Will Briland Follow Bimini Into Oblivion?

by Larry Smith

Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If that’s so, then trying to replicate failed "anchor projects" throughout our islands would seem to make us certifiably insane.

And the craziest project of them all would have to be Bimini Bay - a hugely inappropriate development on a tiny island of less than 2,000 people. At least one senior government minister has already admitted that agreeing to Miami developer Gerado Capo's plans for Bimini in the late 1990s was a crazy "mistake".

So crazy, in fact, that Fabien Cousteau, grandson of famed ocean explorer Jaques Cousteau, has joined the chorus of voices calling for a halt to this development. Fabien, 40, visited Bimini last month to produce a short video for the Ocean Futures Society headed by his father, Jean Michel Cousteau. The Cousteaus are frequent visitors to the Bahamas.

"I was saddened by what I saw on Bimini," he told Tough Call recently. "The scar left by this unsustainable development will take generations to heal. The long-term cultural and economic livelihood of the people of Bimini is being traded for the short-term gain of a single developer. This is unacceptable."

The development's progenitor was the American-owned 100-room Bimini Bay Rod and Gun Club, which opened with its own casino and power plant in 1921 and closed four years later for lack of business before being swept away by hurricanes. In his History of Bimini, author Ashley Saunders described the club as "ahead of its time."

Bimini went on to become a celebrated game fishing destination popularised by well-known writers and industrialists like Ernest Hemingway, Van Campen Heilner, Zane Grey, George Lyons, Michael Lerner and Adam Clayton Powell. They each carved out a place in Bimini's modern folklore, and Tough Call's grandfather rubbed shoulders with some of them when he was commissioner there in the 1940s.

Over the years the derelict Bimini Bay property accreted (through several owners) into a 700-acre estate - incorporating about two thirds of North Bimini, where the settlements of Alice Town and Baley Town are located, and parts of East Bimini, which is a mangrove wetland surrounding a lagoon. Grandiose plans to build a mega-resort on this property in the 1980s foundered - but not until much dredging and land clearing had taken place.

In 1997 Bimini Bay was acquired by Miami developer Garardo Capo, who launched a new mega-development. The government signed off on a high-rise hotel, a 10,000-square-foot casino, hundreds of marina slips, thousands of residential units, a golf course and a commercial centre. The original plans called for building homes and dredging an 85-foot wide channel entirely around Bimini's mangrove-fringed lagoon - essentially killing the only marine nursery in the region.

The following year, in response to criticism from environmentalists, the agreement was scaled back to under 2000 rental units. The hotel was limited to only seven stories and efforts were made to downsize the casino. The scale-back also stopped the ring channel dredging at the head of the lagoon, and called for a specialised "links" golf course, to reduce fresh water demand.

In 2004 the agreement was revisited by the Christie administration - which had been highly critical of Bimini Bay while in opposition. Capo was given a five-year extension to complete the first phase, which included a 250-room hotel (now reduced to four stories), condos, villas and marinas. The 10,000-square-foot casino was now given an option to expand, and the total number of units increased to 2,130, some of which would be built on a 42-acre island reclaimed from the lagoon.

In 2006, the agreement was revisited yet again. The number of residential units dropped to 1887 while the number of marina slips increased - there are now 232. Although the former Ingraham administration had supposedly vetoed development on uninhabited East Bimini, the current master plan calls for residential and commercial areas, as well as a golf course, encircling the entire lagoon.

The developers then agreed to set aside 153 acres on East Bimini in return for additional reclaimed land in the lagoon, and as mitigation for clearing the mangroves. But the precise size of the resort continues to fluctuate. According to General Manager Patrick Perichon, current plans are for 2500 units, and up to 10,000 guests could be at the resort at any one time. They are walled off from the local community and must wear special wrist bands to gain access.

In fact, it is still unclear just how Bimini Bay will eventually turn out. Capo's proposals for the island at one time or another have included an airstrip, a heliport, a theme park, a bridge to South Bimini, and a cruise terminal jutting into the gulf stream that would have involved dynamiting the reef.
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The golf course and its associated facilities will occupy much of the northern mangrove wetland on East Bimini. But on its web site, the resort says it is "engaging in a habitat creation and restoration programme that will maintain the surrounding mangrove wetlands healthy and teeming with life."

