. They said there is still no stormwater management plan in place and no indication that the revised National Development Plan will address the problem of the over-development of this wetlands area, which is causing the flooding.
The activists told CNS that building on this 24-acre wetland site near Randyke Gardens, which was given to the National Housing Development Trust as a way of addressing the current affordable housing crisis, will threaten hundreds more homes that are already subject to serious flooding.
On the Progressives’ campaign website, building on this plot on the list of actions to deal with the problem. However, without any plans to tackle the inevitable flooding, there are deep concerns that such a move could be catastrophic. The surrounding area is already subject to major development, and older properties in the community have already suffered some of the worst flooding in Grand Cayman, which is likely to get worse as more private sector projects receive planning permission.
An application has been made to re-zone this land from low density to high density. This was originally made by Yarlcay, a private developer who is also proposing an affordable homes project adjacent to the crown-owned land. The application for this increase in density was made by Yarlcay because the cost of filling the low-lying wetland would be prohibitive if the density is not increased, illustrating the problem with continuing to build in this area.
The Central Planning Authority chairperson has said on a number of occasions when addressing objections to the many development applications in this area in recent years that developers are not responsible for wider flooding caused by the accumulative development.
The CPA has taken the view that it is not responsible for stormwater issues and has continued to approve developments without due consideration of the overall impact, allowing a piecemeal approach to the drainage issue on individual projects.
In a recent report regarding the re-zoning application published last month, the Planning Appeals Tribunal came down three to two in favour of allowing the re-zone, despite the concerns raised on a number of occasions by the Department of Environment and the government’s failure to address the stormwater management issues.
In 2021, the PACT administration shelved the idea of using the plot for the NHDT and considered a suggestion by Sustainable Cayman for a conservation-recreation area and nature trial in an effort to protect the remaining mangrove habitat and the surrounding homes and reduce the problematic and regular flooding.
Nevertheless, although the current housing minister had not made an application for the re-zoning, as is usually required, representations for the re-zoning were made by the director of the Department of Planning and the chief officer in the planning ministry. The tribunal took this as government support for the re-zone, which is now likely to go ahead.
See the PAT report in full below:
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Category: development, Local News, Politics
Do Towner’s want to live on a bypass in flooded Randyke or in town by Eastern Avenue and a nice little swim and fish spot?
Quality of life, cost of living- it’s time to put the Caymanianian first people. PPM sold out for the developers- it says it in the party name!
UDP/UPM perfected the art of self serving politics , which is now a disease destroying Cayman.
Step up André and Dan to save us.
There is a dire need for affordable housing and its ironic the environmentalists dont give 2 sh*ts about the average Caymanians needing homes they can afford, there are so many condos built in that area. You have to balance the environment with the human element. I would love to hear the environmentalists propose housing solutions to go along with their cries for saving environment and post pics of their current homes now vs 50 years ago. Ah good for me to live here near everything but not anyone else.
Thank you for that perspective. Sustainable Cayman raises critical concerns about NHDT plans to build affordable housing in the South Sound basin. While the need for affordable, resilient housing is undeniable, the lack of a comprehensive stormwater management plan makes us vulnerable to flood events.
No stormwater management plan in place
Continued approval of developments in flood-prone areas without consideration of cumulative impact
Increasing flood risks due to over-development of wetlands
Commitment #7 of the “Blueprint for a Resilient and Thriving Future” calls for prioritizing affordable housing for Caymanians in a way that is sustainable and climate-conscious. We must urgently address this issue to ensure our future is resilient to floods and other climate challenges.
Affordable, resilient, and livable housing is essential for young Caymanians to build their future at home. But this must not come at the cost of our natural resources and the wellbeing of our communities.
The current situation:
We cannot continue to ignore the stormwater management crisis. Sustainable leadership means aligning housing policies with climate change objectives—ensuring homes are energy and water-efficient, connected to public transport, and integrated into green and blue infrastructure.
It’s time for a new approach. Let’s prioritize climate-resilient housing and ensure that future developments are truly sustainable, with proper stormwater management in place. https://sustainablecayman.org/cayman-blueprint
Any practical solutions to offer with the pithy statements? Or shall we continue to ignore the impact of the trade-offs inherent on top of that pedestal?
