THE Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation’s Zoning Committee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
The public hearing was originally set for Feb. 24, but the committee rescheduled it.
The committee chair, Rep. Leila Staffler, said Marianas High School is a potential venue so they can accommodate members of the public who want to testify on any of the bills that the committee is reviewing.
These include Rep. John Paul Sablan’s House Local Bill 22-13, which proposes to allow hollow block manufacturing for conditional use in village-commercial zones.
Zoning Administrator Geralyn Dela Cruz has asked the delegation not to pass the bill, saying that the residents in As Gonno where an applicant has proposed to operate a hollow block plant are opposed to it. She said development in these zoning districts should be compatible with the pedestrian and family-friendly character of nearby residential neighborhoods.
Also included for public scrutiny on Feb. 22, is Rep. Joseph Leepan T. Guerrero’s H.L.B. 22-22, which proposes to rezone a village commercial zone into a mixed commercial zone to allow residents and tourists to avail themselves of the services of a car rental business in the area.
During its meeting on Wednesday, the committee adopted a substitute bill.
Rep. Joel Camacho, a member of the committee, expressed support for the substitute bill and a much needed clarification from the Saipan Zoning Office.
The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Tina Sablan, noted that the legislation has been reviewed and discussed with various stakeholders including the zoning office as well as the author of the bill.
Under H.L.B. 22-22 as originally drafted, she said, “We have the potential of not just this business but other businesses not being able to operate in other zoning districts of Saipan.”
The committee has been asked to address this concern without resorting to “spot zoning,” she added.
The other members of the committee, Reps. John Paul Sablan and Denita Yangetmai, were excused from the meeting on Wednesday.
Leila Staffler
