Long Caye Belize

The following letters have been sent by individual property owners directly to the Chief Environmental Officer of the Department of the Environment, Mr. Martin Alegria. They are reprinted here with permission and with the suggestion that anyone else who has any objections to the new eco-guidelines or any of its provisions also make Mr. Alegria aware of them.

Mr. Martin Alegria
Department of the Environment
Market Square
Belmopan City, Cayo District
BELIZE

Dear Sir,

It has come to our attention that your office has approved  the “revised Eco-Guidelines of Pleasure Island Limited, a residential and commercial subdivision on Long Caye at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize District,” submitted by Pleasure Island Limited some time last year.

We are writing to let you know that, as owners of real property on Long Caye,  we do strenuously object to many of the provisions of these eco-guidelines, particularly the ones that have nothing to do with protecting the environment, but appear to be included solely to protect the on-going interests of the developers, the directors of Pleasure Island Limited (PIL).

These guidelines were written without input from and without the informed consent of the existing shareholders, those who have, in good faith, purchased property on Long Caye and have been unable to enjoy their property because of the developer’s inability or unwillingness to develop the promised infra-structure. As purchasers of property on Long Caye we are fully committed to protecting its environment and helping to create a sustainable community. However, over the past 10 years it has become clear that the developers do not share our interest and this latest attempt on their part to indenture the property owners even more for what appears to be their own personal gain has made the situation intolerable.

The document makes reference to an Exhibit “A,” or “Masterplan,” and Exhibit “B” (“Additional Property”) and yet no such exhibits have been published or made available to the property owners.  The master plan that the purchasers of real property on Long Caye were shown when purchasing their property (and presumably approved by your office) indicates a channel and marina to be created in the center of the island. If that is no longer to be the case, it is our opinion that the developers misrepresented their claims and are still misrepresenting the ultimate plan for Long Caye and may be, at the very least, guilty of real estate fraud in this regard. The original master plan can be seen here: https://longcayebelize.wordpress.com/master-plans/.  And as of this date, it still appears on the Pleasure Island Limited website.

You should also be aware that some property owners are initiating an investigation in the United States to determine if PIL and its directors may be guilty of mail fraud and income tax evasion for soliciting and collecting funds in the United States and not reporting them to the Internal Revenue Service.

Here follows a recapitulation of some, but not necessarily all, of the grievances property owners have with Pleasure Island Limited and its directors:

• Homeowners continue to be told they must pay maintenance fees for services promised, but not delivered.
• There continues to be a lack of reliable accountability for how maintenance fees collected by PIL in the past have been (and are being) spent and no oversight on the “bookkeeping” by anyone other than PIL.
• With no competition for “maintenance” services performed on Long Caye, and no accountability, there is no cost control and no culpability for incompetence.
• Legitimate businesses currently operating on Long Caye (providing lodging, meals, guide services, scuba diving, and fishing) have been impacted by inadequate security, lack of adequate trash removal, poor maintenance of docks and piers, the looming threat of “maintenance” fees being raised and rules changing at the whim of PIL. 
• The “vision” for the island seems to change with every new major investor PIL tries to bring on board. For example, the marina (and safe boat harbor) that was on the original “master” plan when many property owners purchased their home sites has, supposedly, been replaced with a “preserve.”  The southern end of the Caye, which was originally going to be the preserve, is now presumably destined for a very large “luxury” development and quite possibly without the indenture agreement impacting all home site owners on the northern end of the caye.
• In spite of numerous promises to build boardwalks to all properties sold on the island, any further boardwalk development appears to have been abandoned, leaving many people with property they cannot get to.
• With the present level of discontent and failure to develop adequate infrastructure, it is unlikely that the percentage of home sites “sold” will ever meet the requirement, established by the Eco-Guidelines, for the number of lots sold before PIL will relinquish control of the Property Owners Association to the actual property owners.
• PIL appears to continue to operate in its own self-interest and not in the interest of the property owners.
• A number of people purchased “shares” in PIL from Jackson Edwards’  father many years ago.   (Jackson Edwards is one of the current directors of Pleasure Island Limited.) Some of those “shares” may have been linked to specific pieces of property, most likely in the area that is now called Loggerhead, and may have been re-packaged and sold to others at a later date with no compensation or notification to the original “share-holders.”
• A number of these transactions and subsequent transactions contained claims that did not really exist and/or promises that have not been kept.
• So-called “quarterly” reports are lacking in substantive information.
• The Caye continues to be used as the semi-private playground of the directors of PIL who trespass willfully on others’ property, build communal structures on private property for their own enjoyment, and use private property for communal benefit (burning of trash) without permission from or compensation to the owners of that property.

