A former member of the Sustainable Development Roundtable is warning the public about a perceived acceleration in the number of special development orders issued by the Ministry of Environment.

In a speech to members of the Hamilton Rotary Club Stuart Hayward said: ?Our environment, it is perpetually under attack.?

Currently, according to Mr. Hayward, six hotel-related SDOs are under review at the Department of Planning.

He suggested that?s a high number because his historical data revealed 18 SDOs since 1996.

The Ministry of Environment, which is responsible for the Department of Planning, would not confirm or deny the accuracy of the numbers yesterday, but promised more information soon.

If the lifelong environmentalist?s numbers are correct, and all the pending SDOs are granted, it would take only three years to reach 18 SDOs, when historically it took ten years to reach that level.

Special development orders allow developers to bypass some of the more arduous aspects of the planning process. It also prevents certain opportunities for the public to weigh in with its opinion.

SDOs were originally created to speed the building process for ?development issues of national importance?, according to Mr. Hayward.

?It?s very clear to those of us who have looked at the plans that the SDOs that are being asked for are to expedite the process ? this is very different from doing something that has national import,? Mr. Hayward said.

SDOs currently under review at the Ministry of Environment include one for the Atlantic, plus two each for the Fairmont Southampton and Southlands ? all on the south shore. It?s believed the CoCo Reef Hotel, also on the south shore, makes a sixth.

The already established properties looking to expand, have not experienced nearly the same public scrutiny as Southlands because the owners of the widely overgrown property want to fill open space with a hotel, condominiums, and staff living quarters. The proposed Southlands project would include a five-star hotel run by Jumeirah which already runs one of the world?s most renown hotels in Dubai.

Just a little further down the street a different set of developers want an SDO for the new Atlantic Hotel.

Meantime, an SDO for a new Ritz Carlton Hotel at the Par-La-Ville Car Park in Hamilton has already been approved.

?They are exploiting a frontier mentality,? said Mr. Hayward. ?Any proposal that promises hotel beds is being given the green light.

?Such a Wild West attitude toward development threatens to stand decades of orderly planning process entirely on its head.

?This can hardly be viewed as sustainable,? he told the Rotary audience.

Later he said simply: ?Greedy killed piggy.?

Premier Ewart Brown, who is also the Tourism Minister, decided not to reappoint Mr. Hayward to the Sustainable Development Roundtable.

Although Mr. Hayward conceded SDO rulings are made at the discretion of the Minister of Environment he pointed out: ?Let?s remember that the entire Cabinet shares collective responsibility?.