Residents of Draunibota Bay in Lami are fighting the rezoning of a residential lot in their neighbourhood to commercial land.
The residents’ advisor, Adrienne Ali, said she was at a loss over how the rezoning was considered, given the parcel of land was located in a residential area and flanked by residential lots on either side.
She also said residents in the area had vehemently voiced their objection to the proposed rezoning.
“This lot is situated between two residential lots in a residential area where 10 to 15 residential homes are located,” Ms Ali said.
“The (lot owner) made an application and notified the neighbours, who were then given a form to fill with their objections or approval. “Overwhelmingly, everybody who lives there objected.”
Ms Ali claimed the owner of the residential lot in question planned to rezone the lot into a commercial area and build a 2500 square metre storage warehouse.
“That means commercial business can start early in the morning from 7am to 5pm, and so the neighbours all objected.
” Ms Ali claimed the Director of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) received the objections and rejected the proposed development because it did not fit into the town planning scheme. However, she said a few months later, residents were told to come for a meeting with the developer and officials from the DTCP at a restaurant owned by the developer.
“We don’t know what happened after that, but either he appealed or he filed another application and we don’t know because they’re not being transparent about the process,” Ms Ali said.
Ms Ali claimed the matter would not have escalated if the residents had been kept informed of developments.
Ms Ali also questioned the involvement of the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport (MCTTT) and the Solicitor General’s office on the issue.
She claimed a resident had emailed DTCP to ask for an update and was told that the MCTTT was processing the outcome and would advise once a decision was reached.
“I don’t understand why the MCTTT is involved because they’re not the ministry for rezoning, but the Ministry of Local Government is.”
Patrick Todd, a resident of Uduya Point for more than 20 years, said events surrounding the rezoning were questionable to say the least.
He said work on the lot in question first started around July or September last year and after residents lodged a complaint with the Lami Town Council, work was brought to a halt and the owner’s application was denied.
However, he said, on March 31 of this year, a notice was given to a resident regarding a public meeting.
“Actually, one resident up here, my cousin, got a notice of a public meeting within two days of the notice,” Mr Todd said.
“They expected all the residents to attend a meeting at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon at a restaurant.”
He said the applicant was present, but the residents had brought their lawyer as well.
“It was on the 25th of March 2022, the Government changed all the laws, rules regarding rezoning. They took out a lot of details and left in little lines that said, ‘as per regulations prescribed’, and we were told at that meeting by the Director of Town and Country Planning Mohammed Ziar, that we could write to him and he would provide it.
“I’ve sent about five emails requesting that, but we have heard nothing from them.” Renowned local musician and businessman Inoke “Knox” Kalounisiga questioned the process that had been followed in the rezoning bid.
“We haven’t seen any ads in the paper, nothing requesting residents’ views about the rezoning and these are high value properties on freehold land, on the waterfront in Suva and no industry should be given space on the waterfront in a reside area,” he said.
Knox said the rezoning to commercial would devalue the proprieties in the area.
“All these properties will get devalued because of them, and who’s going to compensate us?”
He also claimed no environmental impact assessment (EIA) report had been done, “neither was there any proper consultation and the absence of these raises a lot of questions”.
“Who’s going to compensate us for the loss in value to our properties? Is government, who is giving him (developer) the OK, going to compensate us, the Director of Town and Country Planning who gave him the OK – is he going to compensate us?
“So where are we going because, you know, if they go ahead, we will take it to court. We can’t stand down.”
MCTTT Minister Faiyaz Koya told The Fiji Times that the DTCP had been moved out of the Ministry of Local Government and was now his responsibility.
“DTCP is with me, it’s in my ministry,” Mr Koya said.
When asked if the developer in question had filed a new application or appealed against an earlier rejection, Mr Koya said he did not know, but “from what I understand I think 20 metres
away is another commercial building”.
“I honestly don’t know, and you will have to check with the director (DTCP) on that.”
He said just because a resident complained, an application should get rejected.
“There are always two sides to any story, you must always remember that.
“Equality and fairness to all – whether you are a developer or resident, both sides need to get looked at.
“It is as simple as that.”
Questions sent to the DTCP on April 29, in May this year and this week remain unanswered.
