Essential work on the controversial Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club on Guana Cay has come to a stop.
However, the developers indicated that marketing and planning for the $500 million resort development in the Abacos continue.
This latest development comes as the Court of Appeal allowed the Save Guana Cay association to move ahead with their legal challenge to the project based on environmental concerns.
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dame Joan Sawyer, ruled yesterday that the association’s application for an injunction to prevent Discovery Land Development from moving ahead with the project be remitted to the Supreme Court and heard before January 31, 2006.
Save Guana Cay has been lobbying against Discovery Land Development, which proposes to construct the Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club.
The association’s attorney Fred Smith described yesterday’s “victory” as the first step by the judiciary in letting the residents have their day in court.
On May 26, Justice Stephen Isaacs dismissed the association’s injunction.
The Justice said during his ruling that the Save Guana Cay Association had no standing before the court because it was neither a landowner nor a resident with any interest directly affected by the development.
Justice Isaacs dismissed the injunction and the entire judicial review action.
Mr. Smith told reporters yesterday outside of the court that he intends to fight this matter all the way to the Privy Council in order to protect the rights of the people.
“The environment in Guana Cay will be protected until such time when the case is heard. The court sent a clear message that it is interested in due process and suggests that government will not be allowed to ignore the laws of the land,” Mr. Smith said.
Explaining what yesterday’s ruling meant for the association, Mr. Smith said that the ruling was fair for the Guana Cay residents.
“The court of appeal allowed the appeal of the Save Guana Cay and also reversed Justice Issacs’ judgment, which dismissed the judicial review action of Save Guana Cay. Justice Sawyer ordered that the judicial review application be heard on its merit by January 31 next year by a different judge,” Mr. Smith explained.
“The Justice also instead of giving an injunction to restrain the development agreed to accept the undertaking set out in the letter from the developer’s attorney Michael Barnett to myself, in which the five items were listed which restricted the developers from doing any further degradation to the land.”
Pending the determination of the ruling by the Supreme Court, the developers have agreed to not cut, tear down or remove any vegetation or trees; they will not disturb or remove any mangrove or wetlands; the developers will not erect any further building or structures on the land and the developers will also cease constructing or paving of roads.
Livingston Marshall, senior vice-president environmental and community affairs, said that the undertaking demonstrates the commitment of Baker’s Bay to the judicial process and to the environment.
“We remain confident that the project will proceed to a successful and timely completion. The Baker’s Bay project has always complied with the laws of The Bahamas and in particular all works carried out by the project to date have been in complete compliance with the laws of The Bahamas,” Mr. Marshall told The Bahama Journal.
Despite the stop of essential work, which developers have promised will not resume until the end of the Supreme Court trial, Mr. Marshall said work at Baker’s Bay will continue.
“There is no injunction and the project has not been stopped. We have voluntarily undertaken some items that we will not do between now and when the case is heard such that we provide an added measure of protection for the environment while we resolve a number of questions. We will still continue in other areas with the exception of the five items listed,” Mr. Marshall said.
He predicted that the court proceeding and lobbying by the association would delay the company by maybe three or four weeks.
Mr. Marshall added that in order to resolve the environment related issues it is prudent of the developers to accept the small delay in order to hear the merit of the case.
Nevertheless Mr. Smith said that the upshot to this ruling meant that the matter is going back to the Supreme Court for trial, and in the mean time the development has been stopped.
“Obviously the people of Save Guana Cay are extremely happy with their victory in the Court of Appeal today. They have been vindicated and they were very discouraged because they felt as if they were not given an opportunity to be heard in the Supreme Court to express their grievances,” Mr. Smith said
The Save Guana Cay Reef advocates have lobbied for months to prevent the construction of the project, which includes oceanfront units, hillside units, internal golf lots, beach club cottages, mangrove beach bungalows, marina bungalows, village units and several boathouses.
The residents are vehemently opposed to the project, which they feel could impact the surrounding marine life.
District Councilor for Guana Cay, Glenn Laing, who was in court for yesterday’s ruling, described yesterday’s ruling as a “proud moment” for the residents.
“This is a great day for residents of Great Guana Cay. We have being fighting this development for a long time so I am quite happy that the ruling was in our favor,” the district councilor said.
He explained that the residents are not against foreign development but against a project of this magnitude.
“We just want appropriate developments, we don’t want to stop any developments. What disturbed the residents is that they bypassed the local government and just made decisions on our behalf, which made us feel like guinea pigs,” Mr. Laing said.
The district councilor claimed that numerous letters were written to the prime minister and to the Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard Gibson requesting to speak to the residents about the project, however he said that they refused.
“If they had come to the people and ask us what we wanted the outcome may have been different. But they disrespected the residents by signing off on this mega project. A development of this size is crazy and unheard of,” Mr. Laing said.
The Baker’s Bay development currently employs 151 Bahamians at the Guana Cay property.
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
