Talk of taking land by compulsory acquisition dominated a West Bay meeting to address overcrowded cemetery concerns
Monday night.
Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush told more than 30 people at the John A. Cumber School Hall a plot of land has been identified to expand the West Bay Cemetery - Block 5C, Parcel 176REM1 - but he predicts high costs and court dates.
“We have identified the 11 and a half acres on the south side of the West Bay fire station as the best place for the expansion,”
said Mr. Bush.
He said “loads of money will have to be spent filling the site but there is no alternative, as the cemetery can’t go just anywhere.”
The premier said the owner of the land wants $11 million for the property, though it was estimated that the worth was somewhere around $2 million. In 2006 Cayman National Bank put a charge on the property to secure a loan of
US$6.3 million.
Mr. Bush said he could see the matter would probably end up in court. The government will also have to rezone the site in addition to spending roughly $5 million on de-mucking and filling the area roughly seven feet because of its “very high water table.”
“We are in discussions with the owners but this will be done by
compulsory acquisition if need be and it will most likely end up in the Grand Court, where the court will set a fair price, which will have to be paid in one payment by the government.”
Mr. Bush did not disclose who owned the property. An inspection of the Land Register at the Lands and Survey Department indicated that it is owned by Seven Mile Beach Hotel Development Corporation. The property was originally purchased in 2001 by Sloane Enterprises Ltd., with the Transfer of Land executed by Stanley Trezevant, a Memphis, Tennessee developer. Mr. Trezevant died in 2007 and the land was transferred to Seven Mile Beach Hotel Development, which has the same director as Sloane Enterprises.
When contacted, John Trezevant, of Trezevant Realty Corporation in Tennessee said the land belonged to his brother, who is Trip Trezevant of Trezevant Enterprises. Efforts to reach him by press time to discuss the planned compulsory acquisition of his property for much less than his asking price were unsuccessful.
The premier said going through the court could take up to six months, adding that the funds could be in the budget as soon as May or June.
“Once we get a court date, hopefully in June, we will be ready to move by September all going well. The trucking, filling, spreading and compacting will be costly but some of that will be recouped when people by vaults,” said Mr. Bush.
He explained that he knew of no other piece of land suitable for a cemetery that would not be objected to by residents, as the project would encroach on their properties, noting that the property was also big enough for the exercise. People in the Cayman Islands are now allowed to bury their loved ones on their own properties as the result of a private members motion by Mr. Bush and Captain Eugene Ebanks several years ago. However methods such as double burials to a vault and cremation may have to be looked at said Mr. Bush, who lamented about the latter.
“We know that it is a sensitive matter; the way in which people bury their loved ones and we would not be forcing anyone to cremate their dead.”
Other areas in the Cayman Islands such as Bodden Town, South Sound and Prospect are also facing a shortage of cemetery space. Mr. Bush said members from the respective districts have been making representations to him, which the government is looking at. The premier did not say how the government would finance the proposed cemetery expansion.