Fundashon Playa Pbliko PO Box 190 Kralendijk, Bonaire Dutch Caribbean

28 February 2013 Sr. John Soliano Bonaire Overheidsgebouwen N.V. Kaya Lib. Sim. Bolivar # 5 Via e-mail and hand delivered Dear John: Sidney Manuel and I thank you for your time on Tuesday and for that of Sr. Anthony Nicolaas. As always it is a pleasure to meet with you. We appreciate your showing us the planned splitting of the Sunset Beach property although, as we made clear, we believe this is not at all in the best interests of the Bonairean community. The main concern of Fundashon Playa Pbliko is to assure full access and use of the marvelous beachfront of that property for tourists and for the entire Bonaire community. The plan that BOG has put forward falls far short from that. Let me be specific about our concerns: The area you have allotted to public beach is completely inadequate. You stated that it is approximately 50 meters wide (North to South) or only about 15% of the total beachfront) which is not sufficient to accommodate more than a small number of people at one time. Based on studies of carrying capacity for beaches around the world (e.g. Mauritius, Egypt, India, Tanzania etc) about 8 m2 is required for each person using a beach. This means that, even at this high density (for Bonaire) the proposed public beach could only accommodate a maximum of about 60 people (local and tourists) whereas the full 300+-meter beach could accommodate close to 400. Your stated goal of allowing for local businesses to be developed there has no economic basis. If there is only a 50 meter-wide beach there would not be enough potential trade there to sustain a viable business whereas a 300+-meter long beach could easily do so. Our definition of access is far more expansive than yours. While you plan to provide strictly legal access to the whole beach, your own concept will restrict the kinds of activities local people can engage in for more than 85% of the beachfront, leaving only about 15% for the public and tourists. We emphatically disagree with your concept of limited use of the balance of the beachfront to be determined by the developers. This is a recipe for complete exclusion of Bonaireans and making their access uncomfortable or costly. As you explained the current plan, people will be able to use the public area portion of the beach as they like but, if they go on the beach in front of the proposed developments, they may not barbeque or, we assume, camp, play music or engage in many of the activities that Bonaireans expect when they go to the waterside. Your plan would allow the developers to cover the beach with chairs and lounges (for which they would charge a fee as do Plaza and Harbour Village) and in other ways to obstruct or intimidate local residents who only wish to enjoy their time at the sea. The government has proven itself unable to enforce public access at Plaza, Harbour Village

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and other developed sites where, by law, there should be access. There is no reason to expect that the Sunset Beach situation will be any different. As BOG has split the property, the depth (sea to property line) of the beach appears to be quite inadequate for it to be shared between the developments and the public. Once new hotels or condos appear, real access by local people will be both extremely limited and intimidating. We believe that existing law claims the first 50 meters from mean high tide as public beachfront. The BOG plan does not even come close to this. It is not a valid argument that the government has ignored this requirement in the past. Now is the time to take a stand for the people of Bonaire and not for the developers. Should the developers decide to build condos instead of hotels, this problem will be even worse as the owners will expect to have restricted beach rights having paid for their property. While the items above represent serious objections to the plans of BOG we do acknowledge some good points you brought out: o Your requirement for the developers to contribute to the cost of beach development and maintenance. However, we are concerned that this may make them think that they own the beach since they are paying for it. o A willingness to consult with Fundashon Playa Pbliko in setting negotiating points when the time comes for contract deliberations. We would have appreciated being consulted before this decision was made since both BOG and the Bestuurscollege have been aware of our concerns and interest for almost three years. The BOG plan is a series of lost opportunities for Bonaire which will never come again. The opportunity for our community to have full access to the last large beach area on the island The opportunity to create a recreation and entertainment focus for the island The opportunity to create new Bonairean-owned businesses and the associated jobs The opportunity to create a new magnet for our tourists and enhance our tourism product An opportunity to encourage the blending of tourists and local residents in a pleasant, uniquely Bonairean environment The opportunity for Bonaire to make a dramatic statement about its tourism product, about ecology and to re-enforce the unique nature of Bonaire for our visitors.

We know that it is late in your process to make some of the changes we have asked for but, at a minimum, the entire public beach area should be no less than the required 50 meters deep from high water and the ability of the developers to dictate the uses of the beach should be rescinded. This property is large enough to allow for that. We believe that, with this width there is room for both visitors and local people to share one of the best spots on the island for relaxing and enjoying the ocean. We hope to continue our dialogue with BOG.

Alan Gross For Fundashon Playa Pbliko cc: Sr. Anthony Nicolaas Bestuur of BOG Bestuurscollege Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire Island Council Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire

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Gezaghebber Sra. Lydia Emerencia