U.D.: HERITAGE AND DOWTOWN
Marigot - Credit Photo Wikipédia
Our Commission for Heritage, Culture and the revitalization of Commercial Centers, co-chaired by Ms. Myriam Hérault and Mr. Christophe Henocq, presents a first report entitled “Heritage and downtown.” Culture and revitalization of other districts will be presented within a few weeks.
It was necessary, to reflect, ahead of time on a genuine policy on Heritage and also, to propose ideas for the enhancement of Marigot, the heart of Saint-Martin.
Heritage is passed on by a group or community to following generations. It can be diverse in nature, cultural, historic, language, values, buildings, arts…
- We believe that the preservation of buildings, of intangible heritage and of nature, the consultation of the various stakeholders involved in the protection of our Heritage as well as the education of the general public to the value of our Heritage must be present in policies established by the Collectivité. As a dynamic element of the implementation of our economic, social and cultural policy, Heritage conservation contributes to improving the quality of life of all citizens.
The foundation for the Heritage of Saint – Martin, the perseverance, commitment and courage which we hereby acknowledge, is a key element on which we rely to disseminate information among all citizens and elected officials to improve the knowledge of our Heritage and of its value.
In Saint-Martin everyone and politicians in particular, enjoy talking about culture and Heritage. But when it is time for budgeting, very little is actually done.
Daniel Gibbs, then responsible for economy and tourism, relied on the Foundation for the rehabilitation of the signage and cannon frames of Fort Louis, an abandoned historical monument, visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year. It is also Daniel Gibbs that initiated the signing of an agreement between the Foundation and the Collectivité guaranteeing funds each year so that work on the rehabilitation of older homes of Saint-Martin is done. Prior to this, a study on the inventory of the old houses of Saint Martin had been commissioned. This report exists. The Convention was signed by President Gumbs. It now needs to be implemented in as much as the Collectivité will recover, in 2012, full jurisdiction regarding urban planning. We need not forget that our urban planning policy is and will be remain, the reflection of our commitment to the preservation of our Heritage
We realize that, over the past five years, our Heritage was not of great concern to our elected officials. As, unfortunately, in several other areas of our community’s life, we see a lack of continuity, vision and political will. THERE ALSO, CHANGE IS NECESSARY.
ACTION TO BE UNDERTAKEN.
We will focus here on defining the urgent actions to be implemented. They primarily affect buildings: Certain areas in Marigot need to be protected and classified AMVAP. This procedure can be done in collaboration with the “Architecte des Bâtiments de France” this may take several months, but does not prevent us from taking action. The classification of these areas will create tax incentives similar to those implemented by the Malraux law since 1962, granting a 100% tax exemption for private investments on historical buildings. The Heritage Foundation has already conducted the inventory of a large number of old houses, this inventory will need to be completed for some neighborhoods. The classification is completed for Marigot, Saint-James, Grand Case and French Quarter
– After this first phase, we will implement the restoration, development and protection of the most remarkable historical buildings. This policy promoting our Heritage in Marigot and in the various districts will help bring a considerable added value to Saint-Martin as a tourism product, more pride to our people and improved quality of our life. We must rehabilitate the dilapidated and abandoned buildings, govern new construction and renovations and strictly implement public safety regulations . The opportunity is provided in the discussions for the adoption of the new PLU in 2012.
– THE NEW GOVERNANCE PROPOSED BY THE UD, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE CREATION OF “ANNEXES DE QUARTIER”, WILL ALSO RELY ON HEADS OF THE “CONSEILS DE QUARTIER” FOR ADVICE ON HERITAGE POLICIES .
Marigot was once a small, beautiful and attractive city. We must all admit: Marigot is now in disrepair, has no”cachet”, no soul, no life. Neither tourists nor Saint-Martiners can say that it is still a beautiful city today. Some even secretly call it by a nickname: Ghost Town. We are aware of how much our cultural identity impacts our tourism strategy; we will revive the city while working on the future development of the waterfront.
Such a project to improve and increase our capacity to accommodate cruise tourism and to attract tourists to something unique cannot be achieved, if a few steps from the new development, there is a ghost town. Moreover, the draft presented by the Economic Department then headed by Daniel Gibbs included the revitalization of Marigot. Everyone seems to have forgotten this.