Dr Sammy Gruber, a well-known University of Miami marine biologist who has worked on Bimini for years, is adamantly opposed to the development, along with many of his colleagues. Yet the resort's web site claims it is "working hard to help preserve the natural wonders of Bimini for generations to come, together with marine biologists and governmental organizations."

Fabien Cousteau was attracted to Bimini by Cindy Slater, a Floridian who has been visiting the island since childhood. She is devastated by what is happening there, and set up the Save Bimini Association to fight back: "You can tell the people who live at Bimini Bay," she says, "as opposed to those who come to enjoy the real Bimini - they wear high heels instead of flip flops. The resort should stop where it is now - there is no need for a golf course to fill in the mangroves."

Bahamian environmental expert Neil Sealey agrees. "The people of Bimini are now trapped behind a wall while most of their island has been taken over by a developer who wants to knock golf balls around. The North Sound and the entire mangrove area to the east are clearly deserving of some sort of protected status - it's an oasis in a vast expanse of water."

Cousteau and Slater were in Nassau last week to meet with a variety of politicos, enviromentalists and media folks. Slater said no one they spoke to could understand why the Bimini Bay development is allowed to continue in its present format: "Even Capo could turn this around and have a resort that draws on a marine park. Bimini's resources for ecotourism are huge."

According to Bahamas National Trust deputy president Pericles Maillis, Bimini Bay is one of a handful of development "anomalies" in the Bahamas, and the government has had the grace to admit it was a mistake. He noted that the project was on the upcoming BNT council meeting's agenda, and there are expectations that some sort of "green line" will be drawn to stop further development.

"I can tell you that there is a joint initiative right now between the BNT and the government to look at the agreements and the extent of compliance and to see how we can ameliorate the situation. But," he warned, "in a democracy, things that are done are not often undone."

Some say the future of Bimini is in the hands of those who live there. Environmentalists can point out what's wrong, but it's the local folk who must force the politicos to act. As one Biminite said in Cousteau's video, Paradise in Peril, "Bimini is the fishing capital of the Bahamas. If you gonna come to Bimini to play golf, then you going away from what Bimini is all about."

Briland Bustup
Bimini is a disaster - we can only hope to cut our losses and salvage what we can. But Harbour Island is a disaster about to happen. Still celebrated by travel pros, rampant overdevelopment has put it on a knife's edge - one slip and this little community will cut its own throat.

The Briland image that most web sites paint is of "a tiny, Victorian-style village of narrow streets, bougainvillea-draped archways, and friendly people. There's pastel cottages, sensuous palms, a turquoise bay studded by yachts and working boats, and of course, that gorgeous three-mile beach."

And that same pink sand beach is a prized money-maker for the little inns and villas that dot the dune. Harbour Island is now among the most popular destinations in the Bahamas (after Nassau, Freeport and Marsh Harbour) - and in per capita terms it is THE Bahamian destination.

But lately, the scattering of boutique resorts with familiar names - like Romora Bay, Coral Sands, Dunmore Beach and Pink Sands - has given way to a flood of ad hoc and largely unregulated developments and expansions. This has led to overcrowding, congestion, environmental problems, social friction and racial animosity.

In short, unless we take stock, Harbour Island - an early capital of the Bahamas - will soon be able to match what Capo has achieved on Bimini - the bloody death of the goose that lays the golden egg. And we will all suffer as a result.

Restaurant owner Julie Lightbourne put it this way: "At the rate we are going, Brilanders will be completely disenfranchised and outnumbered by white foreigners. Change may be good, but we'd like to see some upgrading of the infrastructure first. At the very least there should be a moratorium on building until this is done."

She was referring to the island's chronic power outages and water shortages, as well as to the thoughtless expansion of condo hotels and marinas that threaten to overwhelm historic Dunmore Town. The two projects that have generated the most heat lately are the proposed redevelopment of Romora Bay on the harbour side, and the pending development of Runaway Hill on the ocean side.

