The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Harbour Island developer last night denied excavating without proper permits as he accused opponents of complaining about the very activity they complained he had failed to do just weeks before.

Michael Wiener, principal of 4M Harbour Island, told government regulators that the accusations against him were "more of the same" from members of the Br-Island Responsible Development Association (BIRD) who have been determined to halt his development via a series of court actions.

The developer pushed back after BIRD members complained to the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) that he was excavating in an area where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had just been submitted to the Government, and issued for public release, ahead of a December 18, 2020, town planning meeting on the issue.

Allegations were made to the DEPP that 4M, which is developing the Briland Residences and Marina project, was proceeding without the necessary permits and had also failed to install the necessary turbidity curtains to prevent soil and silt run-off from fouling the water.

Contacted by Rochelle Newbold, the DEPP's director, for an explanation, Mr Wiener said his contractors were proceeding under the existing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and already-granted permits to install boulders that would protect against shoreline erosion.

Emphasising that no excavation was being carried out, as alleged by BIRD, he added that there was no need for a turbidity curtain as a result. "I believe this is more of the same. I will speak with my contractor and construction manager, and respond tomorrow," Mr Wiener responded to Mrs Newbold.

"To my knowledge they are not doing anything other than what has been approved per the original EIA and the approved permitted plans. I believe, but will confirm tomorrow, that nothing has been 'excavated', that all that has occurred is the placement of rock revetment along the shoreline.

"As always, I invite an on-site inspection. Ironically, during the litigation they complained that we had not installed the rock revetment, and now that we have they are complaining about that as well."

Mr Wiener then alleged: " It is my opinion this is part of the 'opposition’s' attempt to galvanise financial support for their ongoing efforts to stop the project. They are being served with a demand for attorneys fees - a bill of particulars - in our favour. I am aware that they have circulated the same information to their supporters with a request for additional funding."

BIRD has launched at least two Judicial Review actions in a bid to challenge the permits and statutory processes that Mr Wiener has used to proceed with his project. In its statement yesterday, the Association alleged: "BIRD and other concerned residents and visitors to Harbour Island have watched with dismay as the developers of the 4M marina project have expanded the area of excavation and construction without consulting the public, and without obtaining the approvals required by the Environmental Planning and Protection Act.

"The developer of the 4M Briland Marina project has been openly excavating the iron shore for the past three days. Locals and residences have watched 4M incredulously scrape and excavate the shoreline south of the marina development; the property and area that the DEPP announced they received an EIA for on December 3.

"The same document was posted a day later on Friday to the 4M website. This document makes it clear which areas of the development are under consultation, and which EIAs apply to which aspects of the project.... Our assumption is that environmental clearance would not have been issued as of yet, but for some reason from Monday (three days after the public were notified of the planned meeting) roughly 300 feet of coastline has been excavated."

BIRD alleged that up to 75 percent of the rocky shoreline covered by the current consultation has been "scraped and removed", with "many cubic feet of dredge material piled on the site again without consultation or mention within the document released on Friday last".

It asked the DEPP chief: "What is the point of all of this consultation if 4M intend to do what they want anyway? It should be noted that the principal of the company moved his yacht to the construction site on Tuesday evening, and thus likely has knowledge of these activities. This marks a long trend for this company in which they present one thing to the public but then do another."