The number of applications for hotel projects has been going up in the last five months, such that zoning applications to accommodate hotel projects are always included on the Zoning board\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n
Two applications to set up a guesthouse in Sadog Tasi and a bed-and-breakfast in Chinatown are on the calendar for today\u2019s Zoning public hearing at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Hall in Susupe at 5pm.<\/p>\n
Zoning board vice chair Bruce Bateman attributed this increase to the entry of casino developer Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC.<\/p>\n
\u201cApplications have vastly increased since one key thing happened, when a major corporation, Imperial Pacific, came along and showed strong belief in the CNMI economy by investing hundred of million of dollars. They changed the economy here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With the current economic development and rise in tourism, there is still a need for more hotel rooms. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe hotels are full and hotel accommodation is maxed out. We have to fill up this demand gap. The gap between the demand and supply of the hotel rooms is the reason why hundreds of these bed-and-breakfast and guesthouses are on the rise,\u201d Bateman added.<\/p>\n
According to him, the need for new hotel rooms is high on the list. <\/p>\n
\u201cGoing up doesn\u2019t mean you would need more and more people. At the Marianas Visitors Authority, the focus is improving the quality of tourists that come here. How? Better places to stay. That\u2019s why we need the new hotels to be built.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSome hotels on island need renovation because the only way to draw those upscale customers is to give them something upscale to\u2026stay in while they are here. We need hotels, we need them to be in business and we need them to be upgraded,\u201d added Bateman.<\/p>\n
The urgent need for hotels does not mean that the Zoning office and board approve every hotel development application that come their way.<\/p>\n
According to Bateman, before the application even reaches the board, it has been vetted for all of its details by the Zoning staff. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey go over the application and they decide whether or not it even meets the criteria. In some cases, if the building being proposed does not meet all the qualifications\u2014whether it\u2019s a gas station or hotel\u2014it never comes to the board at all,\u201d he said,<\/p>\n
\u201cIf [the proposed project] meets all of [Zoning] requirements, then you could do it. The Zoning staff is empowered to, and most of the time, either approve or deny based on that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board determines whether the project is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. What we are doing is have compatible uses in compatible areas and do segregation. If there are questions that are out of our purview, then we refer them to the people that they need to see about that and we tell them to go to this office or agency. Otherwise, they will never get the thing built if they don\u2019t meet those criteria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bateman said one can get approved by Zoning but if other agencies or offices do not approve the project, then there will be no business. <\/p>\n
Under its mandate, the Zoning board recommends any rezoning application to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you come to the Zoning board, you have a fair platform to present the parameters of the development that you want to do and find out the reasons why you want it rezoned. After careful consideration, the board and Zoning staff determine whether to suggest to the Legislature that such is to be approved for rezoning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bateman said the board welcomes the current economic dynamics and that the public can expect due diligence from the board when it comes to considering rezoning applications.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses are growing as we have more business applications than we\u2019ve had since the early \u201990s and it\u2019s been a long time since this place has actually boomed. Our economy is booming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that money circulates around the economy and goes back to the Everyday Joe. Now if the average Joe wants to get a job, he can get one, unlike five years ago [when] there wasn\u2019t a job to be had. The growth is organic. It\u2019s not only the rich who reaps the benefits but everyone,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The number of applications for hotel projects has been going up in the last five…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[56,1091,67,18817],"class_list":["post-263164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","tag-business-3","tag-imperial-pacific","tag-people","tag-zoning-applications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}