In closing, we strongly urge you to reconsider your approval of their actions and of these new eco-guidelines and to please wait for a legitimate property owner’s association to be created, one that represents the actual property owners and has a sincere commitment to protecting the environment, before considering any further changes or requests for changes from Pleasure Island Limited.

February 15, 2011
Belize Government, Department of the Environment
Chief Environmental Officer: Martin Alegria
Re: Long Caye Eco-Guidelines

Dear  Mr. Alegria,

I am writing you today to ask that you investigate the new eco-guidelines allegedly approved by your office on behalf of Pleasure Island Limited (PIL). I have reviewed the revised guidelines and while I don’t have an issue with the environmental safeguards in place, I am outraged that PIL feels they have the right to mandate these regulations on my property–property that I paid for with cash at closing–without even notifying me or, from what I understand, any of the other property owners. These new guidelines were never voted on by anyone but the directors of PIL.

I was skeptical about buying land out of the country because of the very situation that I am writing you about today. 

And now I am very concerned that PIL seems to feel they don’t need to do anything they have promised property owners for over 9 years, but still thinks it has the right to try to assess property owners new fees and impose new regulations. Some property owners still do not even have access to the lots they purchased from PIL ten years ago!

I humbly ask that you recant your approval of these new “eco-guidelines” and prevent any further regulations being made that impact the property owners on Long Caye until the property owners who own the land can vote and allow the majority to rule.  I pray that you are a just man and will do what is right for the people’s sake on Long Caye and revoke the new guidelines until such time that the current directors relinquish rights over to a property owners association that is actually governed by the property owners and not the developers.  

As it is an alleged correspondance from Mr. Alegria to the directors of PIL that seems to make PIL think they have the blessing of the government of Belize to indenture the property owners of Long Caye, we think this is an appropriate place to voice your concerns.  Be sure to include your name and your parcel number.

The address for Mr. Alegria is:

Mr. Martin Alegria
Department of the Environment
Market Square
Belmopan City, Cayo District
BELIZE

email:   envirodept@btl.net 

phone:  +(501) 822-2816 / 822-2542  (dial 011 first, from the United States)

fax: +(501) 822-2862

In order to make sure Mr. Alegria receives your comments, I would suggest using more than one of the above forms of communication.

You might also want to send a letter to Hon. Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment. His mailing address is:

Market Square
Belmopan
Cayo
Belize

Phone:  501-822-3286
Email: minister@mnrei.gov.bz

Also, at the same address, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment:

Mrs. Beverly Castillo

Her email address is:  ceo@mnrei.gov.bz 

Her phone number is:  501-822-2630  

For those who are interested, here is a link to the Belize Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Consulate in Los Angeles.

Additionally, there has also been a general request for: 

1)  Any documents or correspondence you may have from PIL or its representatives requesting (or demanding) payments of any kind or amount to be sent to an address within the United States

2) Any documents from any entity claiming to represent the property owners  or a property owners association by any name requesting funds on behalf of PIL. If you received these documents via U.S. mail, please advise us of that, as well.

We also encourage you to write to the directors of PIL directly letting them know of your complaints and concerns with the new eco-guidelines and/or their management of Long Caye.  We will be pubslihing more of those as we are notified. I would also like to encourage the directors of Long Caye to respond to the concerns of the property owners that have been expressed here and elsewhere.

Here is a note from Fred Goodrich, who owns lot 570 and was at the meeting of property owners held on Long Caye in 2007:

“…..PIL (in all its various forms) has lied to us from the get go and nothing has changed……..It would seem that they have figured out more ways for the property owners to pay and for them to do as little as possible at no cost to PIL.  I am surprised that they do not charge a fee to dock boats at the main pier, a fee to walk on the island, a fee to breathe the air, and a photo fee.  If I had been their advisor, the property owners would be paying for anything and everything related to the privilege of using or enjoying their lots.  PIL has found the goose that laid the golden egg and the property owners are that goose.

