Seven families are going to battle a second time to secure development rights for their property on a green hilltop in Smith's.

The families, whose spokesman is Mr. David F. Williams, want to subdivide the land into lots for 13 homes.

In May, a tribunal hearing objections to zoning in the 1992 Bermuda Plan rejected the families' bid for 18 lots.

It sided with Planning Department arguments that the 12-acre site is of "major importance to the open space needs of Bermuda''.

The Tribunal considered the value of the undeveloped land to be so great that it recommended Government buy it for a national park.

Mr. Williams said his latest development application for 13 lots would create less building congestion on the site.

He also said approval of the new application was only fair given that large lots of land to the east and west had been granted development rights.

Pokiok to the east is already being developed with more than half of 31 lots sold, many of which are under construction.

The Pampas to the west has been subdivided for future housing development.

"They have development rights but (Planning) doesn't want to give us development rights,'' Mr. Williams said of the nearby properties.

"And as far as the need for agricultural and open space, they still have the Spittal Pond up there which is a nature reserve already.'' In June, 1992, the families subdivision application for the undeveloped land was rejected by Planning.

The families then went before the tribunal hearing objections to the zonings set under the new Plan.

They wanted the property's open and green space zonings changed to residential one -- a zoning that would allow for a maximum of six houses per acre.

But again the department fought back saying the entire property was zoned for open space.

"Although the objection site contains two buildings, the majority of the site is undeveloped open land, the most prominent feature of which is the hillside known as Saucos Hill,'' Planning said.

It considered the site to have important value for its scenery and natural habitat.

The families countered that there was demand for quality housing lots in Bermuda. The new zonings under the Bermuda Plan, which reduced the development potential of the land, "seriously devalued the property and placed unfair hardship upon the family''.

In its decision, the Objections Tribunal, following a sight visit recognised its open space value. It rejected the families' residential one application.

To balance that against the families' needs, it recommended that a portion of the site similar in size to the old medium density zoning be zoned residential 2 -- which would allow construction of a maximum of two houses an acre.

Mr. Williams said the new application wanted fewer lots so they could include as much green space, open space, farming area and woodland area as possible.

"We are not complaining about having less lots because we don't want the area to be congested. We are going to be reasonable,'' Mr. Williams said.

"We have had no problems with objectors except the National Trust who wants to decide for the whole neighbourhood.

"We have a harmonious relationship with people surrounding this property, and so far there have been no objections.'' The other families behind the application include: Leon, Nigel, and Trevor Williams, Mrs. Conchita Ming, Mrs. Lisette Williams-Hill, and Dr. Victoria Knock.

BACK AGAIN -- Mrs. I. Myrtice Blye of Redding, Massachusetts is at Waterloo House this week enjoying her 50th trip to Bermuda. She first came to "my second home'' in 1952 with two friends. Mrs. Blye says Bermuda has changed "a whole lot'' in those years. One change, which is "happening everywhere else'', is rising crime. Mrs. Blye says she still feels safe in Bermuda though "I wouldn't want to go out at night alone''.