Patricia Green | Development process – partly in the right, all in the wrong

John Godfrey Saxe wrote in 1872 a very telling poem based on a Indian fable about six blind men examining an elephant they could not see. “... It was six men of Indostan (another name given to India – a variant of Hindustan – land where River Indus flows), to learning much inclined, Who went to see the elephant, (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation, Might satisfy his mind ...”. Might this be applied to Jamaica’s development process in policy, planning, approvals, inspections, maintenance, and liability?

On September 21, Jamaica experienced a 5.0 magnitude earthquake, then, on October 30, another 5.6 magnitude with several aftershocks. The annual Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June to November. On November 14, a tropical depression passed Jamaica. Thank God no lives were lost!

Note that a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocked a hilly district of Nepal on November 3, resulting in at least 128 people killed and 100 others injured, also leaving many homeless. Media described this in Nepal as a “strong earthquake”.

In southern Haiti on August 14, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred. Two days later, Haiti experienced a direct hit from Tropical Depression Grace on August 16 that further destabilised the soil when it got wet. The US Geological Survey released December 7, 2021 reported that landslide scientists recorded at least 4,893 landslides in Haiti, triggered by the earthquake and subsequent rainfall from TD Grace.

University of the West Indies (UWI) geologists have stated that the hilly eastern parts of Jamaica, primarily St Mary, Portland, St Thomas and St Andrew, are prone to land slippage because of their soil types. Are these scientific findings integrated into development activities?

HILLSIDE VULNERABILITY

Ongoing hillside vulnerability of Jamaican lands occurs through quarries with mining activities, construction of highways, road-widening, and multi-family high-rise and mid-rise developments with excavations for sewerage and access roads.

First, in Policy: “... The first approached the elephant, And happening to fall, Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: “God bless me! - but the Elephant, Is very like a wall! ...”. Government’s Mining and Geology Division (MGD) recognised in November 2008 that a hillside policy was needed for Jack’s Hill, St Andrew, to reduce the incidence of geologic hazards such as slope failures and erosion. Published 2014, this Hillside Development Manual for Jamaica (HDMJ) included key collaborators: the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Jamaica Institution of Engineers, Jamaican Institute of Architects, Land Surveyors Association, National Works Agency, Water Resources Authority, Jamaica Environment Trust, The UWI, and the various local planning authorities such as the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC). It classified slopes as - Class 1: to have development density of 30 habitable rooms per acre (HRPA); Class 2: 20 HRPA; Class 3: “single family development”; Class 4: “development not permitted”.

Residents in the Jack’s Hill community have made repeated interventions to the KSAMC, NEPA, and others over ongoing multi-family housing developments destroying infrastructure and posing potential terrestrial dangers. The Gleaner of June 14 reported them pointing out that “... Tavistock Terrace fell 40ft down the side of the hill ...”, although one developer shared, “... spending $80 million on a retaining wall ...”. Yet, after the November 14 tropical depression, the media showed the MGD measuring approximately four feet of debris deposited on properties below by the Jack’s Hill landslide, including disappearance of sections of Tavistock Terrace.

When developers seek approvals for hillside developments, are they referred to the HDMJ Policy? Are they immediately instructed “No”, as stated in that policy? Do developers comply? What new scientific findings would have emerged recently to enable governmental authorities to facilitate multi-family and high-rise developments on Jack’s Hill, contrary to scientific and technical guidelines in the HDMJ?

Second, in Planning: “... The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried: “Ho! - what have we here, So very round and smooth and sharp? To me ‘t is mighty clear, This wonder of an Elephant, Is very like a spear!...”. Clifton Yap bemoans the destruction of once-beautiful hillsides, also the character and functioning of neighbourhoods across Kingston in The Gleaner of November 16, ‘Implement well-conceived, not arbitrary, town planning.’ Elaborating on the ad hoc manner of granting building approvals without planning tools for high-rise constructions, he added traffic congestion issues. With only seven years to fulfil Jamaica Vision 2030, Yap contended that “... vision without an actionable plan ... is just a wish list ...”. Have such radically increased heights and densities in the Confirmed Development Order stemmed from official visits to Singapore?

Third, in Approval: “... The Third approached the animal, And happening to take, The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant, Is very like a snake!...”. The Jamaica Information Service held a ‘Think Tank’ on October 25, five days before the earthquake. NEPA shared that, to prevent urban sprawl, it was continuing its push for developers to consider building more vertical structures to maximise allowable building spaces available in the urban areas. Vertical development, NEPA argued, would prevent sprawling onto agricultural lands and environmentally sensitive areas. Is Jacks Hill considered by NEPA an environmentally sensitive area? Does Jack’s Hill suffer sprawl?

Fourth, in Inspections: “...The fourth reached out his eager hand, And felt about the knee. “What most this wondrous beast is like, Is mighty plain,” quoth he; “’T is clear enough the Elephant, Is very like a tree!”...”. A 63 year-old pets vendor on Tower Street argued to stop KSAMC demolishing two vacant buildings in downtown Kingston after the October 30 earthquake, reported The Gleaner on November 2. He stores his wares in a renovated area of one of these buildings that he felt was still good and firm. The KSAMC was undertaking inspections on buildings downtown to place them on a demolition list. Te president of the Master Builders’ Association contended that “... we tend not to be so motivated to spend the money to create safety. We tend more to want to spend the money to respond rather than spend the money to be proactive ...”. Is the KSAMC inspecting new developments, especially those issued Municipal Stop Orders, yet continuing construction to completion?

Fifth, in Maintenance: “...The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: “E’en the blindest man, Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an Elephant, Is very like a fan! ...”. The Gleaner of November 11, 2020 reported seismologist Professor Simon Mitchell saying, “... if we interfere with the hillside and cut down the trees to expand coffee farms, for example, what you end up with is more erosion ...”. Over the past two weeks, Jamaica has witnessed these scientific analyses unfolding in landslides of coffee cultivations and their roadways on those slopes. In St Thomas, house owners continue to suffer landslides undermining their housing foundations. The October 31 STAR shows a once-sturdy concrete-structure house, which had weathered the tests of time and seen many generations come and go, succumbed to landslide after the October 30 earthquake.

Sixth, in Liability: “... The sixth no sooner had begun, About the beast to grope, Than, seizing on the swinging tail, That fell within his scope, “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant, Is very like a rope! ...”. Mitchell, on October 31 on RJR Radio, warned that a lot of the soils and the rocks were saturated with water, resulting in a greater possibility of landslides. The tropical depression heightened these. Mitchell dismissed suggestions that the frequency of earthquakes in Jamaica is the result of climate change.

Who will compensate citizens for housing loss and/or reinstate impacted property owners for environmental development negligence with disasters that could have been mitigated?

By November 21, Mitchell, on Nationwide Radio, advised against any further housing development on Tavistock Terrace in Jack’s Hill, St Andrew: “... And so these men of Indostan, Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion, Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! ...”.

Patricia Green, PhD, a registered architect and conservationist, is an independent scholar and advocate for the built and natural environment. Send feedback to patgreen2008@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com