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Pending applications for homesteads reach 3,878
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Posted on Apr 10 2008
There are 3,878 homestead applications that are still on the waiting list at the Department of Public Lands, some of them dating back to the early ’80s.
DPL homestead director Manny Rabauliman said the issuance of homestead lots to those pending applications had been stalled due to the lack of available public lands.
“If you look at the number of pending applications, it’s obvious that we cannot house that many people,” Rabauliman said.
Each homestead applicant who is granted a homestead lot is given 1,000 square meters worth of land.
The homestead program is on a first-come, first-served basis. The last homesteader issued a lot was in 2007 and it was given to an applicant who had applied for it in the early ’80s.
According to Rabauliman, two years ago a moratorium was put in place to hold off entertaining new homestead applications until the program accommodates the already pending applications.
“You can go ahead and still apply for homestead, but your chances of being issued a lot is very slim. Your application will be on hold until the governor decides to lift the moratorium,” Rabauliman said.
He said one area that DPL is looking at for homestead lots is the Marpi village area.
He said is difficult to estimate how many acres of public land is available for homesteads because “even if we have 500 acres available, we still have to consider the placement of roads and other basic infrastructure required by the DEQ [Division of Environmental Quality].”
Some of the major requirements to qualify for the homestead program in the CNMI is to be at least 18 years of age and be a Northern Marianas descent.