I fully suspect, because it is embedded in my own perspective (though I have the self-awareness to recognize it), that most members of Sustainable Cayman don’t worry on a daily basis about Affordable Cayman.
@2:45:
In regard to the balance between the environment and the human element, so-called “environmentalists” often lose sight of the fact that the Earth has many different types of “environments”. The built environment is the environment that comprises the human habitat. A balance achieves inter-environmental harmony. All too many tree huggers do not want to see any built environment.
My opinion of many of the mindlessly rabid environmentalists is summed up by George Carlin:
“Everybody’s going to save something now. “Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.” And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. Save the planet, we don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. I’m tired of this sh_t. I’m tired of f_ing Earth Day. I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is that there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a sh_t about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me.
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles … hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages. And we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn’t going anywhere. WE are!
We’re going away. Pack your sh_t, folks. We’re going away. And we won’t leave much of a trace, either. Maybe a little Styrofoam. The planet’ll be here and we’ll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet’ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas.
The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, ’cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed. And if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn’t share our prejudice toward plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn’t know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, ‘Why are we here?’ Plastic!”.
In regard to homes the less-advantaged can afford, one must bear in mind that the land and construction cost forms just one aspect of the housing picture. The cost of insurance and the ability of a prospective homeowner to obtain and afford insurance is not an insignificant component of the cost of home ownership. If developers continue to build in flood-prone zones and homes get flooded in a storm, the hit taken by insurance companies is passed on to all policy holders in the form of increased premiums. My house lot has not flooded in any of the storms from Hattie to the present. Yet we who built on high ground are penalised and subsidise the premiums and flood claims of those who build/buy homes in low-lying areas known to be prone to flooding. It is high time that the insurance companies here fully take into account the risk of flooding when they assess premiums. We who built in a prudent location should be assessed accordingly. Those who have a home in flood zones should also be assessed accordingly. If and when the total individual risk profile is used to calculate premiums, the “affordable” home in a flood zone will not be so affordable.
Building a huge amount of Affordable Homes and flooding the real estate market with (about 3,000 affordable homes accross all three of the Cayman Islands) that cost under $150,000
Would certainly from a Marco Economic stand piont appease the supply and demand of homes available on the market and bring the housing cost back down to a realistic affordable amount creating a balance and reaching and equalibrum
Its back to life of helping the average person realize and achieve ther dream of decent home ownership like we did in the 1980’s where in the early 1980s, 40% of new homes were “entry-level” homes
Comfortable and affordable housing is an essential part of any stable community
https://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2022/0922macewan.html
The “shortage of affordable housing” is not so much an overall shortage, but a shortage of low-cost housing and not a real estate market that is flooded with million dollar homes and condos
In the early 1980s, 40% of new homes were “entry-level” homes (i.e., homes of less than 1,400 square feet)
Who do you propose is going to invest the over a half billion dollars (at today’s cost) to build these 3000 homes solely for the purpose to bring down the value of real estate on all three islands?
How long will it take to recoup the investment by selling off all 3000? If over a year, the opportunity cost of the investment money becomes a significant factor.
Perhaps CIG needs to employ the services of a properly skilled wizard who can wave his/her magic wand and make these houses suddenly appear. That should bring things to an affordable level. Barring that, the money has to come from somewhere.
A more practical solution would be to set criteria for the max net worth and income that would make a person or couple eligible for a subsidy that would bring their first home cost down to an affordable level. There would be no need to invest in large-scale construction and no need to keep an inventory of unsold homes that eats into the bottom line. The current government affordable home initiative comes close to that scheme in that government subsidises the construction costs and land costs of the affordable homes it builds. My understanding is that many are committed to pre-qualified buyers before they are built. However, this scheme has done little to affect the wider market. If a family outgrows the quite small affordable homes, they are left to the mercy of the general market.
Thank goodness the sentiment in the community is that the PPM is finished!!
Vote them all out!!
Never underestimate the stupidity of the masses.
Especially the Jamaican masses in BTE/BTW/GTC/WBW.
These are the criminals responsible for the damage inflicted on Cayman, and it’s total loss of any sense of shame through corruption, abuse of power, crime, disregard for integrity, and total rejection anything that involves decency.
This is why I will never vote PPM again!
Our islands are invaded by greedy real estate individuals and companies who don’t give a fame about the environment, about us the people or our future just the clink clink of the Comissions. To top it off they are trying to change our Name.
