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Dutch bureau to assist with Statia zoning plan
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Sep 10, 2009 15:12 UTC
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OENKERK - Experts of a Dutch physical planning bureau are coming to St. Eustatius in a week and a half to help draft a zoning plan for the island. The project is commissioned by the Island Territory of St. Eustatius. The experts already visited Bonaire to assist with a zoning plan there.
The group of six will make an inventory of the physical situation on the island and start preparations for a so-called structure vision, which should lead to a zoning plan, explained project leader Jur van der Velde of Buro Vijn.
The structure vision serves to determine what the island wants where it comes to physical planning, where and how (economic) growth is possible and what this growth means for the people and nature. Historical and cultural values will be taken along, as well as nature.
St. Eustatius doesn’t have a zoning plan at the moment. Having a zoning plan is important because the island will become part of the Netherlands as a ‘public entity.’ In the Netherlands, zoning plans are a must. Customarily, governments take decisions on physical planning aspects based on a zoning plan. This includes building permits and construction specifications.
The idea of a zoning plan is to divide the island into areas. Each area gets a specific designation or function, such as residency, tourism and recreation, commercial, industrial and nature. The zoning plan determines what can and cannot be built in the specific areas.
A zoning plan should lead to a better balance of development and natural habitat. It serves to protect values and qualities of nature, ecology, history, culture and buildings. But at the same time, a zoning plan has a development function, explained Van der Velde. It is binding: government, companies and citizens have to stick to it. A plan gives rights and responsibilities.
The zoning plan will not set norms for environmental protection, or evaluate the value of cultural heritage. It will not do a technical analysis of the soil. A zoning plan deals more with the physical functioning aspect, but it does take the environment, soil structure and cultural heritage into account.
Van der Velde stressed that his team will not take the final decisions of what comes where in the zoning plan. That is up to local government. “It is a plan for and with the island. We advise, come with proposals, but government will ultimately decide,” he said in an interview with The Daily Herald. He added that the support of the population and government is very important.
The structure, vision and zoning plan will not be a Dutch copy. It will be based on the local situation, said Van der Velde. “The idea is not to implement Dutch customs and regulations one-on-one. It will involve a different way of reserving, different rules geared towards the local situation. Things on St. Eustatius are different to in the Netherlands. It will require creative thinking,” he said.
Buro Vijn was selected from the eight bureaus that were approached for the project. Buro Vijn has ample experience in the Netherlands and also on the Frisian islands (Waddeneilanden). The bureau is assisted by colleagues of RBOI, a company that belongs to the same group, as well as Ecorys from the Netherlands and the Caribbean marine biology research institute Carmabi from Curaçao.
The team travels to St. Eustatius on September 21 and will stay for one week. The project is funded through the Antillean development fund USONA.
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