IC agrees to settlement for
land reclaimed illegally
PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council voted unanimously on Monday in favour of a settlement agreement between the island territory and Albo N.V. for land reclaimed illegally in Great Salt Pond in the Zagersgut area.
Although the National Alliance (NA) political faction members posed several critical questions on the matter, they voted in favour of the settlement.
Albo N.V. had taken Government to court to obtain the right of long-lease on a piece of land it had filled in almost 20 years ago and the judge proposed that parties settle the matter out of court.
Albo N.V. is a company established in St. Maarten in 1975 and the Executive Council of that time committed itself to grant Albo N.V. the right to fill 1,700 square metres of Great Salt Pond for its industrial activities.
Public Works Commissioner Theo Heyliger, who made his first appearance in a public meeting after an absence of two months due to illness, said the company had requested again in 1990 the Minister of Finance’s permission to fill in more of Great Salt Pond and the Executive Council had stated in a letter to the company dated September 1991 that it was willing to look into the request as soon as the Central Government transferred ownership of Great Salt Pond to the island territory.
The matter dragged on for more than 18 years, during which Albo N.V. reclaimed approximately 4,500 square metres of land on which it constructed warehouses that are still in use. However, Albo N.V. still had no right of long-lease for the property and took the case to court.
“This is an ongoing situation. In March, the judge asked parties involved to arrive at an acceptable solution,” Heyliger said.
In addition, the land reclaimed is now needed by Government to execute its plans to construct a ring road as part of the Link III road plans and for constructing larger floodgates.
Heyliger said the settlement entailed that Albo N.V. would remain with 2,500 square metres of land for which it would pay NAf. 4 per square metre. Government also assured the company that, even after the construction of the ring road and floodgates, enough space would be left open for trucks to access the area where the warehouses are situated.
Although they voted in favour of the settlement, the NA political faction members were worried that government would set a dangerous precedent. “Everyone who has filled in Great Salt Pond will now think that they can fill in a larger part without permission, based on the premise that what is good for Albo N.V. is good for me too,” William Marlin said.
Frans Richardson expressed his concern about the many companies that already had exceeded the boundaries of the land they had been allowed to reclaim. The problems the filling-in has caused for drainage was also highlighted by the NA council members.
Rodolphe Samuel pointed out that illegal filling-in was still taking place in the area behind the Zoo and in Simpson Bay Lagoon, and that in Sucker Garden area viaducts built by government in the past for water runoff had been blocked due to illegal filling of Great Salt Pond.
Samuel and George Pantophlet stressed that both the filling and the construction of the warehouses by Albo N.V. had been illegal and wondered whether the Public Works Department had ever approached the company on the matter.
The latter urged the Executive Council to put zoning plans in place. He referred to the cloudburst of several years ago when severe flooding was experienced in several areas. He warned that if the filling of Great Salt Pond continued taking place in an uncontrolled manner, the consequences would be much more severe the next time.
Heyliger explained to the councilmen that not only companies, but several homeowners were guilty of illegal filling of guts and other waterways and that the Public Works Department was working on a comprehensive approach to solving the problem. He added that a zoning plan for Great Salt Pond was being worked on, but had not been finalised yet.