The 22-room Romora Bay Club is now owned by Miami developer Darryl Parmenter. In 2005 he unveiled plans for a mega yacht marina covering four acres of the harbour as well as 40 new condos in several buildings. This oversized development sparked the formation of a public interest group called the Save Harbour Island Association, which claims over a hundred members, but word on the street is that the development has been given a green light.

Meanwhile, the 11-room Runaway Hill Inn was acquired in 2004 by retired Canadian hockey star Mark Messier. The government's terms for the sale were that the nine-acre property would be operated only as a boutique hotel. But in December, Messier applied for an innocuous "extension", which has turned out to include a convention centre, commercial centre, spa, 50 new rental units, and 80 parking spaces, as well as a second bar and restaurant right on top of the dune.

According to the Save Harbour Island Association, this proposal is "well beyond anyone’s definition of a small boutique hotel" and the community has had no chance to consider and respond to the plans in a public hearing. In addition, the proposal "exceeds the limits for the hotel district in the master plan for Harbour Island...that is nearing completion by the Ministry of Works."

The Runaway Hill application is the latest in a series of proposals and approvals that are putting Briland’s infrastructure and economy at risk. These developments will add some 245 new residential units and 90 boat slips to a community of less than 500 Bahamian households and 220 winter resident homes.

"Since most of the slips and condos are, or will be, owned/leased by non-Bahamians, the government has authorized enough foreign development to reduce Bahamians to minority status on their own island," the Association said. "increasing the strain on the island’s infrastructure by about 50 per cent without having made any provision to accommodate it.

"The long-term model of small boutique hotels and a committed winter resident community has worked well for more than 50 years, and has placed Harbour Island in an enviable position. Unlike other Family Island communities, Harbour Island does not need more major development."

Meanwhile, residents are protesting Messier's plan to build a bar and grill on the dune - something that the island's planning committee is considering this week: "He already has a bar and restaurant only 50 feet away, at approximately the same distance from the beach as most of the other restaurants," said one opponent. "Nowhere else in the world would people contemplate building on the dune or ripping out acres of greenspace on a small congested island. This is not environmental stewardship, this is a flouting of common sense."

It remains to be seen whether local government officials will opt to prove their sanity by rejecting unnecessary development and commercialization. The alternative will be to lose the island's heritage and way of life through the same mistakes that have been made in Bimini.

Comments

[dropped jaw]

um.... WHO THE F*** "APPROVES" THIS SHIT?

[dropped jaw]

Also, Pareto Principle!

20% of the people have 80% of the money, own 80% of the land, and cause 80% of the problems.

[Erik]

It's amazing how Neil Sealey can say one thing about Bimini Bay, and the opposite about Guana.

He said, ""The people of Bimini are now trapped behind a wall while most of their island has been taken over by a developer who wants to knock golf balls around. The North Sound and the entire mangrove area to the east are clearly deserving of some sort of protected status..."

[Amy Core]

Once upon a time Hog Island was really a paradise...Atlantis is a combination of Las Vegas and Disneyland and a blot on the sky and sea. Ir would be sad to see more development on Out Islands spoiling them for the natives and long time residents.

[will]

Hubert, Brent, Shivargo, Read the writing on the wall! Your leading us into oblivion, the Bahamas needs a revolution!
when are these fools going to wake up? This goes through and we're finished, locals dont have a chance! Things are going to keep getting nastier if they dont do sometthing they already ruined nassau why the hell do they want to replicate their shameful mess all round this country...each out island should vote for independence before those clowns f*** it up any more.

[larry smith]

Well unfortunately, Amy, there has to be development on the islands - but it doesn't have to spoil things too much.

We can't remain at a standstill economically or there WILL be a revolution.

We just need to do things the right way whenever possible.