……. In the States they would have been sued until they did not have a nickel left.  But I digress, we are in Belize.  They know what they can get away with and they are doing it.  Unless all property owners stand up and say no and do not pay their maintenance fees or any fees these guys are in control.

…….just a bad investment as far as I am concerned.”

And, here is a photo of a cautionary sign in the window of a real estate office in San Ignacio, with fair warning to all who would consider purchasing property in Belize.

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Property owner Soraya Young (lot 578) has asked me to share with you her concerns regarding the new Eco-guidelines. They follow here:

There have been requests for copies of Exhibit” A” or “B” from lot owners and have not been delivered. That concerns me. I have yet to see any areas designated as “Common Areas” on file.

I have requested a statement for assessments and have yet to receive a statement. However, I am aware that PIL is or has talked to other owners to about filing liens on their properties for past due assessments, as well as owners that have paid and continue to receive past due statements. I am very concerned that PIL is now reserving the right to not act on promises made in the past, present, or future and not be held accountable yet they are implementing guidelines that would allow for them to collect more funds from owners under different “headers.”

Please note that I am comparing the guidelines I signed a year ago with Eco- Holdings to the new guidelines on this website being implemented by Pleasure Island Limited.

On page 3, please refer to DEFINITIONS

Is PIL stating that within Exhibit “B” they are reserving the right to claim rights over what previously was not allotted, however, we cannot determine that because the Exhibit “B” has not been reviewed. When I request a copy of the new guidelines I did not receive an Exhibit “A” or “B.”

On page 5, please refer to the PROPERTY RIGHTS

PIL is reserving the right to charge you for the use of the Common Area based on the wear and tear, as well as, paying for the maintenance as a part of the General Assessment.  Wouldn’t the general maintenance cover the wear and tear to “maintain?” Sounds like a loophole to be able to charge for access in the future.  Please also see Page 6, RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION states they are responsible for the general maintenance of the common area. Again on page 8, under Maintenance, this time in reserving the right to charge a special assessment only to add the right to hire contract work for landscaping.

On page 6, please refer to the MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING RIGHTS

Class B states whichever comes first in 6 months after Declarant has sold 90% of the properties on the Exhibit “A” or “B,” or by December 31, 2014, or when Declarant withdraws. It doesn’t appear to me that PIL or Eco-Holdings are actively selling property. Is anyone aware of this differently?

On page 7, please refer to the RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ASSOCIATION

Security

PIL is stating the owners are responsible for their own safety and security, however, on page 26 under USE RESTRICTIONS, Firearms are prohibited on the island.  As the current residences, of Long Caye are very well aware of refuges occasionally coming onto the island. PIL does not want us to have arms? Belize law allows for people to own guns under certain criteria. I will not live in a home without firearms to protect my children.

On page9, please refer to COST SHARING

 Is this the land that has been granted to a university? If the Declarant has given this property for the right of research, then why would we pay for this out of the Common Expense?  So when the funding from the general assessments are depleted from paying for such costs out of the fund, then guess whose assessments are going up the next year? 

On page 12, please refer to the Architect and General Contractor Approval

I would like to see that the criteria for approval to be made available to the lot owners so that may take the guessing game out of trying to find acceptable candidates, as well as, having a list of previously approved architects, builders, and contractors for the future benefit of lot owners wanting to build without having to submit approval.

Page 20, please refer to Special Assessments

As an example: Let’s say the Declarant “may” decided to declare the need to build a boardwalk in front of my lot so they claim a “special assessment” my property and charge me $15,000.00 if so “deemed necessary” without my knowledge or approval.  

Mandatory Benefited Assessments

Without prior notice or consent my lot without a dwelling could possibly be charged $1,000.00 for clearing and no way for me to be able to determine if whether the work has really been done?  The reason I state $1000.00 is because I was given a verbal quote for that amount less than a year ago.

Page 21, please refer to Exempt Property

 (d) Mandates that employees,  directors,  and officers, at the designation of Declarant are exempt from paying assessments.  I would like to know what that equates to.  This being said, when the Class B members become Class A members and are exempt from assessments, are they entitled to vote. From what I understand in reading the guidelines, the answer is Yes.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

Page 23, please refer to Annual Financial Reports and Budgets

According to this, each individual owner must request a copy of the reports. I will request one today. It seems that PIL has sent newsletters to certain individuals and not all the owners. Why is that? I urge that all owners request a copy of Exhibit “A,”  “B,” and the most recent financial statement.

