Mark Gaffarena’s attempt to sanction a villa he built instead of stables in Żebbuġ and to open a zoo on the surrounding land was met with closed doors at the Planning Authority’s commission which deals with outside development zone applications.
The Planning Commission unanimously threw out an application by the property developer to dismantle another 400-square metre ODZ illegality in Ħal Farruġ in compensation for the sanctioning of the Żebbuġ infractions.
The illegalities on the site cover more than 5,200 square metres and on which he racked up €50,000 in daily fines. These include a completely new residence, swimming pool, hard landscaping, and various animal enclosures when the only permit on site which was issued in 2008 covered the building of 16 horse stables. At the time, the permit was only an outline permit and a full development permit was never issued.
The Planning Commission upheld a report by the case officer who wrote in his report that there was “no environmental benefit” for this compensation request, particularly when noting that the land take-up and site formalisation resulting from the illegal development being requested for sanctioning is far larger than the building for demolition at Ħal Farruġ. Apart from this, there was no proof that the compensation building had a residential status.
The commission heard that the animal enclosures were roofed when policies only allow demountable structures. It also noted that the method of construction of the boundary wall along the public road using pre-fabricated blocks clad with rubble was also objectionable. The boundary walls are between 2.6 metres and 3.2 metres high.
Gaffarena sought to sanction his 370-square metre residence, a 50-square metre swimming pool, 500 square metres of hard paving as well as the animal enclosures covering another 135 square metres. There is also a 115-square metre building indicated as an agricultural store but the proposal included its demolition.
Significant departures from approved stables
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) vehemently objected to the proposal, saying the valid permit for 16 stables should not “be considered as an entitlement for a fully-fledged residence ODZ”.
It said the aerial photographs indicate that various interventions were carried out on site over the years, including numerous animal enclosures which are “significant departures from the approved stables”.
“The proposal is a flagrant example where no environmental considerations whatsoever have been regarded, which has resulted in illegal commitments and associated excessive land uptake at the expense of the countryside”, ERA said in its submissions, adding that it was objectionable from an environmental point of view.
“The malpractice of first developing a site irrespective of its ODZ status and then requesting the sanctioning of a fait-accompli is not recommended.”
The Agriculture Advisory Committee noted that Gaffarena was a “dormant ruminant producer” who had applied with the Veterinary Regulation Directorate for a permit to keep dangerous animals but this was not granted due to a lack of adequate housing standards.
Gaffarena made headlines over a 2015 Valletta property deal since branded ‘the Gaffarena scandal’.
The scandal erupted when The Sunday Times of Malta reported that he had made a profit of €685,000 in a €1.65 million deal for part ownership of an Old Mint Street property that Gaffarena had bought for a fraction of the price just a few weeks earlier. He had also acquired parcels of land in exchange equivalent to the size of more than 10 football pitches.
Subsequently, an investigation by the National Audit Office concluded that there had been collusion between the Lands Department and Gaffarena, leading to the resignation of then parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon. The deal was revoked in March 2018, following a court case instituted by then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.