We are committed, therefore, to both the development of the old MARIGOT and to the development of the waterfront: The landscape of downtown Marigot must be changed. Corridors of freshness and shade will be developed. Streets or portions of streets will become pedestrian or semi- pedestrian providing hours reserved for traffic and deliveries while free access will be granted to waterfront residents with a pass.
We need to create parking spaces on the outskirts of the city, parks, green areas and promenades that will generate a fresh and friendly environment which will facilitate interactions and social cohesion. Public lighting should be autonomous to allow activities in the city at night. This will also contribute to improved safety , which we will discussed further on. Public toilets should be installed in the busiest areas. A cleaning brigade will be implemented.
We will invest in free parking on the outskirts, from which shuttles will leave to enable the discovery of the old city. We will consider creating bikeways wherever possible on the territory, and offering public bike servics (such as Vélib)
On the water front, our priority will be to create a real area of landing and boarding of tourists. New taxi areas will be put in place A pedestrian brigade of the territorial police will monitor small areas and offer proximity services to improve security in the city. Brigades such as “guardian angels” will complete this system. It will be combined with the recently installed surveillance cameras, and guarded gates on the outskirts and in the main parking areas.
Trade:
Quality/service training will be proposed by the Chamber of Commerce to business owners and employees. After discussing with professionals, we will also review business the hours in the city. The display of prices in euro and in dollar should be formally authorized.
Tax credits will be proposed to promote investment and to improve the quality of leased properties.
We will create taxes and fines for negligent owners who fail to ensure the cleanliness of their property, who maintain vacant plots of land or refuse to lease their properties.
Art & entertainment:
Craft and cultural zoning (galleries, cafes, historic sectors) of the city will support the development of local production, tourist will be directed towards areas dedicated to local production where they will discover our cultural identity and traditional know how.
Structuring of the city will call for the creation of corridors of interest to direct flows of clients.
Tax credits will be introduced to promote the development of cultural businesses.
Public areas dedicated entertainment and to the promotion of Culture will be created. Street activities and entertainment will be vested in associations supported by our Collectivité in agreement with the Department of leisure, culture and heritage of the COM.
The Office of tourism (or the institution replacing it) will have to invest substantial grants in the promotion and animation of Marigot.
TEMPORARY CONCLUSION.
The task may seem huge. IT IS! But the choices are limited: Do or Die! We are confident that, as our firm and active political determination will be visible, every citizen will also, each according to his means, participate in this great project of restructuring and upgrading of Marigot. Regardless of the emergency that we know with regards to economic development , promoting our heritage and the cultural value of Marigot will contribute to creating jobs. Imagine our young people, after a few hundred hours of training, mastering the rich history of our old city and offering their services as guides to hundreds of visitors. This forceful movement will encourage the implementation of a new type of business powered by entertainment managed by our vibrant associations which only desire is to contribute to the economic revival of Saint Martin through the sharing of traditional know-how with younger generations.
Our Commission is continuing its research on “specific identification” of each neighborhoods of Saint-Martin. “Our villages must come back to life” and each district will be identified by its specific cultural character in as to promote all singular aspects with regards to its environment and sociology. This development will make them compelling stops to our visitors, generating financial influx on the entire French side. However we will give more details on the unique cultural and environmental character of our neighborhoods
France is the first tourist destination in the world with nearly 70 million visitors a year. Surveys have proven that this is mainly due to the policy of preservation and development of its Heritage, historic and natural sites, gastronomy, art and buildings. Saint Martin could have benefited from this French know how. Alas, over the last thirty years very little was done with regards to investment to promote our Heritage. We decided to catch up on time lost setting as priority the exciting history and the cultural richness of our small community. This recovery plan will include the involvement of numerous associations which will be restructured and given the means to integrate the economic social and cultural development of Saint Martin by enabling them to generate employment.
These projects will be financially supported by our Collectivité and by funding from the respective ministries, with which we will discuss the situation over the last thirty years and a plan of remedial. We will demand that the promotion of Cultural and Heritage tourism be taken into account during the budgetary discussions to be held regarding the implementation of the next European operational program in 2013 by ensuring that funds are available on budget lines that will support the success of this new orientation which aims at promoting our resources while modernization of our accommodation infrastructure.
UNION POUR LA DEMOCRATIE
