A new broom must sweep clean and therefore the new Cabinet is expected to deliver on its environmental pledges. This column has repeatedly harped on what needs to be done for a better environment. As the Government starts off its five-year term, I would like to make some requests, which are often ignored.
All Outside Development Zone (ODZ) decisions should be vetted by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority auditor and permits revoked if necessary.
NGOs should be informed on a weekly basis of all submitted and pending ODZ applications and all relevant documentation has to be made available.
The sanctioning of ODZ illegalities has to stop at once. In 2007, Mepa 'closed' 449 enforcement cases. Of these, 328 were sanctioned.
ODZ developments should be demolished as soon as they surface. This is especially pressing for public land since the Lands Department might eventually have to foot the bill, thus possibly precluding it from carrying out demolition.
Mepa's complaints office has to be extended so that it can handle the myriad complaints and reports of illegal development within an adequate timeframe.
The authority's Environment Directorate should be placed on an equal footing as the Planning Directorate, and the laudable green warden initiative should be resumed and not applied only to waste management aspects.
Assurances have to be given to ensure development zones are not reopened, thus debunking claims made in the Labour media that the Nationalist Party will reopen such zones once in government.
Since the trapping of birds will soon be a thing of the past, all hides should be gradually removed from sensitive garigue and coastal sites.
The list of declared Marine Protected Areas should be bolstered - to date, just Rdum Majjiesa and Dwejra fall into this category.
On another level, the Government should ensure that that the figure of 53,000 vacant buildings is reduced through effective rent reform and that a viable public transport service becomes a priority.
Finally, the Polluter Pays principle should finally see the light of day - car registration tax levels should be inherently tied to emissions testing of the same vehicle. If such a system is ushered in, there would be no need to report to the Transport Authority cars churning belching clouds of smoke.
ODZ is ODZ
On March 4, Prime Minster Lawrence Gonzi made a landmark statement: "The real issue for our country is to find real solutions for our environment. And we have to find the solutions to move forward. We need strict rules to lay down the exception. To me, ODZ is ODZ."
I could not endorse further such a statement, especially since, from 2004 to 2007, Mepa approved 2,500 ODZ applications; over these three years, 850 of these refused ODZ applications were reconsidered and over half were approved.
Currently there are over 6,600 illegal developments bearing a Mepa enforcement notice. Fortytwo per cent of these are ODZ illegal developments, according to reports. However, NGOs have repeatedly been told that no one can prevent applicants from submitting ODZ applications.
Under the current deluge of ODZ applications reaching the authority, is it feasible to expect that none, or very few of these, are waived through? Why not make it a point that no ODZ applications result in development, except for exceptional cases such as carrying out necessary repairs to existing buildings?
Mistra... again
With all the headlines surrounding the proposed Spin Valley disco case at Mistra, another planning ogre close-by risks being relegated to the backburner - the infamous Mistra Towers development.
The application PA 05538/04 refers to the proposed redevelopment of the Mistra Village premises - PA 03826/97 was approved way back in 1997 for the proposed demolition of Dura Block on the same site and to replace it with larger facilities. Recently, an addendums to the project description statement was submitted, with revamped plans for Block D and with, consequently, a renewed impact analysis. Through the mind-boggling cobweb of successive applications and subsequent addendums, for which it takes quite some time to establish the proper timeline, the following salient points surface:
On the positive side, plans for the 19-storey Tower D have been ditched - instead, a tower, rising from six to 13 floors and then back again to six floors, will rise.
The total floor area of the project has been marginally reduced from 168,000 m2 to 152,000 m2. The site coverage has been reduced from 36 to 33 per cent.
On the negative side, the proposed site development will still dominate the skyline when viewed from Mellieħa and Mistra Bay, sticking out like a sore thumb. The total number of apartments remains at around 1,000 units.
Studies have shown that the entire community will be shadowed during the winter solstice if the proposed development goes ahead, whereas a small parcel of the same community is not shadowed under the status quo.
This fact, however, is expected not to impinge unduly onto the heath community - the addendum rightly stresses that the churning of dust and building debris might potentially reduce the ecological value of the protected heath community.
To legislate against such an eventuality, the study recommends the erection of a 2.5m-high barrier placed two metres away from the heath community so as to shield it.
The bottom line is that ecological concerns are usually more easily addressed through proper mitigation measures than visual/landscape ones, for which no effective mitigation seems possible.
This further underscores the statement in the third State of the Environment Report (2005) - 'Some important areas of high quality landscape character have not been given statutory protection' - the earmarked site itself rubs shoulders with an area of high landscape value. If the project is given the green light, guarantees should be given by the developers and Mepa that no further encroachment along Bajda Ridge will be permitted. Is such a public deed plausible?
alan.deidun@um.edu.mt; alpra1@mail.global.net.mt