By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Abaco Club’s principal has accused some Little Harbour residents of seeking to “incite confrontation” against him over its controversial 44-slip marina planned for that community.

David Southworth cited this as the principal reason why he broke off all contacts with the Little Harbour Property Owners Association (ALHPO) just six weeks after meeting them to initiate a public consultation process over the facility.

His decision to sever all ties drew a predictably negative response from Little Harbour residents, who are accusing the Abaco Club of seeking “to monopolise 40-50 per cent of the navigable water” in their harbour with the proposed marina.

The rapid deterioration in relations between the Abaco Club and that community is laid bare in e-mail and letter exchanges filed with the Supreme Court to support a legal challenge to the 44-slip dock and associated facilities.

Attorneys for Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA) are due to appear before the Supreme Court in Freeport tomorrow, seeking its permission (or leave) to initiate Judicial Review proceedings on the grounds that both developer and the Government have failed to engage in “adequate consultation” with residents and affected parties.

Apart from the 44-slip private dock, the project’s supporting facilities include a supplies shop, private restaurant and 6,000 square foot covered parking lot.

RDA fears that if the project goes ahead it will completely change the environment and character of Little Harbour, a 50-home community that runs almost entirely off solar power.

This is much different from the rapport both sides seemingly wanted to build when Mr Southworth met ALHPO and its members on January 8, 2015, to discuss the Abaco Club’s proposed Little Harbour project.

The meeting’s minutes, which have been filed as part of the Supreme Court proceedings, show several instances where Mr Southworth professed his appreciation for Little Harbour’s concept as an environmentally friendly, minimal carbon footprint community.

“We respect what is out here. We totally get it,” Mr Southworth, the principal of US-based Southworth Development, was quoted as saying.

The phrase “I get it” was seemingly repeated several times by Mr Southworth, who acknowledged that the planned Little Harbour facility “was a big part of the business plan” for the Abaco Club.

Southworth Development partnered with a group of existing Abaco Club homeowners to acquire the Winding Bay-based property in late 2014, and Mr Southworth was quoted as saying: “Owning the defunct property here and the docks, this was very appealing to the Winding Bay members.

“As a business and development over there, we are at a disadvantage not having boat access. We plan to sell all of our slips but 10. They will probably go to about $125,000, with about 10 slips owned by the club for club boats so that more people can have access.”

A cordial question and answer (Q&A) session between Mr Southworth and the Little Harbour residents followed, but few specifics and details on the Abaco Club’s plans appear to have been forthcoming.

Mr Southworth also told residents they would be able to see the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and plans, but this did not happen fast enough for many in Little Harbour.

For a February 1, 2015, letter sent to Philip Weech, the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission’s director, claimed residents had “been denied access to the EIA and the dock plans”.

The letter, signed by 63 persons, told Mr Weech: “We hope and trust that you will consider the views of stakeholders - in this case, the people who, unlike Mr Southworth, actually live in Little Harbour plus visiting boaters and tourists - before making a decision that could radically change the character of this small harbour.

“The Abaco Club has over 500 acres of property in their development at Winding Bay. We fail to see the need for them to go ‘off site’ to Little Harbour, where the proposed marina would involve moving a number of registered, long-established moorings, would increase boat traffic and road traffic and - being a private marina for members only - would be of no benefit to either residents or visitors.”

Similar sentiments were quickly expressed to other government ministers and agencies. Peter Sandefur, a Little Harbour resident since 1978, wrote to Prime Minister Perry Christie on February 20 last year to express his misgivings.

“It is the hope of at least 98 per cent of the Little Harbour residents, community and visiting tourists that you will help persuade Mr Southworth and his private club members to reconsider their current plan to use Little Harbour for their proposed private marina complex,” Mr Sandefur wrote.

“Mr Southworth’s company owns about 1 per cent or 2 per cent of the land that makes up Little Harbour, but he proposes to monopolise about 40 per cent or 50 per cent of the navigable water in the harbour by installing a 44-slip marina that will be for ‘members only’, and off limits for all Bahamians, residents and tourists who do not have the buckets of money required to be a member of his exclusive club.”

Mr Sandefur said Little Harbour was “one of Abaco’s most prized cruising and tourist destinations” because it did not feel like a typical resort development that went ‘boom and bust’ in tandem with economic cycles.

He argued that the Abaco Club had its own three-mile bay in which to build a marina, and urged the Prime Minister: “Please help us to guide Mr Southworth and his club members to do the right thing and allow Little Harbour to remain Little Harbour, and free of tiresome over-commercialisation.

“Please help us guide this marina to where it belongs; in their own backyard, and much closer to the ready, willing and able workforce in Cherokee.”

This, and other correspondence, seemingly made a negative impression on Mr Southworth. For he broke off relations with Little Harbour and ALHPO just three days after Mr Sandefur’s letter to Mr Christie, and warned that the Abaco Club would press ahead regardless.

He informed David Mulock, ALHPO’s acting chairman on February 23, 2015: “The reaction of certain of your members was to immediately discontinue all communication and take the offensive, opposing our proposed project in every public forum available.

“In addition, certain of your members have intentionally attempted to over-dramatise the effects of our plan, while others have knowingly based their remarks and objections on what they knew was not true.”

Mr Southworth continued: “I was even shown where one of your residents encouraged others to incite confrontation against me personally.

“It is abundantly clear that many in your group are not, and never were, willing to work with us, and we therefore intend to proceed with our proposal without additional consultation with Little Harbour.

“We will work with government to obtain proper approvals required to proceed with the project we now desire.”

This has remained the Abaco Club’s position to this very day, with Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, recently indicating to Tribune Business that the Little Harbour marina project was close to obtaining all necessary approvals.

Subsequent efforts to ‘break the ice’ with Mr Southworth had little effect. Dr Craig Layman, a fellow at North Carolina State University, suggested that the Abaco Club publicly release the EIA to “de-escalate” tensions.

He wrote in a February 23, 2015, e-mail: “I think one of the reasons this has escalated so is the lack of transparency (perceived or otherwise). Would you be willing to share the EIA with me?

“More generally, I think this is one of the real challenges with environmental issues in the Bahamas - EIAs are made available after the fact when there isn’t time for other stakeholders to provide feedback.

“I think sharing the Little Harbour EIA would make a statement that everything is above board and ease some tensions.”

Mr Southworth, though, was sticking to his position. He reiterated that the reaction “from some members of the Little Harbour community” had driven the Abaco Club to work solely with the Government to obtain the necessary permits.

Suggesting that the 44-slip marina would “best suit our communities’ needs”, he added: “We plan to put forward an environmentally-responsible proposal, yet we know from the actions of certain Little Harbour residents that any plan will be deemed a bad plan.

“At this point, I believe that anything we say or do, or any information we provide, will be misrepresented and twisted for the sole purpose of trying to bolster a case of ‘no development’ in Little Harbour.”

The EIA was finally made publicly available by south Abaco district council following a September 23, 2015, town meeting during which the developer’s plans were said to have changed to include a reverse osmosis water plant, pump-out station and electricity generator.

Mr Southworth’s decision to sever communications with Little Harbour residents and ALHPO provoked a negative response.

Doug Petersen, in a February 25, 2015, e-mail that was widely copied, said he would be surprised if this was the first time that Mr Southworth had experienced opposition to one of his real estate developments.

“I would expect a businessman who leads a property development company bearing his name to react in a more measured fashion than to outright reject local input,” the Little Harbour property owner wrote.

“You cannot be a naive man, so your actions make it appear as though you’re the type of developer who is simply unwilling to hear, let alone address, the concerns of local residents.”

Mr Petersen questioned whether the Abaco Club was only interested in “a one-way dialogue”, and whether the January 8 meeting was only held so that it could argue Little Harbour residents were consulted.

And Mr Sandefur, in an e-mail dated the same day, told Mr Southworth “it is puzzling that you seem happy to slam the gate to further conversation.

“What? You were expecting warm cookies and milk from the harbour you wish to pillage and plunder for no other purpose than to enrich your net worth and the net worth of your friends and associates?”

Arguing that Little Harbour did not want to be “homogenised” by the Abaco Club’s plans, Mr Sandefur added: “Please have some respect for us and it will be reflected.

“Build your wonderful marina in Winding Bay or somewhere else. I, and most others, will buy you a drink at the pub when you finally ‘get it’.”