By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE ongoing dispute over an easement giving access to Cabbage Beach has now made its way to the Office of the Attorney General as the government works to determine the “historic relevance” of the Paradise Island path.

Halston Moultrie, attorney for the Cabbage Beach Vendors Association, told The Tribune on Friday that legal counsel for parties involved have been allowed opportunities to present their relevant documents connected to the historic status of the easement at a meeting he described as “inconclusive”.

He noted that there remain two essential factors that have to be determined - what is, in fact, the true high-water mark with respect to public beaches and the regulated treatment of easements with regard to private properties.

The Cabbage Beach easement, adjacent to the Riu Paradise Island Hotel, has been in use for decades by the public and vendors that work on the beach. However, for at least the last 20 years, the property itself has been owned and operated by private companies.

In 2014, the ownership of the Cabbage Beach property was transferred from Atlantis (Brookfield) to a subsidiary of Access Industries, the One&Only Ocean Club. Prior to the sale of the property, Atlantis (Brookfield) had allowed access to the beach via private property; however, the company had petitioned the government on several occasions to address the unregulated vendor operation there.

Those overtures by Atlantis (Brookfield) led to a number of minor changes to the way vendors were allowed to operate at the site; business licences were needed, along with other minor requirements.

When Atlantis (Brookfield) finally sold the property to Access Industries, the sale agreement mandated that Atlantis (Brookfield) would address the vendor issue - with Access Industries requesting that they be removed totally as the company was looking to extend its One&Only Ocean Club brand onto the Cabbage Beach property.

In an open letter published in The Tribune last month Access Industries contended that the property “is and has always been private”. The resort management company stated that it had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the government was provided every opportunity to manage the situation without issue.

“Since the June 2014 purchase, at Government’s request, Access Industries has postponed termination of the licences five times to keep the beach pathway open to provide the Government the time and opportunity to identify an alternative solution. On February 29, it was agreed with Government that the access would remain open until March 31 to allow the Government additional time to find an alternative solution,” Access Industries added.

Discussing the issue of the high-water mark, Mr Moultrie told The Tribune that there exists no “clear legal definition” for the term. He stressed that for decades Bahamians have opted to address similar matters on a case-by-case basis. He added that if the country had an established definition for the high-water mark term, there would have been more clarity on exactly where beach vendors were allowed to operate. By law, public beaches are are defined as public spaces, allowing access to all. However, private properties that align these beaches are private only up to the high-water mark line.

In early December the vendors association filed an injunction in the Supreme Court to prevent Access Industries from restricting access via the easement. Subsequently, a 30-day injection was put in place. Further applications were made to get that injunction extended, but motions were eventually denied, allowing Access Industries the leeway to erect a fence to restrict access to the beach atop its property.

But last month protestors tore down the fence amid two days of public unrest over the matter.

Addressing current circumstances surrounding the dispute Mr Moultrie said: “In no circumstance should all the coastline be sold to private companies to limit public access to the shoreline. We are hopeful that the government, in its wisdom, will enact legislation to protect the inalienable right of Bahamians to reach beaches across the Bahamas”.

The Office of the Attorney General is expected to advise the Prime Minister on the matter in the coming weeks.