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This type of indiscipline and greed cannot be tolerated. How can you add an extra floor when the reason why you were limited to three floors is because you are under a flight path?
Who will pay when an aircraft is in trouble and smashes in the buidling? I have heard of stories where pilots had to use up far more of the runway than they had intended because of unmanifested cargo on board. In other words there was so much ganja on board they the aircraft had to use of almost most of the runway to get airborne and struggled to gain height after liftoff.
Stop-order on RIU hotel?
MoBay mayor confirms breach of building permit
Thursday, April 24, 2008
MONTEGO Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair has ordered an investigation into possible breaches of a building permit that could result in a stop-order on construction of the Spanish-owned RIU Hotel in Montego Bay, St James.
Sinclair, who personally visited the construction site at Mahoe Bay east of the tourist resort city, said he could confirm that a breach of the building permit had taken place, because the hotel was putting up four floors instead of three, as approved on June 29, 2007.
The RIU Montego Bay Hotel under construction, showing four floors instead of the three approved by the St James Parish Council. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)
"I, of course, have to await the recommendations of the building inspector before ordering a halt to construction of the hotel," Sinclair told the Observer this week.
"But I have visited the site and spoken with the project manager and made it clear that there would have to be full compliance with the building permit. I reinforced the fact that these stipulations in the permit were put there for very good reasons and we expect everyone to abide by them," said Sinclair, who was not yet mayor when the permit was signed last year.
According to the building permit approved by the St James Parish Council and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA): "This permission is granted for the construction of a resort development consisting of six (6) three-storey room blocks, with other facilities that include a series of smaller buildings..."
The permit stipulated the hotel should be no higher than three floors for safety reasons, because the building is in the flight path of aircraft landing or taking off from the Sangster International Airport in the immediate vicinity, both the mayor and NEPA confirmed.
Neither Sinclair nor NEPA head, Dr Leary Myers, had seen any requests for variations to the plan by RIU. In any event, prior to construction, environmentalists, community groups and civil aviation representatives had protested against plans to build at a greater height. The plans were subsequently shelved.
Sinclair also confirmed that there were other breaches of the building permit for RIU Montego, which he said he had raised with RIU project manager, Carl Duhaney, who admitted that construction activities had been taking place outside the specified hours and days.
"He admitted that work had been starting at 7:00 am and sometimes went beyond 6:00 pm, although he said that those activities had been mostly internal and were not noisy."
The building permit said: "Construction work time shall be confined to the hours of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekdays and on Saturdays. No construction work is permitted on Sundays and on public holidays."
An Observer news team which visited the site last Sunday reported that construction work was under way and loud sounds of hammering could be heard from outside the zinc wall around the building.
Who will pay when an aircraft is in trouble and smashes in the buidling? I have heard of stories where pilots had to use up far more of the runway than they had intended because of unmanifested cargo on board. In other words there was so much ganja on board they the aircraft had to use of almost most of the runway to get airborne and struggled to gain height after liftoff.
Stop-order on RIU hotel?
MoBay mayor confirms breach of building permit
Thursday, April 24, 2008
MONTEGO Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair has ordered an investigation into possible breaches of a building permit that could result in a stop-order on construction of the Spanish-owned RIU Hotel in Montego Bay, St James.
Sinclair, who personally visited the construction site at Mahoe Bay east of the tourist resort city, said he could confirm that a breach of the building permit had taken place, because the hotel was putting up four floors instead of three, as approved on June 29, 2007.
The RIU Montego Bay Hotel under construction, showing four floors instead of the three approved by the St James Parish Council. (Photo: Bryan Cummings) "I, of course, have to await the recommendations of the building inspector before ordering a halt to construction of the hotel," Sinclair told the Observer this week.
"But I have visited the site and spoken with the project manager and made it clear that there would have to be full compliance with the building permit. I reinforced the fact that these stipulations in the permit were put there for very good reasons and we expect everyone to abide by them," said Sinclair, who was not yet mayor when the permit was signed last year.
According to the building permit approved by the St James Parish Council and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA): "This permission is granted for the construction of a resort development consisting of six (6) three-storey room blocks, with other facilities that include a series of smaller buildings..."
The permit stipulated the hotel should be no higher than three floors for safety reasons, because the building is in the flight path of aircraft landing or taking off from the Sangster International Airport in the immediate vicinity, both the mayor and NEPA confirmed.
Neither Sinclair nor NEPA head, Dr Leary Myers, had seen any requests for variations to the plan by RIU. In any event, prior to construction, environmentalists, community groups and civil aviation representatives had protested against plans to build at a greater height. The plans were subsequently shelved.
Sinclair also confirmed that there were other breaches of the building permit for RIU Montego, which he said he had raised with RIU project manager, Carl Duhaney, who admitted that construction activities had been taking place outside the specified hours and days.
"He admitted that work had been starting at 7:00 am and sometimes went beyond 6:00 pm, although he said that those activities had been mostly internal and were not noisy."
The building permit said: "Construction work time shall be confined to the hours of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekdays and on Saturdays. No construction work is permitted on Sundays and on public holidays."
An Observer news team which visited the site last Sunday reported that construction work was under way and loud sounds of hammering could be heard from outside the zinc wall around the building.
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