The Government has promised to put a block on all non-essential development in a bid to protect the island's dwindling green spaces.
A building ban is scheduled to come into effect in June of this year and is designed to stop runaway construction rolling over the last vestiges of Bermuda's natural reserves.
The much-heralded Sustainable Development Implementation Plan (SDIP), which was released in full last week, warns that: "If the current rate of development continues, there will be very little open space left, leaving a suburban Bermuda with poorly planned and distributed open spaces."
It continues: "Bermuda's economy is to a significant degree dependent upon a beautiful landscape with open spaces. Visitors and businesses come to the island for this beauty and residents relish the recreational options that open space provides."
During the ban, the planning department - which is currently swamped in applications - will have time to draw up a coordinated long-term plan for future development. The department - and other decision makers - will be able to decide what is best for Bermuda, both environmentally and socially. As things stand, the plan warns, the island's development is being dictated by the short-term profits of the construction industry.
The document reads: "This proposal would direct that development be appropriate to meet Bermuda's needs. It would also take the heat out of the construction market...Though there are exceptions, developers tend to be profit-driven, rather than concerned with what Bermuda as a society needs."
The SDIP - Bermuda's largest-ever consultation document - is designed to safeguard the economic, social and environmental future of the island. A building ban is one of several specific commitments made by the Government in the document.
Other pledges for this year include completing the Land Title Registry - by next month - and properly defining poverty on the island - by June.
However, the moratorium on planning applications - which is expected to last at least six months - will be seen as the most progressive and robust measure timetabled for this year. The idea was first mooted in the draft version of the Sustainable Development Plan, completed over two years ago.
Controversial
Analysts expected the moratorium to be missing from the finished plan, because it will prove controversial with private landowners and because it appears to go against the tide of economic growth.
However, the measure is included in the finished document, complete with a start date of June 2008. Some environmentalists remain sceptical that the Government will honour the pledge. However, they are grateful to at last have concrete commitments against which the Government can be held to account.
Marine biologist Wolfgang Sterrer said: "There's no doubt that this is a good idea. We are moving ahead [with development] so fast, it's breathtaking. It will soon be too late to look back and think, 'there's nothing left.'
"Everybody needs time to think and to regroup. All economic growth is at the expense of nature - that's almost a law. But the least we can do is take our time to think about what we can preserve - what's vital to the health of the island."
The planning ban will exclude any development in the City of Hamilton and any building on brownfield (previously developed) sites. Other exceptions include affordable housing development, green homes and tourism-related infrastructure. Minor additions and alterations to private houses will also be allowed.
However, the plan makes clear that the majority of building will be blocked: "Most open space is held in private hands and is being lost through small-scale infill developments and large-scale developments on 'greenfield sites'."
Read the sustainable development report in full here.
E-mail your feedback on the issue to editor Tony McWilliam: tmcwilliam@bermudasun.bm
