In Ocho Rios, St Ann, Jamaica, local municipal authorities are moving forward with punitive measures against developers who have defied an official stop work order to complete an unapproved commercial building along Moneague’s main thoroughfare. The St Ann Municipal Corporation confirmed this week that the project has proceeded without any submitted building plans or mandatory safety inspections, putting the structure in direct violation of the island’s national Building Act. CEO Jennifer Brown-Cunningham outlined the corporation’s next steps during the body’s regular monthly meeting Thursday, noting that legal action will be filed in court as soon as the municipal superintendent wraps up additional on-site investigations. “A number of developers ignore our stop orders and continue building illegally, but this case will not be swept under the rug,” Brown-Cunningham said. “It is now our responsibility to bring this matter before the court and enforce our local building regulations.” Located near the Four Roads intersection on Moneague’s main road, the completed structure is laid out for commercial use, with local leaders estimating its base footprint measures at least 5,000 square feet, indicating it is intended to operate as a supermarket or commercial plaza. Multiple sitting councillors have raised urgent public safety and infrastructure concerns about the unregulated project. Moneague Division Councillor Lloyd Garrick, of the People’s National Party, pointed out that the construction has fully blocked the public sidewalk, eliminating safe passage for pedestrians, while construction debris has been dumped illegally into a nearby public drain. He also noted that the roadside building provides no dedicated customer parking, creating additional traffic hazards for the busy main road. Echoing growing frustration across the municipal body, Mayor of St Ann’s Bay Michael Belnavis emphasized that the corporation bears a legal and ethical obligation to protect public safety, and willful disregard for official regulatory directives will not be tolerated. “We cannot allow unapproved commercial buildings to operate in this parish when we cannot guarantee the safety of the people who will enter them,” Belnavis said. “If we do not enforce building codes, especially when it comes to structural resilience for natural disasters like earthquakes, it is only a matter of time before a tragedy occurs where people are trapped or killed.” The mayor confirmed that the most extreme outcome under consideration is full demolition of the unauthorized structure, and urged all future developers to follow the proper approval process to avoid similar consequences. Beecher Town Division Councillor Ian Bell, also of the PNP, called the unpermitted construction a deliberate insult to the municipal corporation’s regulatory authority. He noted that the full plaza was built in plain sight along the heavily travelled main road, not in a remote, unmonitored area, adding that he first raised concerns about the project a month prior after receiving multiple complaints from local residents. Bell also told attendees he received a threatening call urging him to drop his scrutiny of the project, a demand he rejected. “I will only back off if I can confirm this building was constructed to code,” Bell said. “Right now, it is fully complete and preparing to open without a single approval from this body, which is an unacceptable failure of regulation that cannot stand.”