The residents of West Landivar have scored a major victory in their fight to stop a tourism developer from building a 56 boat marina along with restaurant and bar in their neighborhood. Today the City Council announced that it has rejected David Gegg's application for a trade license. The residents led a fierce and savvy campaign with media appearances, a TV ad, and came out in strong numbers at a public consultation held last week. Chairman of the Trade Licensing Committee is Mayor Zenaida Moya and she says the people spoke and the City Council listened.
Zenaida Moya, Mayor of Belize City
"We looked at both things. We got a petition stating disapproval by residents and we also the consultation and clearly what came out of that consultation was the fact that the residents are clearly not in support of the project at this time. And so the board, based on those two factors, clearly had to go with the residents and say that we would not approve the trade license at this time."
Keith Swift,
How big a role did the citizens in the area play in this decision?
Zenaida Moya,
"They played a huge role. I must say that the residents really did their homework and they brought out a lot of things that not even the trade license board had looked at. I must say that it is a good project but its just the place where they are proposing to have it and I think that's also the cry of the resident, that's whilst they see the project as a good project but just not in their area."
Keith Swift,
Do you expect Mr. Gegg to appeal?
Zenaida Moya,
"Well I know that the building plan also has to be looked at by the City Council as well. So that is another factor. The trade license, clearly, it is the trade license board that decides who operates a business within the city. So with that said, whether he wants to appeal the decision, he is free to do so and we'll leave it at that."
As Moya noted, Gegg can appeal. And even if he does get a trade license, Gegg will still have to apply for a building permit and indications are that it will face similar resistance from residents in the area.
