KSAMC officer, architect spar over secrecy claim
Published:Monday | June 28, 2021 | 12:08 AMNadine Wilson-Harris/Staff Reporter
Architect and senior lecturer Dr Patricia Green has questioned what she considers the secrecy surrounding the plans for several developments that are being erected across the country, often without the prior knowledge of residents.
Green, who lectures in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of Technology (UTech), said she has heard complaints from residents who lament the challenges in getting access to review plans when they make requests at municipal corporations or at the National Environment and Planning Agency.
“What is happening in communities is [that] approval is being granted and the neighbours do not know what has been approved. They know when something is approved because they see the zinc fence going up, or they read in the newspaper that there is a covenant change and the approval has been given, which is a breach and is contrary to the 2018 Building Act,” she said at a virtual Gleaner Editors’ Forum last Thursday.
Green said the legislation states that residents can review the plans before approval is granted but argued that bureaucratic hurdles often frustrate stakeholders.
“Some persons have to go and use the Access to Information Act to find these plans, and even that is difficult,” said Green.
“There are some citizens’ association that say we have dialed this, we have tried that, and we are still not able to get an idea of what these developments are. The question is, why is there a secret over development in Jamaica?”
But Jeremy Lawrence, senior building inspector at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), has sought to assure the public that the plans are not in the dark. He said he has granted “several, several” public Access to Information requests at the KSAMC.
Lawrence said that municipal officers are not allowed to hand over copies of plans, but interested persons are able to view them and get copies of accompanying documents.
“Persons have come in, and they have viewed their plans, and they have written their notes that they wanted, and then they go and do what they need to do with the information that they have garnered,” he said.
Plans over 20 years old might, however, be a bit more challenging to access as they are likely to have deteriorated.