The Story within the Story…Our zoning and environmental laws needs fixing, pronto!

Jan 29, 2017 News

---

By Leonard Gildarie

Most of the young folks I know have one important goal…that of owning their homes.

Guyana is a country blessed with lots of land and while the coastal areas are fast becoming impossible of acquiring a piece, it is the thinking that more land will be opened up further inland.
In the meantime, Government is seriously thinking of erecting apartment buildings, duplexes and condos to meet some of the demands. There are reportedly more than 20,000 applications on file at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
I have written time and again about the satisfaction of owning a home and of the pitfalls when constructing. Many are left with a bitter taste because of the loose arrangements and sloth of the courts in dealing with these matters. Many homeowners don’t even bother and prefer to cut their losses after a bitter experience with their contractors.
Today, we are examining another major problem that has affected many a homeowner.
I am speaking of course of the breaking of by-laws and environmental issues that envelope our neighbourhoods.
I don’t yet have figures, but from experience and the many complaints, something is wrong.
It does not make sense that citizens are forced to apply to the NDCs and municipalities for permission to build, but simple things like zoning, garbage and noise pollution are not taken into account. Why are these entities collecting fees and taking a long time to process if they have no intention or don’t have the capacity to monitor and enforce?
What we have in Guyana, with arguably a lesser extent in the city, is a very loose arrangement of persons being forced to apply for permission because it is the established procedure.
I have built my home and have overseen the construction of homes for family without a single visit from any NDC or environmental officer to ensure we were toeing the line.
We have seen many cases of property owners clashing with councilors over construction.
Almost two years ago, the coalition government entered office and immediately made it clear of its intention to overhaul the housing sector.
It was emphasised that the existing direction of allotting house lots had created undue hardships on new homeowners, as simple infrastructural works like drains and roads were not even in place in many of the new schemes. This contributed to poor living conditions.
With regards to zoning, this was an area that the Ministry of Communities and CH&PA signaled their intentions to pay close attention to.

ZONING
Zoning is very simple. You can’t have a sawmill plumb in the middle of an residential area. This goes for a host of other industrial operations. There should be designated areas for commercial operations and for industrial ones in the schemes.
Yet we know of many situations where constructions on reserves and the operations of bars continue to torment the peace of citizens.
Take for example a particular situation on the East Coast of Demerara.
A large multi-national company has constructed a massive structure in front of an upscale housing area.
One homeowner who has been badly affected has been engaging the company and has been appealing to the different government agencies, and even the President, on the noise situation.
According to the homeowner, he has retired and looked forward to earning a little money from rentals.
However, he is faced with a major problem. In addition to the newly constructed building now blocking his breeze from the Atlantic Ocean, there is a large generator and several condensers for the air condition system that have been installed.
With his and the tenants’ bedrooms nearby (just a few feet away), the negative impacts from the noise levels were also immediate. It affected the sleep of the homeowner and his family, with his tenants moving out.
According to documents, the company met with the residents and it was agreed that some remedial works will be done, including a sound-cushioning room built around the generator and condensers. The quality of materials used to build the rooms was immediately called into question.
The homeowner still insists that noise levels are too much for his peace. The Environmental Protection Agency has reportedly become involved.
I am told that the company is claiming that it complied with the requirements and has taken steps to reduce the noise levels and therefore does not have to do anything else.
However, there are some burning questions. Were any consultations done with the NDCs or EPA before permission was granted to even construct? Were the residents told? Where was it publicized? Was it at the NDC? Who determines what level of noise emanating from a commercial operation is tolerable?

PLEASE CONSULT
I am raising these questions as there are claims that very little consultations were done with residents before the construction.
Let me make it clear that our country badly needs investments. However, we should take steps not to repeat the mistakes of the past, where we allowed a free-for-all with little monitoring to how these entities operate.
Our laws are sacred and must be adhered to. If it is the case that the laws need tweaking, then we have to take steps. It is almost two years now. We cannot talk about organized communities if we fail to monitor and enforce our by-laws and other regulations.
We cannot allow our citizens to become second class, so that they believe that the only way for justice is to approach a media house. The mechanisms for complaints must work. Justice must be seen to be done.
I saw a letter this past week of a bar in Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, which has been angering residents because of its noise levels and lewd music. It is reportedly operated by a police officer, with the smell of narcotics being normal. An intolerable situation.
At Mon Repos, in the middle of a housing area, one businessman has been conducting woodworking operations. Residents are complaining about the incessant noise levels.
According to government officials, they have been swamped by complaints from citizens over illegal construction and noise levels.
Complainants have been targeted for daring to raise voices against some powerful businessmen. The NDCs, especially, have been doing little to start taking the situation in hand.
Even a well-known bakery on the East Coast Demerara has not escaped the wrath of residents, who have to put up with vehicles passing to and from, in front of their homes, and the noise and other inconveniences.
The hassle caused by traffic situations around the private schools has also raised its head as a major issue for authorities. These are the little things that we need to pay attention to if we are to regularize the thousands of issues that have been affecting the pace of our development over the years.

---

---