The Tribune

• A Stone’s Throw Away plans in ‘pending file’

• Yet to give Town Planning parking information

• But fear situation changes ‘in blink of an eye’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Residents in Tropical Gardens and Gambier Heights yesterday pledged they will “not let our guard down” even though a controversial planning application has been placed in the “pending file”.

Fred Albury, the Auto Mall chief and former Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business that “in a blink of an eye suddenly it’s done, and you cant undo it”, even though the Town Planning Committee has placed its decision on a resort’s proposed expansion on hold until it supplies more information on how residents’ parking concerns will be alleviated.

He spoke out after Kennan Johnson, the Committee’s chairman, confirmed that Oneil Khosa, principal of A Stone’s Throw Away, has yet to supply the planning decision-maker with the information it has requested relating to the resort’s plans to develop a grocery store and cafe on part of its property.

“The matter is still pending. We’re waiting for the applicant to provide further details around parking,” Mr Johnson confirmed. “We did review the application and confirmed that there were some adjustments required in terms of additional information needed in relation to parking.

“We haven’t received that additional information as yet and, until such time as that happens, the application remains in the pending file. Until they come back to us there’s nothing further that we can do with that application. Nothing has changed. They haven’t provided us with any additional information. It won’t move from pending until they provide that.”

Mr Khosa could not be reached for comment before press time, despite several phone calls and messages sent by Tribune Business in recent weeks. Parking woes, and related traffic congestion, which are said to particularly occur when A Stone’s Throw Away hosts functions, were among the prime reasons cited by Tropical Gardens and Gambier Heights residents as to why the expansion should not be approved.

Mr Albury, upon being informed of Town Planning’s position, told Tribune Business: “It’s a bit of temporary relief but there’s still the possibility it can happen. It certainly, for the time being, keeps things at bay out there.

“The biggest thing for myself and people in Gambier Heights is getting in and out of our properties. When there’s a function at A Stone’s Throw Away people park along the sides of the road, up and down the hill. The overflow comes into our neighbourhood.”

The Auto Mall chief said residents in the past have frequently had to remove litter from their properties the following morning. “Since the Town Planning Meeting to now, the Gambier Heights residents have put up signs stating that unauthorised vehicles in the area will be towed. Some have put stones in front of their places to prevent parking,” he added.

“There have been no functions there. It’s been very quiet, very peaceful, but we know how these things go. We don’t want to let our guard down. We know how things go in this country. In the blink of an eye suddenly it’s done, and you cannot undo it.

“Last year this time there were parties on Friday night, Saturday night and on week nights as companies held their Christmas functions. When you have cars on both sides of the road there’s only room for one vehicle to get through. A lot of them end up having to drive into the Gambier Heights community to turn around to get back on to West Bay Street. They come in here and make noise at 1-2am in the morning.”

Acknowledging that this, too, has “quietened down” since the Town Planning hearing, Mr Albury said A Stone’s Throw Away appears to have also made adjustments of its own by removing the stones in front of its property so persons can park there.

Indicating that, as a businessman, he sympathised with Mr Khosa, the Auto Mall chief added: “To have functions where you have 60-80 people there at any one time, and allow for parking, he’s going to have to make some major, major adjustments. The type of business he’s trying to run, the area is not conducive for doing this type of function.

“It’s a residential area and it creates a nightmare of a parking situation. If it was an Airbnb I don’t think it would be a problem, but having functions requires parking for numerous vehicles and that’s not going to work.”

Geoffrey Stuart, a Tropical Gardens resident, confirmed to Tribune Business that he had been informed the Town Planning Committee were seeking “adjustments to the parking arrangements” and other changes to A Stone’s Throw Away’s plans.

“Our concern is essentially the parking and attracting crowds that may be undesirable to our area,” he said, adding that he was “not very hopeful” that A Stone’s Throw Away’s application will be rejected. “It’s just a matter of when they get it. We’re still fighting but I’m not hopeful, “ Mr Stuart said.

Mr Khosa, in a previous interview with Tribune Business, said he felt many of the parking, noise and crime fears voiced by homeowners in objecting to his plans had either been “blown out of proportion” or were irrelevant to his proposal. He added that he would be “killing” his $500 per night core business and status as the “quaintest” property in Nassau if their complaints were at all valid.

Detailing a $400,000 investment that would create between five to ten full-time jobs if approved, the former Paradise Cruise Line chief executive said he aims to be “a good neighbour” and pledged to Tropical Gardens and Gambier Heights homeowners that whatever he does will be with their “consensus and full support”.

Reiterating that he was “not here to fight anyone”, even though several residents spoke out before Town Planning against his proposal for the site at Tropical Gardens Road’s junction with West Bay Street, Mr Khosa argued that some of the complaints submitted about his property are “totally wrong” and “not factual”.

He also suggested that much of the opposition seemed to be based on “emotion”, and appeared to stem from grievances dating back to when its original developer constructed A Stone’s Throw Away more than 20 years ago in the late 1990s. Noting that he only acquired the resort some five to six years ago, Mr Khosa said there was little he could do to resolve matters that pre-dated him.

“I think this thing has been blown out of proportion,” Mr Khosa told Tribune Business of the opposition to his plans, “and the reason for this seems to be a lot of miscommunication. I partly blame myself for that; speaking more these days may be better than speaking less.

“I told the residents I’m not here to fight anyone, and whatever we do we will do with the consensus and full support of our neighbours. Having said that, it was quite clear to me that the opposition to the rezoning is not stemming from opposition to the cafe but other grievances over the last 20 years.

“It seems like it’s more emotional, and by no means am I blaming anyone, by no means am I saying anyone is crazy. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has a perception of the world.”