Stake Bank and Port of Magical Belize to Lock Horns in Supreme Court

On Monday, Justice Lisa Shoman granted leave for Port Coral, whose principals include developer Mike Feinstein, to file an application for judicial review in a matter that involves the Department of the Environment and the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, NEAC.  It has to do with approval being given to Portico to proceed to the next phase of development in respect of the Port of Magical Belize.  Port Coral, on the other hand, is the multimillion-dollar tourism development project on Stake Bank which is presently under construction and is headed by the Feinstein Group.  The matter is expected to be heard before the Supreme Court at the end of September.  Port Coral’s argument, put forward by Senior Counsel Glenn Godfrey and William Lindo Jr., includes the geographical proximity between both ports, as well as the fact that Belize District would not be able to economically sustain the two competing interests.  Prior to the judicial review being undertaken, several questions have been raised pertaining to Port Coral’s adherence to its Environmental Compliance Plan.  Those concerns also include the expansion of Stake Bank using material that has been dredged to clear a nearby channel.  It is being alleged that Stake Bank has been expanded beyond what is stipulated in the ECP.  News Five has been furnished with several documents, as well as images that purport to substantiate this claim.  We will have more on this story in Wednesday’s newscast.