THE residents of Anaks Ocean View Hill in Puerto Rico will tell the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation today that they are “extremely concerned” about House Local Bill 23-59, which “seems to expand” automobile business activities next to residential areas.
The introduction of H.L.B. 23-59 by the delegation chairman, Rep. John Paul Sablan, is on the session agenda.
But in an interview on Tuesday, Sablan said they will not vote on the proposed amendments to the zoning law.
“I have asked the floor leader to refer the proposed legislation to our Standing Committee on Zoning in the SNILD,” Sablan said.
H.L.B. 23-59 proposes to define “automobile sales & services” to “allow smoother operations for businesses who engage in such uses” and provide “better clarity to address any probable concerns that may arise.”
The bill defines “automobile sales & services” as “an establishment engaged in the marketing, sales (direct and indirect), and servicing of new and used motor vehicles. Typical uses include manufacturer recall work, diagnostics, maintenance (e.g. tune-ups and oils changes), mechanical repairs and parts replacement, paint and body shops, glass shops, and washing and detailing.”
The bill would require businesses to screen “automobile sales & services” from adjacent properties zoned as village residential, village commercial, rural, mixed commercial or Beach Road, with appropriate vegetation or fencing.
For their part, the board members of the Anaks Ocean View Hill Homeowners’ Association submitted on Tuesday a joint letter to Sablan, Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero to express their grave concerns regarding the proposed amendments to the Saipan zoning law.
The homeowners said Atkins Kroll Saipan Inc., an Inchcape Company, “proposed an identical amendment to the definition of Automobile Sales & Service to the Commonwealth Zoning Board by letter dated March 4, 2024. Inchcape/AK later withdrew this proposal from consideration. Instead, they have adopted a strategy of trying to persuade the legislators in the Saipan and Northern Islands Delegation … to amend the Zoning Law.”
Variety was unable to get a comment from Inchcape/AK.
The Anaks homeowners said H.L.B. 23-59 changes the definition of “automobile sales & service” to include all aspects of vehicle repair, general services, such as body work, glass repair, and automotive painting.
They said the bill “seems to expand sales, rental, and body work beyond automobiles, because it refers to motor vehicles generally. In the Zoning Law, motor vehicles include heavy equipment, boats, trucks, under vehicle repair, general. These activities are currently allowed as of right only in industrial areas, and in mixed commercial areas [they] require a conditional use permit from the Zoning Board. Automobile sales & service is limited to these two zones only.”
The homeowners said H.L.B. 23-59 “changes the procedure for mixed commercial districts, which are often adjacent to residences and occasionally to residential districts, such as the village of Gualo Rai, to allow these activities as of right. This means applying for a permit from the Zoning Office, without ever getting a hearing before the Zoning Board.”
The homeowners said H.L.B. 23-59 would allow any person or company selling new or used cars and other motor vehicles to erect a paint booth and body shop, and service all kinds of motor vehicles, including heavy equipment immediately next to many of the villages on the island.
The homeowners reiterated that current law entitles CNMI residents to a hearing before the Zoning Board if they do not want this activity next door to their homes.
“Why change the right to a hearing? The bottom line is that no one wants these activities to occur immediately next to their homes,” the homeowners said.
The local bill would affect many more people than the ones living at Anaks, they said.
Body shops, paint booths and heavy equipment and diesel truck repair, they added, are “incompatible with the idyllic island getaway the CNMI strives to present to tourists.”
“There is no reason the SNILD should change what has been properly regarded as industrial activity under the Zoning Law to a permitted use next to homes of individuals and families and in tourist districts,” the homeowners said.
The letter was prepared by members of the Anaks board of directors. They are Bart Jackson, president; Dr. Martin Rohringer, vice president; Larry Lee, secretary; Tomas Abel, treasurer; and Viola Alepuyo, director.
In March 2024, Superior Court Judge Pro Tem David Wiseman denied the relief sought in the homeowners’ petition for review of the Zoning Board order that allowed the construction of AK’s car dealership and repair shop in Puerto Rico. Judge Wiseman also affirmed the Zoning Board’s decision to grant Conditional Use Permit No. 2020-10382, and issue Zoning Board Order No. 2022-1-03.
