AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Looking for a Condo in San Pedro? Check out The Phoenix

I'm gonna semi-hijack this thread. As I was walking around San Pedro last week, two things continually confronted me. First was all the construction, particularly condo projects. Paradise is being exchanged for the Phoenix; Tropic is gone with more Banyan Bay condos coming etc. Second is the continuing deterioration of basic public like streets and water service. Traffic has already been bemoaned on the board. All the while the Mayoress can't even get a little cobblestoning done. Has anyone ever considered impact fees for developments? A couple thousand bucks per residential unit created(that seem to start at $300kUS) and San Pedro would be flush with $ to improve basic services. Sorry: maybe I'm venting.

You mean...... tax the rich? Who ever heard of such a thing. Taxes are paid by the middle class! (2% hike in Hotel Tax next month)

Krehfish,

I've been away from the island for too long - will be back early next month. I don't think I'm going to like the increased pace and scope of development. But, if development continues, I think you've got the right idea with development fees. I think a variant of California's Mello-Roos districts should be considered. In a Mello-Roos, the property owners within a district are responsible for payment of improvement bonds that are used for schools, parks and infrastructure.

New developments on AC not only alter the island's quality of life, they strain the existing infrastructure. Hopefully the Belize government will implement reasonable development controls before Ambergris Caye gets completely "Cancun-ized."

Development impact fees sound like a good idea until you take a look at the Belize system. The Town Council has no authority to collect any fees. Thats strictly a Gov't.of Belize function. So any fees that did get collected would disappear into the black hole in Belmopan, never to be seen again. That might discourage some development or it more likely would just encourage the developers to raise their condo prices. In any event it wouldn't help get the cobblestones laid.

I like the complex - just might check it out when down in May. I would rather have a strong structure (it is an island subject to an ocassional hurricane!).

Jesse, that's what I thought the case would be. Interesting to see the things the GOB can do to the Town Council, or do w/o, or in spite of, the town Council. No reason to suspect the fees would be any different than all the other huge amounts generated on AC that don't find their way "home".