To those of you and you know who you are who persist on referring to these islands as “Caymans” I say to you today cease and desist immediately. Be aware that we are aware of your game and will not cease to remind you of your error.
Have some respect will ya, for half or more of you could not survive in your own country and Cayman has been damn good to you.
Everyone’s scrambling to build a cheap house for locals now and say enough is enough. What were the last 16-24 yrs then? Just letting it build up to this s**t show we have now? You all need hang your heads in shame. You all sold out your own people to cheap workers flying in and couldn’t care less
If all the water is simply funneled to a catch basin on 21E151 there will be no issue at all.
oh yeah! its just that easy, just funnel ALL THE WATER… cools, great will it also be able to handle storm flooding? sea surge? no? that’s actually a completely unfeasible idea?
If you weren’t so absolutely dumb you’d know this is happening already.
The sad thing is that the private apartments that have recently been built in that area have been marketed as ‘affordable’ and ideal for first time buyers. Concrete blocks that look like a throwback to 70s USSR, but actually priced in the region of 500k for 2 bedroom apartments.
Also, don’t build in this area, it’s definitely gonna end badly.
Lmao so when it is affordable housing now we see these headlines but all of the development there, which was never for Caymanians by the way, saw nothing. A stormwater action plan is a necessity, I can agree but this is just hilarious to say the least.
If the PPM were really progressive they would have thought to add a line to their draft manifesto for an area drainage plan before building on this site.
Of course there is still plenty of time to do so since this is actually their webpage/plan from 2022. So a little hard to get too excited about an old manifesto item. – Hopefully their 2025 manifesto will have something about the environment, which is noticeable by its lack in their 2022 webpages. We shall see how progressive the PPM really is.
If they delivered a stormwater plan before a build more development plan it might bring me back over to the PPM!
Corruption’s preferred developer, is intent on bankrupting the territory. That is the vulture capitalist operational zone. The PPM seems to be a willing mechanism towards that outcome, as architects of billions in unstated balance sheet liabilities, and continuous failing OAG reports. A vote for them, is a vote for FFR deception and deepening financial ruin, where sole source backroom rescue deals with the worst possible actor await. The PPM owes Cayman $30+mln alone just from the final inning strikeout on ReGen. It’s up to voters to recognize and stop this. We should be suing the PPM.
Simple fact of the matter is there is no where close to town to build because of how much development there has been. What other alternative do they have?
Further out east is pointless as low cost housing is tailored for people who will mostly work in person physical jobs. WFH isnt an option and EE requires hours long commutes. If you work in fosters as a stacker you cant ask to WFH.
The NHDT own land in GEORGE TOWN. The PPM failed to deliver anything to help the misery of people in George Town except to force them out of town. Developers want Swamp and now Kenneth has replaced his bee with a bunny his people of GTC will be gone…forever.
Hate to have to be the one to break it to you but this parcel is in GEORGE TOWN.
There appears to be a legitimate public interest in publishing the beneficial ownership of Yarlcay. We’ll never guess who…
Not who you’d like it to be but do carry on.
who?
The NHDT receives hundreds of applications each year.
How does the NHDT expect to make any head way with only building less than 40 homes each year/ election cycle ?
I agree that a stormwater management plan is badly needed. However, where was the activists’ outrage against the many other developments like Enterprise City, Vela, Bahia, The Lakes, The Boulevard, etc.?
You mean the developments that predated the group, and the results of which (flooding) have resulted in the group’s current push to get a flood plan before any new buildings go in to the area? – Darn them for not existing before they existed!
I mean the developments of the “group”
Keyboard antagonist alert.
they were ignored by the CPA’s rubber stamp
well, funny enough there were objections to all those projects for various reasons, CPA just ignored them.
This political pariah called the ppm don’t care just so we can add more people to this population and they get more money in their pockets no different than the Savannah MP running on TCCP sustainable ticket with massive subdivision planned to rake in millions for then and their family same old hypocrisy do as I say not as I do ? Vote wisely Cayman
Especially as they now have Kenneth Juju Seymour on board, with a supporting cast of Mac Saunders and Jay , and we’re in a worse position than before.
A vote for any PPM candidate is another Supporter for Kenny’s Pier and anything else the country can’t afford.