Dear Lyford Cay Property Owners & Residents,
This informational memo is intended to address the above and is designed and intended to invite all property owners, whether Association members or contributors or not, who live within the perimeter of Lyford Cay, to read, study and join in the first internal and then the ensuing consultations towards achieving to passage into law of a general and comprehensive LYFORD CAY ZONING ORDER, 2018.
The Lyford Cay Property Owners Association Board has been in discussions with Government Ministers and Planning staff for many years and we are making another effort. To advance the initiative and hopefully accelerate the process we have produced a draft Lyford Cay Zoning Order, as felt by theBoard and its advisors might be generally acceptable, but without pre-empting internal consultations and such other consultations and the Hon. Minister may direct.
The rationale and reason for the urgent necessity for a Lyford Cay Zoning Order is that the geographical area contained within our security perimeter and serviced by our roadways, was not all laid out at one time or in one Building and Development Scheme providing for a comprehensive overall planned community with Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (below called “CCR’s”) set ahead of time and tied to the land for enforceability.
Instead, as historically developed, there were early properties and homes along the north shore line, the original island or cay which gave our community its name and along Clifton Bay, some going back to the 1920’s and 1930’s. The late H.G. Christie, who owned much of the North shore including Simms Point (now the Nygard property) eventually sold all of his holdings in in the north shoreline areas as large estate properties and large blocks to our principal founder, the late Hon. E. P. Taylor who took up the vision started of the Lyford Cay Development with the Lyford Cay No. 1 Subdivision.
Before passing on in time – the early Estate Parcels as we call them, generally did not have CCR’s imposed on them. There were some properties which were sold with some restrictions but most without.
If I may defend the Founders, these Estate Parcels were sold at a time and to persons of families who would not have dreamed of fragmenting the land into small holdings or contemplate usages and commercial & business activities which would damage or lower the quality and ambience of the community. The Board, is highly mindful of the necessity to highly respect private property rights but upon advice, is seeking for the Lyford Cay Community Zoning Order provisions to pre-empt the sort of fragmentation and changes of use from large single family residential to high density and or commercial or other usages which damage or detract from the quality of the Community. Also, with large consensus support, in defining the future usages, the Zoning Order attempts to avoid having to deal with project by project or idea by idea - what planning experts call “spot planning” and having to fight incompatible proposed usages, one at a time at vast expense and community anxiety.
These Estate Parcels will be affected by the passage of a Lyford Cay Zoning Order (now still in draft as attached) and I will revert to them below. You will find a special section in the addendum notes hereto special to these Estate Parcels.
Superimposed on the already developing Lyford Cay as we know it came the Private Roads and Subdivisions Act, 1965 and the completion of those parts of the Lyford Cay No. 1 Subdivision carrying its own set of CCR’s layout of the Lyford Cay No. 1 Subdivision. Unfortunately, these CCR’s again harken back to another era’s community ethos and our wider community faces challenges even with those original CCR’s, making a Zoning Order necessary.
The founding developer also laid out the Lyford Cay Club and its amenities and a limited number of multi-family parcels and commercial and community service parcels and these are all grandfathered into our drafts and in one instance where there is possible controversy, into the Study Areas
Additionally, after the initial layout, Mr. Taylor changed his planning scope and pulled back a section of the No. 1 Subdivision and excluded it from the fenced perimeter, with intent that that section and other acreage between the original fence line and the re-routed Western Road would be included in another township development.
Since then, and other events happening, these areas are provisionally within the current Lyford Cay Community perimeter and future Zoning District but there is ongoing discussion as to their future land use and we have been advised for the current exercise to designate these and one other adjacent parcel as “Study Areas” as allowed by the current law (The Planning and Subdivision Act, 2010).
Reverting to time and development sequence, there then followed the Lyford Cay Subdivisions No.’s 2, 3 and 4.
However, with the historical development CCR patchwork, we are now experiencing, through our Building Approvals Sub -Committee, increasing difficulty in insisting upon good urban code practices and guiding property owners to follow the Lyford Cay building recommendations (previously called “the Urban Code”). In some cases, CCR’s are being directly disobeyed as well Bahamas Building Code and other laws. Worse, we face plans and projects receiving approvals even though containing aspects which are contrary to existing Statutory setbacks, CCR’s and neighbourhood compatibility, though by and large there does exist a great deal of cooperation and mutual respect between the Government Departments and the Lyford Cay POA.
We ask all of you to go over the proposed draft as sent and to refer this letter and the Appended Notes to your family advisors and lawyers. We want to be very clear that we seek dialogue and consultation with as many of you as possible and your eventual support.
You should all know that the current Planning and Subdivisions Act, 2010 actually allows this type of proposed Zoning Order to be issued by the Minister of Works himself and under S. 24 (3) does not require Notice or Hearings but the Order itself be published within 30 days of the making of the same. After the publication, if there be a storm, if it rages, the Minister May amend or revoke the same in whole or in part (S. 24(4)).
The above notwithstanding, the Board is well aware that there needs to be consultation with all or as many affected property owners as possible and not just LCPOA members but everyone who owns land within Lyford Cay, in order to have as wide a consensus as possible and we propose to report the same to the Hon. Minister.
After that, we are advised, it will be for the Hon. Minister to direct such further Community meeting or community consultations as or if he deems such necessary and thereafter, we hope, into law.
We have also sending you appended NOTES attached to help explain the scheme and special aspects of the Draft Lyford Cay Zoning Order, 2018. We recommend that you have the 5 colour coded PLANS available as you consider the draft this cover letter and the NOTES accompanying the same.
Respectfully submitted.
The Chairman and Members of The Lyford Cay POA Board of Directors
