After hearing postponement, PA insists ‘sensitive decisions’ could not be taken in absence of NGO representative

The Planning Board suspended its public hearings on Thursday, which included a controversial application submitted by the db Group to increase the height of its Pembroke towers, to ensure that eNGOs are represented in the “sensitive” decisions that were due today. But while the board rejected an application for an ODZ development in Kirkop discussed before the board chairman’s decision, it postponed two other decisions that were on its agenda following the suspension of the meeting. “In view of the sensitivity of today’s decisions, the board decided to suspend the sitting to ensure that the ENGOs are adequately represented,” a spokesperson for the Planning Authority told MaltaToday. He also confirmed the appointment of Romano Cassar as the representative of eNGOs on the board has been officially communicated but has not yet been published in the Government Gazette. While Cassar could not attend the meeting because he is abroad, Jorge Spiteri — who was appointed to the board as the eNGO representative in July but failed to have his appointment ratified in an election in which ENGOs chose Romano Cassar as their representative by 26 votes against nine — turned up for the meeting, insisting that he has not been officially removed from the board. The PA spokesperson insisted that Jorge Spiteri was removed from his post following his disqualification under Article 63(4)(a), which precludes public officers from serving on the board. Spiteri, an architect by profession, works as a civil servant within the Gozo and Planning Ministry. Moreover, “it is evident that Perit Spiteri does not command the majority support of ENGOs,” the spokesperson added. To complicate matters, another article not cited by the PA spokesperson states that, short of resigning, independent board members who do not represent government entities on the board can only be removed by Parliament “on the ground of misconduct or inability to perform the duties of their office.” Despite not being allowed to take a seat on the board, Spiteri took to the floor to speak against the development of ODZ warehouses in Kirkop. The PA spokesperson also insisted on the validity of the decision taken earlier this morning regarding the Kirkop development proposed by Marco Gaffarena, despite the decision to postpone the other two decisions, including the one proposing seven and six floors to the already approved towers on the site of the former tourism school, ITS, in St George’s Bay. If endorsed, the permit will allow the developer to increase the number of apartments from 179 to a total of 261. The db Group development was slated for approval in a case officer report, which noted the economic benefits of the project while underlining that it conformed to the floor area policy. The postponement comes in the wake of a change of heart by the Pembroke local council, which yesterday announced its intention to vote against the development. This shift in the council’s position comes after it agreed with db’s proposal for the company to fund a civic centre in the locality — a decision that left residents fuming. At a heated council meeting last summer, residents accused local councillors of bowing to pressure by not objecting to the application.