Page 23, Please refer to Leasing

If an owner is past due with assessments, Declarant is reserving the right to receive the rents directly from the tenants and reserving the right to promulgate lease contracts that owners will be required to use.

On page 29, please refer to Declarant’s Rights

In the Community Systems sections the Declarant is reserving the right to establish “community systems and require that all owners use this system. So basically each owner who has built or will build and establish a home with solar power may potentially be mandated to no longer provide its own energy but “hook up” to the communal system and then be charged for this system.  This includes cable, and many more items stating as “not now known.”   I had a conversation with a director that there are attempts in progress of establishing a “community solar system within the last 8 months.”

In closing, my right to express my opinion is simply that and would appreciate not having retaliatory remarks being made to me.  However, if you would like to discuss the issues at hand please email me: soraya4870@yahoo.com.

If you have not yet done so, I strongly urge you to read the new “eco-guidelines.”

It has been a year since I visited Long Caye. And while there is still much to report from that visit, I think it is more important right now to bring everyone up to speed on some of the latest developments.

New Eco-Guidelines

Apparently, sometime last year, new eco-guidelines were issued by PIL, though not everyone received notification of this or received a copy of them.  Upon request, I received a copy from Jim Cullinan (PIL’s new director) last week and  have posted them here.  I have also kept the “old” guidelines posted on this blog as a matter of historical record and as a reference tool for those seeking legal recourse. You can find the old eco-guidelines here.  These are the new ones:

The assumption by PIL is that every property owner, regardless of when they purchased their lot(s), is subject to these new rules and regulations.  I am looking forward to hearing from other property owners as to their opinions on these new rules and regulations and will share them with the rest of the Long Caye Community.  Please include your lot number when responding, and let me know if you prefer to remain “anonymous.”

“Master” Plan

In the process of trying to review the new eco-guidelines, I reached an insurmountable hurdle in the first sentence:  Declarant is the owner of the real property described on Exhibit “A” (Masterplan), which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. 

I was unable to find Exhibit “A” or anything resembling a “Masterplan” anywhere in the copy of the new eco-guidelines I received. Nor is there one posted on the PIL website or the “Long Caye Community Association” website. If anyone did receive a copy of Exhibit “A” please forward it to me so I can share it with the rest of the property owners. (I have requested one from PIL, but still have not received it.)

File Objections

Department of Environment
Chief Environmental Officer – Mr. Martin Alegria
Telephone:  +(501) 822-2816 / 822-2542
Fax:            +(501) 822-2862
E-mail:        envirodept@btl.net

Press here for a link to the Department of the Environment’s website.

Press here for additional contact information at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

I have heard reports, seen photos, and heard rumours of  environmental “misdeeds” on the caye.  If you have any information in that regard, you should send your photos or other documentation directly to the Department of the Environment.  Please make sure everything you send is substantiated and dated. You are also welcome to submit them here.

Legal Recourse

Some property owners have raised the question as to whether the Eco-Guidelines and associated maintenance fees are legally binding or even enforceable. Others have questioned  whether or not the eco-guidelines are a legal indenture attached to home sites purchased on Long Caye.  The general consensus from the Belizeans we spoke with last February was that the Eco-Guidelines were unenforceable under Belize Law and that, under Belize Law, it was extremely difficult to take people’s property away from them.  (Please note, this is not a legal opinion, but here is a link to a website documenting the Laws of Belize, for those of you who are interested in exploring this further. ) In any case, it would seem that this might be something that would be decided in a Belizean court of law.

However, other property owners are of the opinion that since PIL was incorporated in the United States (press here to download the PIL  Articles of Incorporation), and because property was purchased while PIL was still a corporation in the US, and because properties were advertised for sale and sales were concluded in the United States, and because monies for “maintenance fees’ were collected in the United States,  that some of the issues you have may actually belong in U.S. Federal Court.

Please note: the last annual report that PIL (the one that was incorporated in the United States)  filed with the State of Florida was on Feb. 9, 2004, and PIL was dissolved by the State of Florida on September 16, 2005 for not filing an annual report.  Any information on the PIL that was incorporated in Belize would be greatly appreciated, mostly when and where it was incorporated, and by whom.  

