KSAMC issues stop order on car dealership development on WestLake Avenue
Published:Saturday | August 10, 2024 | 12:09 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) has issued a stop order on the construction of a car dealership at 11 WestLake Avenue, in the Richmond Park area of St Andrew, following recent protests by residents of the community about the development.
A stop notice ordering an immediate cease and desist on all building work was served on July 31 this year.
Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Andrew Swaby, said the KSAMC conducted an investigation into the development and found that no application had been submitted to the municipality for 11 WestLake Avenue.
In a letter to the editor, the mayor said the KSAMC takes seriously the concerns that prompted the demonstration by the residents of Richmond Park on July 29.
He said on July 24, a letter of complaint from the Richmond Park Community Development Committee (RPCDC) was brought to his attention.
Swaby said while the letter primarily objected to the proposed construction of a car dealership at 11 WestLake Avenue, it also highlighted broader concerns related to development within the Richmond Park area.
“Additionally, the RPCDC representative who informed the KSAMC about the letter’s delivery to our offices has been assured that the issue was being treated as urgent, and that the KSAMC would act swiftly and decisively to resolve the situation,” Swaby noted.
The KSAMC said the issue raised by the residents was part of broader concerns held by the community and stakeholders regarding planning and building approvals in disputed areas.
Swaby said the KSAMC has been actively engaging with stakeholders through meetings to discuss their specific and collective concerns. Further, he said ongoing discussions have been taking place with the municipality’s partners to find equitable solutions that address the residents’ issues while safeguarding the integrity of the development process.
In late July, disgruntled residents of WestLake Avenue staged a protest at the intersection of WestLake and Montgomery avenues, charging that their complaints about development breaches over the years have fallen on deaf ears at the KSAMC.
They complained that houses were being totally demolished and businesses established, as in the case of the car mart on WestLake Avenue. It is something they believe is in breach of the laws governing residential areas.
According to the residents, some of whom bought houses in the Richmond Park and Hagley Park areas in the 1970s, they have watched homes being sold and turned into cesspool business, apartment complexes, trucking businesses, garages and much more, killing the vibrancy of their communities and the spirit of home.