[Will]

I respect your intelligence greatly Mr. smith but please don't patronize me. I am from Harbour Island and this 'progress' or 'development' is the greatest deception ever cooked up in the history of the Bahamas...it has brought us a perceived modernity, (that is in fact a pathetic replication of American materialism) at the expense of everything meaningful... of course we cant remain at a standstill but if you call, murder, domestic violence and aids rates among the highest in in the world, social disintegration, environmental devastation,and the formation of a growing underclass...progress? we're in trouble...and while im sure you dont...you must see that this 'economic development' just isn't quite all its pepped up to be...the social costs have been too great... we don't know who we are anymore!!! And being one of the richest nations in the hemisphere has done little for our health, education and social wellbeing...nor has it reduced our vulnerability to climate change global economic shocks, food shortages..the true ends and purposes of development. 'spoil things too much?' ' right wherever possible?' eh? Hell no! I don't accept the status quo... 'you and your family might just have to be priced off your island cause 'its progress' Your Kids just have to go without clean water cause 'they need it for their swimming pools and thats development!' No more fish in the sea! 'too bad thats the modern Bahamas..things change accept it.'... Well I don't buy it!!! And if those hogs in government were running this country for the Bahamian people rather than these condo pirates,golf gangsters and their own fat pockets, things would be different, thats why there are countries with half our GDP where people are healthy, educated, safe and happy. By the way my name is Will not Amy, and I wrote the comment to which you responded Amy wrote the one above. Please note the anger of this message is not directed at you but rather at the thinking that states there is only one model, one way of doing things or that this miserable state of affairs was somehow inevitable.

[larry smith]

My comment was clearly directed at Amy, but I am glad that it elicited a more thoughtful response from you.

[Will]

apologies...my bad. The word 'revolution' led me to think otherwise, sorry for such a tirade anyway..here is something that might be of interest to you...it should in my view be daily compulsory reading for every MP in this country. It is youth manifesto done at a UNESCO conference in Nassau.

RESOLUTIONS FROM 'YOUTH FOCUS BAHAMAS 2004' HELD AT SUPER CLUB BREEZES, January 28-29

Recalling the United Nations Agenda 21 adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992, which established a framework for sustainable development among the world's nations

Taking into account the Programme of Action for Small Island Developing States adopted at the Barbados Summit meeting in 1994

Noting the National Assessment report for The Bahamas prepared in 2004 for the review of the Small Island Developing States Programme of Action

Noting that we, the young people of The Bahamas, met for 'Youth Focus Bahamas' to establish our own vision for the future.

We, the youth of The Bahamas,

Call upon the government to provide a Ministry of Youth that will focus solely on our needs

Recognising that culture and lifestyle identify us as Bahamians and keep us unified, and that people on each island of The Bahamas practice and display different kinds of lifestyles

Taking into account that our culture is gradually being lost, especially among young people, due to the strong influence of foreign media continually accessed using new technology

Emphasising that we need to preserve our culture to help us to be self-sufficient and less dependent on others

We, the youth of The Bahamas,

Call upon the Government to formulate a plan that will institute an Annual Heritage Festival that will rotate through each island, to promote Bahamian cultural aspects of storytelling, Rake n' Scrape, native dancing, bush medicine, use of natural resources for crafts and Junkanoo

Recommend Bahamian texts be more fully utilised in schools to enhance knowledge of Bahamian folklore, promote native dance and arts and crafts

Request special mandatory programmes for troubled teens that will involve parents, students, and guidance counsellors. Programmes are to focus on prevention and intervention, with emphasis on social and health problems including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and childhood prostitution

Encourage enforcement of existing legislation pertaining to persons who are found to be pregnant under the age of 16 and investigate all situations so that offenders may be formally charged and prosecuted.

Establish properly equipped island clinics, ambulatory services, fire engines and emergency medical air services.

Provide technical and vocational subjects for students with learning disabilities in each island.

