DiveTech Denied Permit to Expand Lighthouse Point Operation

[caydiver]

Doctorfish I definitely agree but I am thinking of the other stakeholders as well. And if they also plan on doing the Nitrox pumping from that location it is not the same business model as simply running a dive op. Maybe that is the reason they were denied. Without all the facts (which none of us know) this is all pure speculation anyway. They are highly regarded across the board here, comply with all the mandates and are very active with helping on projects that the gov uses outside assistance with, so it is hard to imagine they got denied without a solid reason.

 

[Doctorfish]

I take your point Caydiver, Maybe Divetech needs to amend their business model to be more acceptable to the community.

 

[Steve_C]

My experience with such issues in other locations.
-People who buy land with undeveloped land nearby have no idea in what it will be. If you might not like it you should not buy near it.
-Politics or who knows who often plays a role. Seen many a house/building go into a place it was not zoned for if you know the correct people.
-If land has a certain zoning and you buy near it you roll your dice if there are uses within that zoning you do not like.

Locally we have some people complaining about some airport expansion. These are folks who bought homes near a fairly large airport, under the primary flight path, for an airport that has been there for generations. I have no sympathy for them. If you do not like airplanes overhead do not buy near an airport especially not off the end of the runway.

 

[Jcp2]

The best way to ensure that the property next to yours will remain in a state that is acceptable to you is to buy that property.

 

[KathyV]

I understand the frustration on both sides. We had wanted to build a bigger garage for our home in the midwestern US but our permit was denied even though we have a large property with lots of empty space and we are not located on a flood plain, but other properties in the neighborhood are on the flood plain and the village was worried about water management. I can understand that although it was disappointing and it prevented us from doing what we wanted to enhance the value of our property. We built a new garage but we were only allowed to copy the same footprint of the original garage.

But not long afterwards a development firm bought a house just 3 doors from us and they were allowed to knock down the house and garage and construct a monstrous overbuild that fills up most of the lot and doesn't fit the neighborhood profile at all - so why was that okay? I agree that these things can sometimes be political - at least in my town and maybe also in Cayman.

But there may be a compromise for DiveTech somewhere. If they come back with an amended business plan designed to minimize noise disturbances (perhaps to include routing traffic to the site through DiveTech's current property?) then hopefully they will get their permit and the neighborhood will remain peaceful.

 

[jgttrey]

I'd rather have a soundproofed compressor next door than have them throwing 40 cylinders in and out of pickups every day to schlep them down to G town for fills. That's the status quo - not silence. And it has to happen early in the am and late in the evening as opposed to filling cylinders and banks during the day.

I agree that it is reasonable to get a specific noise control plan in place but that shouldn't be hard. It'd probably be an improvement.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Hi Everyone,

While I of course cannot comment on the substance of the issue until the appeal is settled, I would like to address a few comments.

Does LTD fill Nitrox tanks for other ops? Divetech does. Tanks are dropped off from the wee hours in the morning until perhaps after night dives in the evening. Two other factors are that LTD did it first so the dynamic on local roads and businesses was taken into consideration. Possibly it was considered all the area could absorb. Secondly, maybe other stakeholders, ie those with rental properties etc are fighting even harder. If you created a local business that came under resort heading with guests paying for chill time, would you be happy with trucks rolling in and out at 6:30 am. Be fair. When Watercolours went up their was outrage over the “noise” the RSS tank cart made loading two boats in the morning. Multiply that by several ops loading and unloading tanks. Think of the other business owners with guests who may want to sleep in. There is a difference between residential/resort and industrial.

While we do fill tanks for 3 other operators, this is a very minuscule part of our filling operation. At most, it amounts to 1% of our monthly tank fills, give or take. With our current compressor station in an industrial area, the current logistics allow for after hours drop off and pickups of tanks, but that is purely for convenience of the operations who use our service. There is a simple solution - the ops we fill for either need to drop off and pick up during normal work hours, or we simply stop doing it.

I take your point Caydiver, Maybe Divetech needs to amend their business model to be more acceptable to the community.

And we have. We understand noise and quality of life issues associated with noise. The Divetech owner has said many times that we will be more than happy to amend plans as needed.

I'd love to comment more, but am unable to add more details until such time as this matter is completed. I will however add, that Divetech's current owner is very community-minded. We partake in many efforts to better the Cayman Islands and the local community. Most of these things you will never hear about, as they are not for publicity, but to make our home a better one for locals, residents and guests. This potential new location for us is no exception.

Tony

 

[Doctorfish]

I certainly hope that you are eventually approved

 

[Alucard]

I applaud the community-minded part of this, for sure.

Having a compressor in a sound-proof room is very doable - Olin at Sundivers definitely doesn't disturb the neighbourhood with his. It's most definitely the coming and going of trucks with tanks that disturbs, as the news article indicates. While I understand the convenience for a dive op of having the compressor close to where people go diving, it really isn't absolutely necessary. Shore sites are at a premium, and keeping them enjoyable for all is definitely the same.

Divetech should definitely be able to have a dive shop - that should be a no-brainer - but let's keep the compressors away from the shore, would be my plea.

As for loading and unloading tanks to trucks, that happens today at the Lighthouse Point location. Are people complaining about that noise? The advantage that Sundivers has is there aren't any residential or resort units anywhere close to it. You have the Rum Cake shop on one side and the parking lot for the Cayman Motor Museum on the other, with unused land behind it. If that ever gets developed then I suppose some may kick up a fuss, but the Cracked Conch building would block a lot of that sound anyway.

I also note that one of the comments posted was from Jay Easterbrook, previous owner of DiveTech and developer (and I think current owner) of the Lighthouse Point site.

 

[Doctorfish]

What some ops seem to do is have a trailer with a large holding tank(s) which they fill at an off site compressor and then drive to near the boat and fill all the individual tanks in situ.
No clanking, no noise. Dusty Norman at DNS has his compressor in Georgetown and keeps his boats at West Bay and/or Yacht Club. Seems a lot easier and quieter than hauling individual tanks to a compressor. That might work for Divetech.