Dear Editor,
I read the article yesterday [Thursday – Ed.] relative to Mr Irion confusion about the Planet Hollywood project and, perhaps, since I was the individual that stopped it, I can shed some light on the issue along with a bit of educated guess work. When the project was first proposed I had serious objections to it. Contrary to popular myth, my objections had nothing to do with “lost view” or anything like that. They cantered on three basic issues, all technical and based on solid science and engineering. First, there were no formal plans or drawings. The developer had submitted what was essentially some sketches on the back of a bar napkin and some pretty pictures drawn by someone's 8-year-old that you might hang on your refrigerator. None of it was even in the same galaxy as what was actually required by the permit process.
Then, to add insult to injury, they offered what was effectively a bogus "peer review" that supporting the design... except the author had never seen the drawings or any of the meaningful technical data that it was supposed to be based on. It was essentially pure fiction.
Second that what was submitted employed completely inadequate standards from an engineering and structural standpoint. In a location routinely hit with cat-4 and 5 storms, they had used cat-3 at their design standard virtually guaranteeing the place would be destroyed all the time. And third that VROMI had no inspectors or inspection regime capable of making sure that the place got built as designed, assuming the design was any good to start with.
I freely admit that my objections were purely selfish in the sense that on all previous occasions where VROMI had allowed Sonesta Great Bay hotel to do construction, that work was so bad that every time there was a storm, pieces would fly off it and end up in my living room. Twice that occurred causing damage approaching US $100,000. As a matter of literal fact, my house (or anything else I have designed or built) has never suffered a single dollar of storm damage in ANY storm other than what was caused by pieces flying off the Sonesta Great Bay property. I made that point very clear in my objections and to the court. I have NO objection to project as long as it is built properly and doesn’t keep destroying my house every time the wind blows. The court agreed at the first hearing, ruled totally in my favour, effectively voided the first permit that was issued.
At the second court hearing and after proper drawings had been completed, etc, the court withheld judgment but stopped the project going forward until the structural aspects of my objections were addressed between VROMI and myself. At a subsequent meeting between Minister Doran and myself I was able to show him the extensive proof of the shoddy engineering, the poor standards and examples of where the developer had lied to both VROMI and their clients about the standards they were using as the basic premise of their design. To his credit, Minister Doran took that information to heart and later on issued a letter to me over his signature guaranteeing that the new design would have to employ cat-5 standards and proper materials, as well as a proper inspection regime. In a word, that was good enough for me simply because that for all intents and purposes shifted the liability of any future failure onto government Sint Maarten. Now, if they failed to inspect or allowed a weak design and pieces ended up in my living room again then we would all end up in court again, but this time with a big dollar claim against them and I had the proof that would guarantee a verdict in my favour.
So, from that moment on, as far as I was concerned, the project was good to go at least on paper. So, why isn’t it getting built? This is where the educated guess work comes in. First of all, the permit they got expires after a year if nothing gets done and since nothing has gotten done, their current permit is expired and no good. That means they have to re-apply from scratch … at least that’s the way it is explained to me. Second and more likely, is money. The first design they offered was only to cat-3 standards and employed all manner of non-certified junk materials for windows and doors, etc. Materials and fixtures that would never get approved or pass a legitimate inspection in any storm-sensitive jurisdiction. Also, if they actually had to design and install a fire-fighting system that was actually adequate and met a code from any competent jurisdiction, then that would cost about 10 times what the systems they had already proposed would. So, in a nut shell, if Minister Doran is to be taken at his word and the developers now have to legitimately design and build to cat-5 standards, then the cost for the project just went up probably 40%. Not an insignificant number.
And now that government is liable for consequential damages by virtue of the minister’s letter and assurances and they know I will be watching every move they make, the developers may feel that the project just doesn’t make any economic sense anymore because they can’t cheat the system on this particular building. And all, that is if you can get by the fact that the whole place is being built on a flood plain and at a distance from the ocean that would never be allowed by any government that had any sense at all. Admittedly, these conclusions are just guesswork on my part. But if I’m right that might answer Mr. Irion’s question.
Steven Johnson
