New Long Mountain battle - Local environmental watchdog fights proposed development
Published:Sunday | August 21, 2011 | 12:00 AM
A new environment battle is brewing atop Long Mountain as the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), with concerned residents in its corner, squares off against a housing development being proposed by the government-owned Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ).
Diana McCaulay, chief executive officer of JET, said the non-profit environment watchdog conducted a review of the environmental impact assessment for the project and there are concerns surrounding the proposed site for the development.
"The overwhelming concern is that the area is a designated green space in the Kingston and St Andrew's town and country development order," McCaulay explained.
She added: "JET is of the view that the development order's planning regulation should be adhered to.
"This small area might be the gateway for the Long Mountain area to be covered with houses," she said. McCaulay insisted that the few green spaces remaining in the Corporate Area should be jealously guarded.
The Jamaica National Heritage Trust's (JNHT) website stated that Long Mountain dated back to the 18th century and was a part of the Mona Estate, which then had 1,072 acres.
The area is a watershed area for Kingston and St Andrew and is responsible for sourcing water to four of its wells. The JNHT also noted that the development by Selective Homes - the 526-unit-strong Long Mountain Country Club - could lead to damage and to contamination of the Mona reservoir. "This area is also one of the most important green spaces in Kingston and St Andrew and as such should be preserved.
"A large number of plant and animal species that occur only in Jamaica reside on the Long Mountain, including at least one plant found nowhere else. The Long Mountain also serves as an important over-wintering site for migratory birds," said the JNHT's website.
In the meantime, the state-owned housing company said it is awaiting a response from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) regarding an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed development. Therefore, the HAJ would not publicly comment on any issue surrounding the proposed Mona development.
"We believe we should allow the EIA process to take its proper course," read a section of a release issued by Dahlia Moseley, public relations officer at the HAJ, an agency of the Ministry of Housing, Environment and Water.
Sewage concerns remain
The HAJ release failed to address a Sunday Gleaner query regarding sewage-disposal concerns that have reportedly been raised by members of the neighbouring Beverly Hills Citizens' Association.
Robert Cartade, managing director of Selective Homes Developments Limited - the company that constructed the Long Mountain Country Club - told The Sunday Gleaner that the new development "will be unable to tap into our sewage line".
He explained that it would be difficult to interrupt the sewerage system without causing a stink, literally, as it is not gravity fed.
"The sewage from Long Mountain is pumped to the bottom of the hill into an energy-dissipating tank. From there, it is gravity fed from Pines of Karachi to a pumping station, which feeds into National Water Commission system," he said.
Cartade noted that he was not against the development, which he said should see the sale of some 40 lots for owners to build on, but he wanted to see this proposed housing development done properly.