MONTEGO BAY, St James — The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) on Wednesday defended its decision to not instruct developers to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before ground is broken for construction of the proposed Dreams Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, despite concerns by neighbours.

The new resort, which will be built in the Montego Freeport area as a sister property to Secrets Resorts, has been at the centre of much contention since early April as residents of the community have voiced concerns regarding the environmental harm and noise pollution they believe will result from the development.

Residents are also of the belief that the proposed resort will place additional strain on what they described as already struggling infrastructure.

The developers, Seawind Key Investments Limited, who had applied for an outline planning and environmental permit for the proposed development from NEPA on October 13, 2021, were met with scrutiny by the residents who also argued that the four-acre property is much too small to host guests at the proposed 11-storey, 281-room family resort.

However, speaking during a virtual meeting with residents of Freeport on Wednesday, NEPA Chief Executive Officer Peter Knight maintained that the State agency is “satisfied” that the developers, like many others, have met the environmental regulator’s standards and, as such, there is no need to conduct a new EIA.

“The fact is, the modality used to scan applications for other hotel developments presently undergoing expansions and upgrade is the exact modality applied when screening the application by Seawind Key Investments Limited,” Knight explained.

“And, like those other hotel expansions, we determined that an EIA was not required. So we have listened to your concerns, we have reassessed our processes to make sure that due consideration was given to the issues you have raised. We are satisfied with our handling of the applications and the decisions taken,” Knight said.

“We have updated the members of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) and the Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA) in detail of the consultations with you and the developers. Having examined all the issues, the authorities maintained their position to grant the environmental permit and outline planning approval to Seawind Key Investments Limited for the development of a new block of rooms on the property,” he added.

Pointing out that NEPA had initially intervened after it was made aware of the residents’ concerns, Knight stated that the developers were asked to meet and discuss the issues being raised as a way of finding common ground between both stakeholders.

This, too, met NEPA’s standards and went far beyond their line of work, Knight told the residents.

“We are satisfied that the entire process was transparent; it met the guidelines and provided the residents the opportunity to participate in the process and to hear of the plans for the preservation of the prescriptive rights and the arrangement and provisions to be maintained to their benefit,” said Knight.

“As a result of strong representation from you, the residents and stakeholders, we invited in Seawind Key Investments Limited and its consultants to discuss your concerns. Our decision to meet with the residents went outside what is normally required by the NRCA, TCPA, NEPA guidelines, but was done with the interest of transparency and good governance,” he added.

Acknowledging the safety and health concerns that were initially raised by the Freeport residents, Knight noted that NEPA has enlisted the help of other Government agencies to address some of them.

“We acted with purpose on most of the issues raised by you and you would have seen the letter directed to the National Water Commission (NWC) and the response. You would have seen the letter directed to the National Works Agency (NWA) and… the Freeport Police — all of which were shared with you,” the CEO told the residents.

“We think that improved traffic management, the institution and implementation of no parking along that corridor would help greatly with road traffic management in that area,” Knight noted.

Another concern regarding the proximity of the hotel’s proposed three-storey parking lot to the thoroughfare will also be addressed by the developers, Knight stated.

“By way of information and arising from the discussion with Seawind Key Investments Limited and on your representation, Seawind Key Investments Limited [has agreed] to make some adjustments,” he said.

This adjustment will see Seawind Key Investments Limited increasing the development’s setback distance from three metres, which is the minimum required by NEPA, to nine metres from the road.

When asked if the environmental agency is at all concerned that the Freeport area may soon reach its carrying capacity, Knight maintained that NEPA does not believe that the mixed-use community “has reached a point that we should refuse applications”.