(CNS): Planning Minister Jay Ebanks presented the latest piecemeal changes to the Development and Planning Act to parliament last week and announced he was amending the amendment bill. He said the removal of the requirement for parliament to vote on changes to planning regulations would be limited to building codes, as the first set of codes designed for Cayman is due to be rolled out.
All other changes to the rules will remain under the supervision of parliament and subject to its vote, Ebanks said. He told his colleagues he had consulted “friendly lawyers” — former politicians and talk-show hosts — who persuaded him not to remove parliamentary scrutiny.
The changes to the Development and Planning Act (2021 Revision) Bill were made during the committee stages, but as he put the legislation before members, Ebanks said the amendments include a provision allowing Cabinet to waive planning fees.
The minister described this latest ad hoc amendment to outdated and woefully inadequate planning legislation as a way to make it easier for Caymanians to access “relief measures when they are in need” — presumably when they are developing affordable homes or their own property, though he did not make these details clear.
“Planning rules affect the places where our people live, work and raise their families. They shape how we build, how we protect the public, and how we operate these islands for years ahead,” Ebanks said, even though he has done little since taking on the portfolio six years ago to deal with the long list of problems associated with the current planning law.
The changes the minister presented are confined to fees and building codes, missing yet another opportunity to make the changes necessary to make the system work for the entire community, and not just the major developers and landowners who have successfully lobbied Cabinet for decades.
Ebanks told parliament that these latest amendments pave the way “for us to systematically eradicate… red tape and level the playing field for every Caymanian striving to build a future”.
Justifying the plan to remove parliament’s oversight of changes to the building code regulations, Ebanks said it was a targeted adjustment to enable a swifter response to building code changes, allowing Cabinet to respond to “technical development, construction methods and local conditions without forcing every minor technical update to wait in line for parliament time”.
The minister also announced that Cayman is about to adopt its own building codes, based on international standards but adapted to fit the local landscape, which will establish clear minimum standards for safe buildings.
These are expected to be implemented in January and will be publicly available online for the first time. Currently, and inexplicably, there is no direct access. Builders have to contact the planning department to get information about the codes they need to conform to.
Ebanks spoke about the pressure and feedback he received about his plan to remove the requirement for parliament to vote on other changes to planning regulations. He said he had ultimately agreed that it was better for parliament to retain oversight of the rest of them.
However, he said that Cabinet will be able to waive fees to “provide a targeted financial relief when our people need it most”, explaining that this relates to new housing and “how we want to excel [sic] housing”. He said this would help the development of affordable homes, giving smaller projects a chance to get off the ground by lowering initial costs, but it would not be widely available.
“Discretion must be exercised carefully and in accordance with the law and the circumstances of the case,” Ebanks stated. The new housing policy notes that the cost of getting started and the lack of affordable projects are connected, he told MPs.
“Improving access to housing also requires a planning system that can work effectively. While this bill does not by itself deliver every reform set out in that policy… it addresses two specific vital parts of the framework, and our responsibility is to make the system work for Caymanians.”
Ebanks also stated that the “development plan has been coming for too long”, but added, “We are very close.”
However, speaking at the annual Chamber of Commerce Legislative Lunch on Friday, Premier André Ebanks indicated that the commitment that had been made to present the draft of the new National Development Plan to the House before the end of the year was no longer a sure thing, and that it might not be ready until the first quarter of 2027.
The current National Development Plan was implemented in 1997, almost three decades ago, and was supposed to have been updated every five years. The broken promise to have it ready by the end of 2026 would be yet another delay in a long line of missed deadlines.
See the proceedings in parliament on CIGTV below: