By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A former Olympic swimmer's bid to obtain approvals for the expansion of his beach day excursion has been held up by the planning authorities so they can obtain the views of "nearby residents" - on sparsely populated Rose Island.

The Town Planning Committee, in a June 27, 2023, letter to Christopher Vythoulkas, who represented The Bahamas in the summer games in Athens in 2004, said it was "deferring" its approval decision so that a public hearing could be held on the proposal to develop a grill area and other amenities at a western Rose Island site to which he already brings visiting cruise passengers.

Referring to the application for preliminary approval of the Piggly Wiggly Bar & Grill, which was discussed at the Committee's meeting the same day, they informed Mr Vythoulkas: "The Committee deferred a decision in order to have a public hearing to obtain the views of nearby residents."

Multiple persons familiar with Rose Island, speaking on condition of anonymity, immediately challenged the need for such a public hearing given that the island - located off New Providence's north-west coast - has so few, if any, full-time residents and just a few persons they described as "caretakers" living there.

However, Keenan Johnson, the Town Planning Committee's chairman, told Tribune Business the authority was merely following the statutory processes laid out in the law for dealing with an application of this nature, which require that Bahamians and affected persons be given a chance to "weigh in".

"By law we're required to have a public hearing on all such applications. We're just simply following the process," he explained. "The law requires us to have a public hearing and give the public notice of such a hearing on preliminary applications, site plan applications, and so forth.

"Most applications that come before the Town Planning Committee require us to go to a public hearing. We have a need to give the public an opportunity to weigh in. Some people have vested interests, or national interests in this area. Since we've had these public hearings we've had persons with objections that should be taken into consideration, and persons give explanations and reasons for why projects should not be approved.

"It's not just a formality. We want to ensure that before a decision is made we give citizens an opportunity to weigh in on these projects." Mr Vythoulkas, when contacted by Tribune Business, indicated he was unaware of the Town Planning Committee's decision to defer approval of his project and call a public hearing, and said he would get back to this newspaper. He subsequently declined to comment further.

However, in his January 23, 2023, letter to the Town Planning Committee outlining the project, Mr Vythoulkas said the venue would not be used to host "concerts, events or loud obnoxious parties". Disclosing that he has all other necessary approvals, including those relating to food and health and sanitation, he added that he was merely expanding the services available at a beach location to where he already brings cruise passenger clients.

Disclosing that Piggly Wiggly Beach Bar & Grill will be located on Rose Island's lots 23 and 24, he added that one of these land parcels was already owned by his family while a lease agreement has already been executed for the other. "As per the conveyance, there are no restrictive covenants or conditions and there are currently four existing beach bars with food and beverage operations on Rose Island," Mr Vythoulkas wrote.

"Piggly Wiggly Beach Bar & Grill will operate to serve food and beverages to guests of our existing private charter boat business. Our charter boat business operates two scheduled daily tours where we collect our booked guests from the cruise ships. Each charter group enjoys a brief tour of Nassau and Paradise Island before venturing to Rose Island to sightsee and enjoy the beach.

"As we do currently stop at lot number 23 Rose Island for our beach time/swim tour of each tour, we now wish to simply prepare and serve our guests a grilled/BBQ lunch and beverages before returning them to port. There are existing structures on the property which were built in 1986 and are well maintained. We have obtained approvals from the police, sanitation and food and health for the site, handling, preparation and sale of food and beverages.

"At no time will Piggly Wiggly Beach Bar & Grill be an operation open to the general public, and we will not be hosting concerts, events and loud, obnoxious parties. Specifically, relaxation and the beauty of The Bahamas is the focal point of our charter/excursion experience."

Mr Vythoulkas said the operator also plans to partner with the Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation (BREEF), Bahamas Air and Sea Rescue, the Bahamas National Trust and the Bahamas Meteorological Department, with the the latter placing a weather station and video cameras at the site to help monitor weather conditions for private and small vessels.

The June 27 decision marks the second time in four months that the Town Planning Committee has deferred an approval decision on the Piggly Wiggly Beach Bar & Grill application. The first decision, taken at its February 14, 2023, meeting was based on the need to complete a land use survey of Rose Island - an exercise that was expected to take between three to six months.

A paper prepared for the Town Planning Committee described Mr Vythoulkas' proposed project as covering 1.08 acres and being located three and three-quarter miles from the island's western tip. "The applicant operates a charter boat business that conducts scheduled daily tours of tourists from the cruise ships," the Committee was told.

"The tour offers guest tours around Nassau and Paradise Island before taking them to Rose Island to the site for a beach day experience. This application now proposes to expand that offering to provide food and drink services on the island. The applicant proposes to construct bathroom facilities, a grill area and other amenities - hammocks, swings and sightseeing paths) to enhance the beach experience for the tourists."