President launches Phoenix Plan for reconstruction

In the preamble, President Gibbs praised the government's “listening” and “the notable progress” obtained during his trip to the 3rd Inter-Ministerial Meeting (RIM), this week in Paris.
The President announced that he would take his responsibilities, as President of the Community, and put in place clear and effective measures to rebuild the territory, on the basis of state support measures and with the means available to the community. br />
The Community's economic recovery plan: the Phoenix Plan
For more than a month the Community has continued to act first on the ground for the distribution of food , the clearing and cleaning of the island, for which the Community has already spent nearly 6 million euros paid to local businesses, the restoration of schools and even support for disaster victims through the solidarity and families center.
Crucial decisions were also taken in the first weeks (CE deliberation of September 22, 2017), including the exemption from property tax which nevertheless represents a revenue of 9 million euros for public finances.
These projects were carried out with the greatest professionalism by the agents and elected representatives of the Community, even though they were themselves affected, far from the television cameras and any political recovery.

The President reaffirmed that “it is up to us Saint-Martin residents to straighten out our country”.
“Act, quickly and well and shake up the procedures” as President Macron committed to during his visit. President Gibbs endorsed this instruction and announced that he too would shake up the rules at the local level.
The President will present his recovery plan to the next Territorial Council, the “Phoenix Plan”, which is based around of 4 components:
„X Reconstruction
„X Economic Recovery
„X Success of our children and young people
„X Support for Saint-Martin residents

The main points:
On the “Reconstruction” aspect, our objectives are threefold:
Simplification with the removal of the obligation to submit a building permit for construction sites reconstruction until October 1, 2018. It will be sufficient to submit a prior declaration of work. Instruction times will thus be greatly reduced.

Mastery because the community has the responsibility to guarantee the safety of our fellow citizens. As such, among the next decisions of the Executive Council and the Territorial Council, the town planning code will be modified in order to authorize the community to postpone ruling on town planning authorizations while waiting to refine our knowledge of the post-IRMA risks for certain reconstruction projects. The redevelopment of these sectors will be rethought, in particular Sandy Ground or Quartier d'Orléans, without forgetting the other coastal sectors. While guaranteeing the safety of our population. This work will be done in consultation with residents.

Modernity: 3rd objective for the reconstruction of Saint-Martin. Reconstruction involves carrying out ambitious, concerted projects adapted to our environment. Thus the Grand Marigot, the redevelopment of Grand Case or the development of new housing sectors must be accelerated to respond to our new reality.
In summary, reconstruction is authorized but, in the sectors most exposed to risks , the reconstruction of the habitat will be studied on a case by case basis. Economic activities, for their part, notably hotels and restaurants on private property, can rebuild their buildings, taking into account the safety of property and people as much as possible. On the beaches, lightweight and removable constructions will be required. This is meticulous work for which our teams will listen individually to owners.

Concerning the “Economic Recovery” component, 3 objectives:

Support for businesses , Development, Diversification.

Support for businesses in the Community is real. In a particularly tense context for public finances, I still decided to grant funds to our companies to help them restart.
Saint-Martin has an envelope of 24 million for funds Europeans for the reconstruction of Saint-Martin. The president has decided to make part of these funds available to businesses in our territory. He will return to the allocation terms in more detail in the coming days.
In addition, 16 million euros from the solidarity fund will be devoted to training and return to employment. The President will be in Guyana at the end of the month, where he will request additional funds from the European Commission.

Development 2nd objective for economic recovery. Before the events of Irma, the majority presented their tourism strategy for the next ten years. During the next Territorial Council, the strategy for tourism development and reconstruction 2017-2027 will be presented and proposed to the assembly for a vote.
A true territorial project, this document has been updated to give a direction to the Community and tourism professionals in this context of reconstruction.

Diversification is the 3rd objective of economic recovery. This period of reconstruction is an opportunity to strengthen the position of certain sectors, in particular that of construction and public works. The ravages of climatic phenomena prove to us that we have so much to do in the sector of the green economy and the energy transition.

3rd part of our “Phoenix plan”: “Success”, in particular that of the youngest so that a new ideal, a new societal approach can be reborn.

Among the measures, this