KSAMC probe finds Estatebridge breached building permit
Published:Thursday | December 19, 2024 | 12:09 AM
The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) has found that there were breaches of the approved building permit issued by the municipality to Estatebridge Holdings Limited for a townhouse development at 2 Weycliffe Close, Beverly Hills, Kingston 6.
A statement yesterday from Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby indicated that the breaches were identified during an inspection conducted on October 31, 2024, following a request from Estatebridge on October 28, 2024.
“Notably, these breaches were only identified by the KSAMC after the Integrity Commission’s site visits on July 12 and 23, 2024,” Swaby said.
Highlighting the breaches, the mayor said, “It appears that the floor area was slightly increased, and the laundry area was reconfigured to accommodate bathrooms and storage.”
Further, the KSAMC said the dining room/living room was extended, a bathroom was constructed, and the powder room was converted to a storage area. However, it said the floor area appeared to remain unchanged.
Additionally, Swaby said two bedrooms with supporting bathrooms, a storage area, and a foyer were observed. He said the size of the master bedroom was increased by virtue of utilising the balcony space. Further, the KSAMC said the other bedroom, with its associated bathroom, was relocated and the space converted to a foyer with a storage area. The floor area appeared unchanged.
“It is important to note that the partition walls referenced in the Integrity Commission’s findings, which were accompanied by photographs from its site visits, were not present during the KSAMC’s inspection on October 31, 2024,” the mayor noted. He said that this “suggests that modifications had been made to the structure before KSAMC’s site visit on October 31, 2024. The chief engineering officer’s report, therefore, could not refute the Integrity Commission’s claim that four-bedroom units were being constructed at an earlier stage”.
Giving details, the mayor said breaches identified on October 31, 2024, were communicated to Kenado Nesbeth, the architect for the development, in a letter dated November 13, 2024.
According to Swaby, the letter also provided two options: revert to the previously approved plan or apply to regularise the changes through an ‘as-built’ application. On December 10, 2024, the same day the Integrity Commission’s report was tabled in Parliament, Estatebridge Holdings Limited submitted an ‘as-built’ application to the KSAMC, seeking to regularise the changes.
Additionally, the KSAMC’s internal assessment revealed that the building permit issued to the developer expired on July 6, 2023. The KSAMC had conducted three site visits prior to August 2022, well before the permit’s expiration. Moreover, a final inspection required before the expiration of the permit was not requested by the applicant or carried out by the KSAMC.
Swaby said the KSAMC failed to take action to halt construction after the permit expired, allowing work to continue without authorisation or oversight. “This lack of monitoring persisted until the KSAMC’s site visit on October 31, 2024, when the breaches outlined above were identified,” he added.
LAPSE CAUSING COMPROMISE
The mayor said these serious lapses in the KSAMC’s monitoring processes compromised the corporation’s ability to effectively enforce compliance.
“This is unacceptable,” he declared.
Looking ahead, Swaby said the ‘as-built’ remedial measure, which allows applicants to seek approval for changes after breaches are identified, can be subject to abuse and may inadvertently incentivise violations of originally issued permits.
In light of this, the KSAMC said it would review this arrangement to determine whether changes are necessary to prevent misuse and ensure stricter adherence to approved building plans.
An IC investigation found that a company that was linked to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his business partner, Norman Brown, built an apartment complex in St Andrew with more rooms than allowed, breaching the law.
Brown is chairman of the state’s Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ).
The agencies report to the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation for which the prime minister is the portfolio minister.
In a report tabled in Parliament on December 10, the IC’s director of investigation, Kevon Stephenson, said the KSAMC “failed” to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the building permit issued to Estatebridge Holdings Limited.
Stephenson said the permit allowed for the construction of four 2-bedroom units at 2 Weycliffe Close, Beverly Hills, St Andrew.
But following an inspection, he found four 4-bedroom townhouses.
He said the finding was consistent with a report provided by Brown in December 2023.
Opposition Spokesman on Housing Professor Floyd Morris last Friday called for the resignation of Brown in his capacity as UDC and HAJ chairman.
In his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate, Morris pointed out that action was taken against Mark Barnett, the former president of the National Water Commission, when the IC noted that a development he jointly undertook breached an environmental permit during its construction.
“I want to take this opportunity to say to the chairman of the UDC and the HAJ that he must resign immediately, just like what was required [of] Mark Barnett, the president of the National Water Commission,” Morris stated.
Delroy Williams, former mayor and government senator, challenged claims by the IC that more rooms were built than were approved by the KSAMC.
Rising on a ‘point of order’ in the Senate on Friday, Williams declared: “I am just saying be cautious because I am not sure more rooms were built than were approved.”
Following the tabling of the IC’s report in Parliament last week, the directors of Estatebridge Holdings Limited rejected the commission’s report that the company breached the building law in the construction of the apartment complex.
The directors of the company are Sydjea Anderson, Brown, and Adam Holness, the prime minister’s son.
They argued that at no time did the KSAMC observe a breach in the room count during its inspections.
Variations in size of areas, and reconfiguration of layout, which normally occur during construction and do not materially change the building footprint, were noted in the most recent inspection, and the necessary application is in process, the directors stated.