Two thoughts. Here she states,
"Few, if any, of these requirements have been adhered to. Where permission of the NRCA was required to remove important coastal features, it was given in many cases. Removal also proceeded illegally. The Government of Jamaica did declare the Negril Environment Protection Area, including the Negril Marine Park and the Orange Bay Fish sanctuary, but the management of these assets is clearly weak."

If the existing regulations have not been effectively enforced, then the written regulations do not carry much meaning. It seems that the issue is that no one is taking responsibility for oversight.

Secondly, since hotels are limited in height, they have been expanding horizontally - across beach road onto the garden side. Place like White Sands Negril (for example) have limited beach space which is densely packed with people. My concern is that the beach is not wide enough in many locations to accommodate a significant increase in bodies. Negril is not Puerto Vallarta with a wide beach that can handle rows of high rise resorts.

Happy trails!