The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A major New Providence developer is objecting to an electrical retailer’s bid to rezone five acres it owns near Lyford Cay to commercial, which it argues will aid the property’s sale and fetch a higher purchase price.

New Providence Development Company voiced its opposition to the application by Henry F Storr Electric Company at a Town Planning meeting on Tuesday night, arguing that the latter should abide by the restrictive covenants that were in effect when it acquired the property. These stipulate that it is for residential use only.

The electrical retailer, though, is asserting that the rezoning from residential to commercial was given the go-ahead by the Town Planning Committee some five years ago. Sandy Hall, an Henry F Storr director, told the hearing it received approval for the rezoning back in May 2017, which was around the time of the general election that brought the Minnis administration to office, but he had lost the letter of approval.

Neither does the Town Planning Committee have a record of the 2017 approval letter. This led its current chairman, Keenan Johnson, to say that if such a letter had been issued to Henry F Storr then the current application should be “null and void”.

Kim Storr, another Henry F Storr director, added: “This property was purchased 30 years ago, and today I think that the restrictive covenants are a bit ridiculous. They have asked us to get approval for any houses that are built on the property, and we need to get approval for putting up fences, a swimming pool. They also tell you what colour to paint the house. They also tell us that we can’t build a single storey house. It’s really restrictive.”

The restrictive covenants are a key reason why Henry F Storr wishes to sell the property, located on the southern side of Western Road around 2,822 feet east of the Lyford Cay Circle, but potential purchasers want it solely for commercial - and not residential - use. Without a rezoning, no sale will take place.

Yet changing the use to commercial is being heavily opposed by the area’s original developer, New Providence Development Company. Gail Lockhart-Charles, its attorney, argued that the restrictive covenants were not something to be debated or determined by the Town Planning Committee.

“The developer would have considered in terms of its pricing, as well as its layout and overall development plans, what areas would be for what purposes,” she said. Mrs Lockhart-Charles said Henry F Storr purchased the land for a price based on the restrictive covenants, understanding that it should be used for residential purposes only.

As a result, she argued it is “not unfair” to ask any new purchaser to abide by those covenants. “Mr Storr got the benefit of his bargain in terms of the price, and purchased the land,” Mrs Lockhart-Charles said. “He fully understood he was purchasing with the restrictions that he fully and freely agreed to.

“To now come and purport to make a case, that somehow it is unfair.... He can sell that land, as I’m sure there’ll be people who would be happy to buy that land and who would be happy to develop that land in accordance with the restrictions that are contained on that land.”