Not all of the lots at Better In Belize have guaranteed road access. This page explains this situation and describes the efforts of the BIB Property Owners Association (BIB POA) to rectify this situation.
The steep hill section of Forest Hill Drive is not part of Better In Belize (BIB). In fact, the original survey plat of the Better In Belize development, does not even show this part of Forest Hill Drive (the approximate location of Forest Hill Drive has been added in red. Please click the image below for a higher resolution version):
In the original design, the only road access for lots 84 through 128 is through the “40′ Road Reserve” that starts between lots 74 and 75 on Howler Hill and runs down between lots 84 and 85. Given the extremely steep slopes in this area, this road is not something that could actually be constructed [1].
In 2015, Belize Mountain Resort Limited purchased the land which contains this section of Forest Hill Drive [2]. Looey Tremblay and Michael Sauders are partners in both Belize Mountain Resort Limited and Better In Belize, Ltd.
It was only within the last few years that the residents at Better In Belize actually discovered that this portion of Forest Hill Drive is not part of BIB. As a result, in January of 2019, Looey Tremblay signed a “Permission For Land Use” [3], which grants usage of the portion of Forest Hill Drive that is not part of BIB. However, this agreement is only valid until this land is sold by Belize Mountain Resort Limited. Although the BIB POA is granted first refusal if it is put up for sale, there is no guarantee on price.
The major issue with this arrangement is that it has no permanence. Although there is currently no issue with Belize Mountain Resort Limited allowing BIB owners usage of Forest Hill Drive, there is no guarantee that this will always be the case. This will make any future sales of these lots much more difficult. After all, who is going to buy a lot when there is no guaranteed road access?
In an email to the BIB POA Board on January 12, 2021, Looey Tremblay stated:
“To rectify all concerns, we feel providing BIB POA a permanent easement for the use of Forest Hill Drive and BIB POA providing a permanent easement for the use of Roads to their properties through BIB roads makes perfect sense.”
Then in his March 17, 2021 email to the BIB POA Board, Looey Tremblay stated:
“It has always been the plan to provide permanent access to all lots at BIB…”
Based on these statements, the BIB POA Board hired a land surveyor to survey the relevant portion of Forest Hill Drive, the Board’s attorney drew up this easement, and it was delivered to Looey Tremblay on October 12, 2021. As of January 7, 2022 the BIB POA has still not received the signed easement from Looey Tremblay.
Unfortunately, there is more to this issue. When the surveyors were measuring Forest Hill Drive, they discovered that the current location of Forest Hill drive encroaches on Lot 97, and possibly slightly on Lot 96 [4]. The BIB POA will review possible mitigating strategies for these issues once the easement from Belize Mountain Resort Limited is signed. This could include negotiating with the lot owners for a separate road easement or re-constructing the road so that it does not encroach on their property.
Please note that this is not the only instance where the roads inside BIB do not conform to their prescribed location. The road entering BIB from Hydro Road is partially on the neighboring property, along with the turn from Forest Hill Drive to River Road, and the turn around at the top of Eagle’s Landing. We fear that there may be many more instances where the roads are not where they are supposed to be.
The current state of the steep section of Forest Hill Drive is quite poor. The BIB POA does not want to spend any more money adding material to that hill, when what it needs is a hard surface. However, the Board does not think it is prudent to invest that money unless this issue is first resolved.
We are hopeful that Looey Tremblay will honor his commitment to “provide permanent access to all lots at BIB.” After all, the Board has yet to hear from any of the affected lot owners (Lots 84 though 128) that it was disclosed to them before the sale that they were purchasing a lot that did not have permanent road access.
Regardless of whether or not Belize Mountain Resort Limited grants the permanent easement for Forest Hill Drive, the BIB POA will continue to pursue all legal means to ensure that all lot owners at BIB have permanent road access to their properties.
We understand that these issues may sound daunting. However, we believe in the BIB community enough that we are trying to rectify them. We believe that being open and honest with all lot owners is the best policy. Ignoring or pretending these issues don’t exist will never resolve them.
Thank you,
BIB POA Board
Notes:
[1] https://bibhoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Surveyor-Report-On-Forest-Hill-Drive.pdf
[2] https://bibhoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Title-Investigation-on-BMR-Ltd.pdf
[3] https://bibhoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BIB_road_use_agreement-2.pdf
[4] https://bibhoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-08-04-Easement-Survey-Report.pdf