The Building Committee of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will not be approving applications to rebuild homes destroyed by hurricane Ivan in Caribbean Terrace, Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie said on Tuesday.

Now the residents say they need to know what alternative the KSAC is proposing.

McKenzie told the monthly council meeting that 15 structures along the sea coast in the vicinity of Caribbean Terrace, including the Harbour View drive-in cinema, were destroyed by sea surges resulting from the hurricane.

“Only one building passed the test. So what it is saying is that a lot of the buildings were constructed without meeting the required specification and as a council we cannot say to those people it is okay, you can clean out and apply to us,” said the mayor.

“We just couldn’t consider those applications and it is important that councillors understand this.”

People’s National Party councillor Linton Walters (Water House Division) urged the council to deal with the matter urgently as the lives of the citizens were being disrupted.

The mayor has set up a task force that will have specific responsibilities to oversee Caribbean Terrace, Bull Bay, East Rural St Andrew and the Jacks Hill/Hope Pasture belt.

“But let me be specific about Caribbean Terrace. As a responsible local authority we could never at this moment even reconsider an application for the renovation of any of those homes because what happened in Caribbean Terrace is not something that is normal,” McKenzie said.

However John Bullock, the Deputy chairman of the Caribbean Terrace Action Committee, raised the question as to what the citizens who lost their homes would do, while waiting for the KSAC to come to a decision.

“Where will they live?” he asked.

He said that the citizens wanted to know what plans the relevant authorities who will approve rebuilding have in place.

“They need to quickly say under what conditions rebuilding will be allowed,” he said.

Bullock said that the lobby group was seeking advice on how an artificial offshore barrier reef could be established to reduce the force of the sea in future hurricanes.

A citizens action committee has done a social impact survey to determine who lives where, the ages of each household, what damage households suffered, the extent of the damage, who needed counselling, and who needed personal effects, like clothing.