MPLA thumbs down Tinian housing program proposal

A Senate bill seeking to designate 10 hectares of land for a Tinian housing program has failed to receive the support of the Marianas Public Lands Authority, which said the project is “somewhat premature” given the lack of qualifications of existing homestead applicants from the island.

MPLA commissioner Edward Deleon Guerrero made this statement in a written comment regarding Senate Bill 14-62, which seeks to designate 100,000 square meters of public lands to the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. for a low-cost housing project on Tinian.

The measure also proposes to re-designate 2,000 square meters of the Commonwealth Ports Authority property on Tinian for the Boating Safety Office of the Department of Public Safety.

In a Nov. 3 letter to Antonio T. Salas, the governor’s special assistant for programs and legislative review, Deleon Guerrero said that NMHC may be required to build up to 100 housing units on the 10-hectare land, should the bill be enacted into law.

Deleon Guerrero, however, raised concern about the need for such a project at this time.

He reported that the current village homestead waitlist for Tinian in the “priority one category” comprises 88 applicants. He said most of these applicants are between the ages of 18 and 21. Further, MPLA believes that few of them have permanent jobs necessary to satisfy NMHC’s scheduled loan payment.

Homestead records show that 151 applicants are in the “priority 2 category.” Similarly, a majority of them are “either unemployed, pursuing their postsecondary education, or earning very modest salaries,” he said.

“Hence, we feel it may be somewhat premature to approve designation of 100 square meters, or 10 hectares of public land to serve this particular purpose, as many of those affected will either be ineligible for the loans or unable to meet the repayment requirements provided by the housing program,” Deleon Guerrero noted.

In addition, the MPLA commissioner said the bill’s mandate to designate land for housing may be unnecessary.

He recalled that the MPLA board at its June 2001 meeting had approved and designated 3.5 hectares of Tinian land to NMHC for a low-cost housing project.

“This designated area could accommodate 40 housing units and is appropriately located at the northwest area of the present San Jose Village near the Northern Marianas College-Tinian campus and across the street from the proposed West San Jose Village Homestead Subdivision,” Deleon Guerrero said.

On the other hand, he said the location that S.B. 14-62 selected for the housing project may not be suitable for a residential community because it is very near the quarry activity and the Tinian West Field Airport. Also, the area is zoned for commercial activities in the CNMI Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

As for the proposed re-designation of CPA lands to DPS, Deleon Guerrero said the bill may be infringing on CPA’s management jurisdiction over its properties. Also, MPLA had designated 2,000 sqm of public lands to the DPS Boating Safety Office last June 24.