The recently appointed Chairman of the Sustainable Development Roundtable contends Government needs to take some decisive action if it’s going to protect land for its citizens.

Arthur Hodgson is concerned that foreigners and overseas entities have too much leeway when it comes to purchasing property in Bermuda.

He believes stronger Immigration policy is needed to better safeguard Bermudian land for future Bermudian landowners.

He said: “Bermuda has an obligation to Bermudians. Every country has an obligation to its own citizens first and foremost.”

The Island’s stock of properties is notoriously limited and the prices are notoriously high, partly due to the lucrative international business community. In one example The Royal Gazette reported last month, ACE Insurance and XL Insurance loaned their charitable foundations $37m and $13m respectively to buy local properties. Dozens of homes were scooped up over a multi-year time period.

The properties were then rented to company executives — presumably executives from other countries.

In that March 20 article, the Minister of Immigration Derrick Burgess was off the Island, but a spokesman vowed to look into the matter and reasserted the Minister’s commitment to protect the Island’s land bank for future generations of Bermudians.

Mr. Hodgson’s comments suggest Government can do more.

He said: “Most Bermudians agree we need international business, but does that mean we will permit the international business anything that they ask for.”

At first glance this kind of advocacy might appear to fall outside the realm of sustainable development, but Mr. Hodgson contends most quality of life issues fall under his roundtable’s purview. In an interview last week he indicated that land buy back programmes by public and private organisations were commendable, but also said the way land is sold is equally important. That’s where Government regulators have to step in, he argued.

“We don’t have to be governed by the market. People create the market. Every country determines its own market.”

Mr. Hodgson’s viewpoint may be doubly potent because he not only has the ear of the Premier as chairman of sustainable development, but also has vast knowledge on property issues because he’s an experienced land attorney.

He said: “Government policy 20 years ago was that they’d only permit a non-Bermudian to own land if it was above a certain value and if it was being purchased by a person who had sufficient notoriety that their presence in Bermuda would attract international trade for the tourist industry. The person had to be a personality.

“The idea of permitting non-Bermudians to own a home in Bermuda was that we would get free advertising for the tourist industry. So we said, ‘Ross Perot, you can come here and own a home and everyone around the world, particularly in America, would see that you own a home in Bermuda. It will put Bermuda on the map. It will get mentioned in Time Magazine>and people would come to visit’.

“Now that policy has taken on a life of its own where the courts say, You cannot deny a license to someone who wants to buy a piece of land in Bermuda’.”

Mr. Hodgson says if the notoriety clause can’t be used, Government should introduce a new clause that will once again make it more difficult for foreign buyers to snatch up Bermudian property. One avenue that may better regulate the foreign buyer market is a piece of legislation slated for debate in the House of Assembly on May 4. If the bill from the Minister of Labour and Immigration is passed, it would make it increasingly more difficult for Bermudians to buy land on behalf of non-Bermudians. It’s been suggested the practice is being abused.

The Chairman believes if Government can get the overall foreign ownership policy right, it will improve quality of life for Bermudians because the price of homeownership should level off.

He said: “There is one thing we have to be concerned about: the extent to which Bermudians can enjoy their island. And when I say enjoy their island we normally think in terms of how much money you make. But sustainable development tries to point out: ‘Hey look, it’s the quality of life, not the quantity of life.’ We don’t want people working to the extent that they give themselves a heart attack. We don’t want people leaving their children at home while they’re out doing a second and third job because it produces problems on the other end."