MP York: Marketplace construction illegal, must follow permit rules

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Darryl York is calling on Government to pause construction activities at the Philipsburg Marketplace until a valid building permit has been issued, stating that the project must be developed in full compliance with the same rules applied to residents, families, and small business owners across St. Maarten.

MP York said that while the movement of equipment at the Marketplace site may appear to signal progress, construction without a valid permit is not lawful and undermines public confidence in the permitting system.

According to MP York, during the most recent public meeting of Parliament, the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication confirmed on record that a building permit had not yet been granted and that construction would begin once the permit was issued. MP York said that permit has still not been issued, yet equipment is already active on the site.

“This is not about being against the Marketplace,” MP York said. “I support the development of the Philipsburg Marketplace. St. Maarten needs it and the vendors need it. But I have said from day one in Parliament: do it the right way, or do not do it at all.”

MP York said the issue is especially serious because more than 400 families, small business owners, and residents have been waiting years for their own building permits. Many, he said, submitted their plans, paid their fees, and followed the required procedures, only to see their lives and investments placed on hold.

He said that while applicants waited, construction costs increased, budgets were no longer sufficient for the homes or businesses they planned to build, and pre-approved loans were cancelled because banks require a valid building permit before financing can proceed.

“Lives have been put on hold. Businesses never opened. Homes were never built. These people did everything right. They submitted their plans, paid their fees, and waited because the rules said they had to,” MP York said. “Now they are watching Government build without the very document Government has not yet provided to them. Rule for one, rule for all.”

MP York said it is not the fault of residents or permit applicants that Government held a groundbreaking for the Marketplace two years ago without having a permit in hand. He added that it is also not the public’s fault that the design changed and that the permit process remained unresolved.

According to the MP, the answer to those failures cannot be for Government to ignore the rules that ordinary residents are expected to follow.

“If Government can build without a permit, on what grounds does an inspector stop a resident from doing the same?” MP York asked. “On what authority does a minister lecture the private sector about compliance when the ministry itself is not compliant? You cannot enforce rules you are not willing to follow.”

MP York said his call to Government is direct: pause the work, obtain the permit through the proper process, and then proceed with construction. He said the request is not intended to delay the Marketplace project, but to protect the integrity of a system that hundreds of families and businesses are depending on and bound by.

He also called on Government to address the wider permit backlog, streamline the process, and provide long-waiting applicants with clear answers and timely decisions.

“Fix the backlog. Streamline the process. Give people their permits,” MP York said. “You do not fix a broken system by exempting yourself from it.”

MP York concluded that the Marketplace project should move forward, but only in a manner that respects the law, the public, and the principle that Government must lead by example.

“Rule for one. Rule for all,” he said.

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