Author: MF (---.cs-server26.com)
Date: 09-02-04 02:54
Doug,
>Change may be inevitable, but if the will of the citizenry is strong it >doesn't have to be destructive. That's why people create zoning laws and >require adherence to sound environmental practice. They are the only >tools available to ensure that developers respect the quality of life for >their neighbors.
The citizenry - as in the citzens of PR or the ones of Culebra or the ones of the US, the ones that came 60, 20, 10 or 5 years ago?
>They are bad guys if they don't follow the law and disrespect their neighbors.
The same 'not adherence to zoning laws', that created the charming little guest house, creates developments like Costa Bonita. None of these people followed 'the law'
>I support Culebrenses who push back.
Since Culebra is dependent on PR for much of its zoning, very often the only way to 'push back' is after the fact.
But then again I come back to my original questions; for the guy that owns a little parcela, or lives in a trailer someone who bought 5 cuerda for 100K and now sells it for a million sure looks like a developer too - even though he might have 'only' built a small little casita for himself ...
What about all the houses over at Zoni?
If you are powerful enough you are able to change the zoning laws. Very often it is someone who wants to buy a piece of paradise with a couple of lawyers who can find a loophole ...
And to be quite honest, I would not mind owning one of those multimillion houses either, but they are part of the same coin!
David,
I think everybody is a 'guest' here, it does not matter whether you came 5 or 60 years ago. I know in Culebra it makes a great difference (and the xenophobia is especially strong amongst recent, that is 5-10 years ago, arrivals), but to think you 'cannot do anything about it' if it comes to your neighbourhood .. maybe not everybody can afford the 12-15K for the pirana system and they are happy that there finally will be sewers, albeit at the cost of torn up streets?
The money for those projects comes from San Juan and I am sure it would be really tricky and timeconsuming to convince authorities (and their open hands) that it makes more sense to go with whichever, much cheaper and more environmentally friendly system.
Maybe the active approach could be to convince the open hands (which are usually on higher than Culebra levels ..) that they could make money with other contractors too - and let the the piranas of the world know where the hands are?
The problem is, we don't know. That's why we only buy whatever we can afford - from a week on Flamenco to a 5 million 'casita' out on Zoni, according to our knowledge and pocketbook ...
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