Negril needs your opinion...

[thepegboy]

I echo the sentiments of posters resistant to large-scale, vertical development, but realize that the option is horizontal sprawl; all areas of the Negril may not suffer the same constraints, so guidlines should have some flexibility. Can we say "nothing over XXX feet tall?" I think that's too limiting.
Definitely maintain beachfront clearance, and definitely keep public access to all waterfront!
As far as the 'color and form of bldgs and fences to keep amenity and design ' goes, I hope this assumes (rightly) that Negril is an ecclecticly decorated town with NO limits to design! I like the haphazard colors and materials!
Above all, maintaining the natural biota and environment are very important and should be paramount.

[Lola]

Accompong, is there proof " If you allow Jamaican small business owners to increase their room offerings, they will hire more people at a little better wages and a much better working environment." ??

[Accompong]

Yes.

Accompong, is there proof " If you allow Jamaican small business owners to increase their room offerings, they will hire more people at a little better wages and a much better working environment." ??

[goldilocks]

I believe Negril does not need any more hotel rooms, especially third and fourth floors at mega resorts. Definitely no more building on the beach! I would like to see more focus on eco-tourism and sustainable development that will not destroy the already fragile eco-systems. For me, if the sea becomes too polluted even the fanciest hotel amenities won't make up for that. I believe that Negril does not have adequate sewage treatment systems in place now, let alone when adding more rooms. I come to Jamaica for the Music, Food and Culture and have absolutely zero interest in huge resorts that imitate Cancun or Disney World.

[rustedduck]

I tend to agree with Packrat's thread. I see no issues with the 1981 development plan, other than the enforcement. Ultimately I believe it up to
the Jamaican people to decide their own direction or path. (I do understand the inherent problem here).
Personally, if Negril becomes the land of mega resorts, and tall building ill take my business elsewhere. I enjoy Negril now, and wish I could have seen it decades ago.

[Lola]

MMmmm very informative Accompong (not). Who or what is stopping the Jamaican small business owners from increasing their room offerings? Rondel added (as an example), while others do not. I've seen re-development plans for one property (maybe more), but nothing happened.

[Ras Walleye]

Once Negril is over developed and Cuba is open to Americans the business in Negril will drop dramatically. Lots of unspoiled beaches in Cuba.

[rocknrollfarmer]

I'd like to chime in about two posts. Yes Ras Walleye, I believe there are many Americans hoping that relations between Cuba & US continue. When and if the travel restrictions are lifted, there will be big hotel investors throwing money into Cuba like crazy. As you said lots of unspoiled beaches there. I would like to reiterate what TAH mentioned earlier. We stayed one time at a huge Riu in Ocho, it was full. I can';t remember how many stories the buildings where, but I believe there were like close to 900 rooms, so, in the buffet rooms, you've got practically 1800 people scrambling all over everybody to eat. Crazy. The beach was small. No disrespect here, but I didn't like it. {we don't do AI anymore, learned our lesson} We tried Ocho, just to check it out. We've been to Negril 12 times. So, what does that say? So, I too would be against tall tall resorts being built in our Negril. Rob, keep the topic rolling. It's good to have everybody have a comment on this. Yamon'

[negrilsand]

Couples and Sandals are Jamaican owned resorts. Newcomers to Jamaica-the so called Spanish resort operators-are given huge tax incentives that give them a great advantage over the established resorts.I understand that the incentives last 10 years. These foreign operators seem to be interested in building large rather tacky properties. I think that when the tax incentives run their course, these concerns will sell and leave deteriorated buildings that may or may not be bought by a different foreign concern. Jamaica seems to be interested only in immediate gratification. Johnny Issa saw what was coming and has almost completely taken SuperClubs off the island. With the tax incentives and easier access to funding, the new mega resorts are running the Jamaican owners out of business. These newcomers also arrogantly ignore some of the building restrictions. One new resort stole the sand from an entire beach. I think that the beach owners law suit has been lingering in court for several years. One only has to look at Grand Palladium in Lucea to see shoddy construction. Parts of that project begin to fall apart in its first year and what a monstrosity the resort is! One can see the effect of the tax incentives when they compare the condition of the facilities at Sandals and Couples with those at, for example, Iberostar Grande, which has pretty much the same price point as those two resorts. I am not very optimistic when I look for leaders that can effectively solve Jamaica's many problems. Perhaps some likkle things can be tackled and we can enjoy the island for now. I would love to see a ban on those black plastic bags. I am afraid to take a water sample to be analyzed especially in the MoBay area.

[Packrat]

Lee and Butch also play buy the rules, the ones they helped put together. They are the leaders that Jamaica and Negril need to step up and flex some muscle. Lee's dad was the original visionary for Jamaican tourism and Butch is well Butch, a Jamaican Icon. There is room for all Jamaican investors and those willing to invest in Negril, but investments must be long term, not the Gordon Gekko kind