Contribute to sustainable development by upgrading and enhancing recreational parks, promoting agricultural programmes and encouraging aquaculture

Recognising that the Government of The Bahamas needs to plan for our future needs and those of our children

Taking into account that our economic and social structure, as it is, needs to be changed, and solutions sought

Emphasising that The Bahamas is a developing nation with a stable economy heavily dependent upon tourism and offshore banking

We, the youth of The Bahamas

Call upon the government and all Bahamians to promote and diversify our secondary industries such as farming, fishing, aquaculture, to assist in better economic stability and self-sufficiency

Recommend that farming, fishing and aquaculture be incorporated into the school curriculum from primary to tertiary level, especially in the Family Islands

Promote and encourage intra-island trading to reduce import expenditure and allow domestic producers to profit

Highlight the importance of purchasing Bahamian-made goods by educating our wholesalers, hotel managers, tourists and all Bahamians

Support the creation of local franchises, products and business opportunities via the internet

Call upon the government to increase work and leisure opportunities on the Family Islands to avert the 'brain drain' crisis

Request the establishment of nature parks, tours and trails on the Family Islands to promote further job creation

Ask for venues and opportunities to showcase the talent of Bahamian youth

Request our government to lower the teacher - student ratio

Recognising The Bahamas has valuable natural resources including oceans, coastal environments, pinelands and incredible bio-diversity

Taking into account that many changes have taken place in our environment since Agenda 21 was adopted in 1992

Emphasising our important human resources

We, the youth of The Bahamas,

Call upon the government to initiate and embrace an eco-tourism plan and policy for residents and visitors so as to encourage them to adopt environmentally friendly practices.

Promote and implement an environmental education plan that instils environmental principles as an integral way of life in all age groups from the very young to the very old

Request, as a matter of priority, an assessment of The Bahamian environment be conducted in order to determine areas for preservation and conservation of natural habitats for marine and terrestrial flora and fauna

Emphasise that existing laws be fully enforced, through an objective environmental court system that ensures the right of the community to a clean, safe, aesthetically-pleasing environment

Secure the health of our nation, by ensuring the safe and environmentally-friendly disposal of solid and liquid waste, thereby instilling within every member of society the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle

Affirming the rights and needs of Bahamians, we the youth implore our leaders to secure our option to purchase land, including beachfront property, at affordable prices, and to secure our access to coastal areas for posterity.

Recognising the importance of the built environment, we urge our government to identify buildings of historical significance for preservation; and understanding the problems of vagrancy and illicit activities encouraged by derelict properties, we urge the adoption of criteria to establish a plan of demolition.

We, the youth of The Bahamas, are convinced that we are catalysts of change and we invite your participation to assist with the execution of these resolutions

[larry smith]

Right on - to use a term from my youth.

[Bob Knaus]

And I move that the youth of The Bahamas be taught the "Seven Plus Or Minus Two" rule :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Number_Seven,_Plus_or_Minus_Two

[la]

National Geographic Traveler magazine's fourth annual destination survey had this to say:

"The Bahamas Out Islands vary a great deal. For every island that has local involvement and ecologically conscious development, there is another dominated by outside investment, where exploitation of the natural environment is the rule."

"Some of the most beautiful islands in the world but are being threatened by big development, second homes, and a loss of everything Bahamian. Still there are some special places like Andros, San Salvador, and Inagua."

"The allure of Eleuthera and its little sister Harbor Island has been discovered big time—chickens crossing the road mix with celebrity sightings."

"Aesthetically pleasant for those who only care about a beach and a BBQ. Rather appalling in terms of diffusing wealth or educating tourists about the Bahamas."

"The biggest threat lies with selective development by European-style resorts that come in and exceed the labor supply of the islands, resulting in the importation of off-island labor and the accompanying change in social character."

[captain carl starling]

all bahamians must for the sake of our heratige force the govt to reduce development in all the out islands both the developers and bahamian govt officals are only concerned with linning thier pockets .not the general weal of the bahamian people.greed greed greed
m

[marcela]

i just visited bimini bay, and i must say, Capo built a city on a tiny island quite nicely. guess what environmentalists: the tourism there allows for the locals to work, and earn a living on a island that offers little work. also, the resort is pristine, so go outside the bimini bay wall and really see where the garbabe is being dumped.. on the streets and ocean. bimini bay respects the environment and provides jobs for very poor natives.