DEVELOPERS’ plans and their environmental permits are, by right, accessible to potential property buyers, says planning authority NEPA, which urged real estate investors to demand the information in order to assess future exposure.

Last year’s volatile storm season has exposed the level of risk that some Jamaican neighbourhoods face.

Some have lost their dream homes to floods, others were forced to leave communities where they lived for decades.

Buyers of property can request from developers a copy of permits and approvals issued by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), and checking for discrepancies.

“Under the planning law they can do that,” said Ethelyn Douglas, planning director at the Portland Parish Council.

Added NEPA technical officer Anthony McKenzie: “There is the opportunity for people to call and find out if the development has been given environmental planning approval.”

Persons can also walk into their local parish council office, said Douglas, and be guided through the assessments for any specific development by building officers.

When issuing an environmental permit, NEPA considers the purpose for which the land was zoned, and planning conditions such as lot size, traffic, housing density and drainage, said NEPA technical officer Michelle Grant.

Any development over 10 lots, she says, requires an environmental permit.

If the development is near a gully or river, houses must be built at an allotted setback or space from the waterway, as well as from roads and from each other.

“It’s hard to give specifics because every location is different,” Grant said.

Property buyers who are interested in wholesome communities with recreational space, but also want to know the risk of water damage from flooding, should be aware that there is a standard allotment for green areas – that is, patches of land that are left with grass, trees and shrubs in developed or built areas.

“Forty lots to one acre of green space – that’s the standard allotment,” said Grant.

“Built areas increase the rate of run-off from storm water so green areas would absorb some of that water and have a good effect on drainage,” said the NEPA officer.

Andreas Haiduk, water resources engineer at the Water Resource Authority, says the agency’s assessment of a proposed development site includes a technical note which points out concerns about the water abstraction – the taking water from the ground – points out flood vulnerability, and recommends the type of sewerage system suitable for the area.

“Sewage treatment depends on the risk to ground water,” said Haiduk. The shallower the water table, the more complicated the sewerage system should be to avoid contamination of ground water, which may later be piped to residents.

The WRA may recommend, said Haiduk, that a hydro-geological study be done, but the agency itself does not make engineering assessments.

Some of the more vulnerable communities to flooding in recent years have cropped up in Portland, St Mary, St Elizabeth, St Ann and Trelawny.

St Mary planners acknowledge that they face a peculiar problem.

Settlements in the capital Port Maria, as well as Annotto Bay, have been built too close to the coast, says Earl Dawkins, the superintendent of roads and works at the St Mary Parish Council.

Dawkins said he inherited most of the developments, where drainage is poor.

“The tide carries in water and sand because the towns and the sea are on the same level,” said the superintendent.

“There is virtually nothing they (residents) can do.”

Communities like Gibraltar have better drainage, he said, because they are higher than sea level.

In St Catherine, another housing scheme is facing flooding problems.

Developer Ernal Richards, who has been accused of creating another Kennedy Grove at his new development in Ewarton, St Catherine, defended his position, showing the Sunday Observer his approvals from NEPA.

He also discussed how he plans to deal with the areas’ flooding vulnerability, admitting that it has a history of flooding.

“We are using the natural drain to take the water away and into a river,” said Richards, motioning to the valley-shaped depression located in the centre of the proposed development.

He will also add green space and a drain on the property border to siphon water from the road.

Richards claimed that much of past flooding is linked to run-off from the road which has been allowed to flow over the property.

editorial@jamaicaobserver.com

Agencies to Consult

National Planning and Environment Agency

Water Resources Authority

Kingston and St Andrew Corporation

Other local parish councils

(12 islandwide)

Office of Disaster Preparedness

& Emergency Management