Group of Sero Colorado Residents: “Residents Bear No Responsibility for Law-Based Decisions”
Since the announcement of the construction of Secrets Resorts Hotel at Baby Beach in 2020, a group of Sero Colorado residents has expressed their opposition to this construction, citing it as contrary to the law from their perspective.
In their recent statement, the residents, who protested the magnitude of the Secrets Resorts Hotel project, emphasized that they have always used the law to alert the Government of Aruba and indirectly Three Rivers that the project does not comply with the law and the well-being conditions for the neighborhood.
On several occasions, this group of residents has taken legal action against the Government of Aruba regarding the construction of Secrets Resorts Hotel. They emphasize that they have consistently informed the government in the handling of court cases that they are not against tourism development, but they emphasize that the granting of a construction permit must be based on law and regulation, which they have reiterated on different occasions is not the case.
“The objection against the Secrets Resorts Hotel project, which has been ongoing since October 21, 2020, also urged not to build and avoid unnecessary expenses. Construction on the Hotel Secrets began after taking note of the objections from residents and against all requests from residents not to build,” the group emphasized in their statement.
They indicated that despite being at the forefront of the warning from the residents’ side, the government went so far as to make the decision to abolish the law that protected Aruba from any possible claims from investors.
The residents explained that the government removed Article 59 of the Aruba Building and Housing Ordinance, which automatically halted any construction upon receiving an objection and thus protected Aruba financially if an investor made a multimillion-dollar claim because the project had stopped. Due to the law, the work stopped, not due to a government decision.
This group of residents has sent several warning letters to alert the government and Three Rivers to stop construction and avoid all unnecessary expenses, but this was not taken into account. They added that the government was adhering to Article 59 of the Aruba Building and Housing Ordinance and thereby allowed the construction of Secrets Resorts Hotel to continue.
“Based on this, we can conclude that the government has taken all responsibility in not stopping the construction of Secrets Resorts Hotel as the law stipulates. Under no circumstances can residents be blamed for exercising their legal rights to halt significant investments by Three Rivers. It was a risk that the company itself took and cannot hide behind the government’s position, considering the case is in the hands of the Court, and the company’s lawyers must understand how the law works,” the statement concluded.
On several occasions, Three Rivers Real Estate VBA emphasized that they had complied with all the legal requirements necessary for the construction permit, a process that took time before Three Rivers obtained the necessary permissions for the construction of this hotel.
The group of Sero Colorado residents opposing the construction of the hotel at Baby Beach has been in court several times trying to halt the construction of this hotel.
On July 7, the Administrative Judge, Mr. de Haseth, ruled in his verdict that the Government of Aruba must consider the objections of the Sero Colorado residents before the Three Rivers project can continue. This once again gave the group of residents reasons for the judge to indicate that ‘Secrets’ does not meet all welfare requirements.
This means that the Minister for General Affairs, Innovation, Administrative Organization, Infrastructure, and Spatial Planning must consider the objections against the construction permit for the rooms and issue a new decree taking these minimum requirements into account, according to the judge.
The group of residents has been in court for two years now on this matter. In May 2020, the responsible minister granted Three Rivers permission to construct a hotel in Sero Colorado. After receiving objections from the residents, the government issued a decree on March 9, 2021, stating that the group was not admissible to submit objections.
On February 9, 2022, the residents received a court order from the LAR, stating that they have the right based on their arguments and annulled the government decree. In that ruling on February 9, 2022, the minister was instructed to make a new decision based on the objections of the residents.
On May 5, 2022, against the court’s decision, the Minister once again decreed that the objections of the residents against Secrets were not admissible and did not consider what the court had ruled. The Minister appealed the February 9, 2022, ruling to the Court of Appeals, and on May 24, 2023, the Court upheld the lower court’s decision, stating that the Minister frustrated the residents’ objections and that the Minister must issue a new decree taking their objections into account.