Tax Issues

This may or may not be relevant, but if anyone is making (or has made) payments to PIL through its office in Braintree MA, they might want to try to make sense of the Internal Revenue Service requirements concerning U.S. citizens and residents making payments to foreign corporations:

http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Jun/1/127224.html

Here is an excerpt: 

Under sections 871(a) and 881(a) of the Code, nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations are subject to a 30 percent tax on gross income they receive from sources within the United States that are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States. Such income includes interest, dividends, rents, royalties, pensions, alimony and other fixed or determinable annual or periodic (FDAP) income, certain gains, and compensation for independent services performed in the United States, including directors fees. The 30 percent withholding tax is reduced to 14 percent on scholarships and fellowships received by nonresident alien individuals in the United States in F, J, M, or Q immigration status.

If anyone out there has any legal or tax expertise, perhaps you could clarify the implications, if any, of this for the rest of us. Regardless, it seems like this would beg the question: as a ” foreign” corporation receiving income from sources within the United States, was PIL filing the correct paperwork with the IRS and paying the tax?  When I asked Blake Ross, Jackson Edwards, and Jim Cullinan (PIL’s current direstors) about this last February, the answer was “No.” 

In any case, I don’t recall seeing any such tax expense listed on any of the “accounting” documents sent by PIL, and this is worth someone looking into as if PIL and its directors are at risk of running afoul of the IRS, what are the implications for the rest of us?

Other Property Owner Concerns

Those of you who are relatively new to the situation on Long Caye may be wondering why there are so many disgruntled property owners.  Please take into consideration that there are many, many people who purchased property on Long Caye years ago and have very legitimate complaints and concerns based on past history. Here is a summary of those concerns, but please keep in mind that this list reflects the individual concerns of individual property owners and that all of them do not necessarily apply to everyone:

• Homeowners continue to be told they must pay maintenance fees for services promised, but not delivered.
• There continues to be a lack of reliable accountability for how maintenance fees collected by PIL in the past have been (and are being) spent and no oversight on the “bookeeping” by anyone other than PIL.
• With no competition for “maintenance” services performed on Long Caye, and no accountability, there is no cost control and no culpability for incompetence.
• Legitimate businesses currently operating on Long Caye (providing lodging, meals, guide services, scuba diving, and fishing) have been impacted by inadequate security, lack of adequate trash removal, poor maintenance of docks and piers, the looming threat of “maintenance” fees being raised and rules changing at the whim of PIL. 
• The “vision” for the island seems to change with every new major investor PIL tries to bring on board. For example, the marina (and safe boat harbor) that was on the original “master” plan when many property owners purchased their home sites is no longer there and has, supposedly, been replaced with a “preserve.”  The southern end of the Caye, which was originally going to be the preserve, is now presumably destined for a very large “luxury” development and quite possibly without the indenture agreement impacting all home site owners on the northern end of the caye. (When asked about this recently, a PIL director would neither confirm nor deny this.) Any further boardwalk development appears to have been abandoned.
• With the present level of discontent and failure to develop adequate infrastructure, it is unlikely that the percentage of home sites “sold” will ever meet the requirement, established by the “old” Eco-Guidelines, for the number of lots sold before PIL will relinquish control of the Property Owners Association to the actual property owners.
• PIL appears to continue to operate in its own self-interest and not in the interest of the property owners.
• A number of people purchased “shares” in PIL from Jackson Edward’s father many years ago.   Some of those “shares” may have been linked to specific pieces of property, most likely in the area that is now called Loggerhead, and may have been re-packaged and sold to others at a later date with no compensation or notification to the original “share-holders.”
• A number of these transactions and subsequent transactions contained claims that did not really exist and/or promises that have not been kept.
• So-called “quarterly” reports are lacking in substantive information.
• The Caye continues to be used as the semi-private playground of the directors of PIL who trespass willfully on others’ property, build communal structures on private property for their own enjoyment, and use private property for communal benefit (burning of trash) without permission from or compensation to the owners of that property.

If you have any additional concerns that have not been addressed here, please let me know.  I have already heard from a number of people, but if there is anyone else interested in participating in a “legal fact-finding mission,” please contact me, and I will get you in touch with the property owner who is leading the charge.