Ambergris Caye has no Zoning laws. In 1992 a Master plan was finished but it was never made into law and has been more or less ignored from its inception. This has lead to the mess we are in today.
One of the ACCSD’s main goals is to update this master plan and have it accepted as law This will allow the island to plan its future, what is and is not developed, how much is left for schools and green spaces. What type of development is acceptable by the island and what isnt.
The Ambergris caye planning committee and town board has set up a sub-committee tasked with making the Master Plan for the island a reality.
As of June 2009, Coastal zone management CZM have been given $25,000bz from Hol Chan and an unknown amount from WWF to get a first draft completed. This was due to be completed by August 2009 and be ready for public consultation then. This has not happened and Coastal Zone has missed several other deadlines. We are assured the Master plan is being worked on.
- January 2010: Coastal Zone Management have sent out a second draft for key stakeholders to review.
- March 2010: Coastal Zone Management visit San Pedro and present the latest draft to the Town board and ACCSD committee. The next draft is to be published on the CZM facebook page (www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=103622563073) for public review before a full public meeting in San Pedro.
- April 2010: Coastal Zone Management hold first Public consultation on the draft master plan. the latest draft can be seen at:
http://ambergriscaye.com/art/pdfs/RevisedMasterDevPlanAmbergrisCaye_09_02_10final.pdf
The full 11MB 1992 plan is available online at http://belizenews.com/pdfs/MasterplanAmbergrisCaye.pdf
Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development 