Land controversy builds in the San Jose Nuevo Palmar Village

There is a land dispute brewing in the village of San Jose Nuevo Palmar between the village council and the Palmar Lands Committee. Over the weekend, the lands committee met and voted to subdivide the Sibal Yum Nature Park in the village. However, the decision did not sit right with the council, which claims the move is illegal. Yesterday, the village Chairman, Orlando Ayuso, wrote to the committee requesting that it cease and desist from the subdivision plans. According to the council, the nature park was established and declared by the council in October 2024, and currently provides a vital green space for the community. It added that it was the previous lands committee members who also approved the establishment of the park. Love News spoke with Chairman Orlando Ayuso who spoke on the demand to reverse the decision to subdivide, and how far they are willing to go to protect the green space.   

Orlando Ayuso, Chairman, San Jose Nuevo Palmar: “When we began with this idea as a council, this is what we promised when we walked down this area during the campaign trail. When we came in this area to campaign, to be elected, we promised these people as a council that we are going to build a park for them, that we’re going to take this grassy area that is filled with garbage, that gets  dead animals dumped there every other day, or every day, that we’re going to clean it up and this was a promise we did as a village council. But it so happened that later on, my councillors two of them decided to run in the lands committee election and that is why they moved away from this idea, no and began with a different idea. But we did make this an official ceremony and we did make this an official park. We have a certificate to prove so. And after that, the work continued, community-based projects. So people from around this area began coming in, helping us to clean, helping us to bag the garbage, helping us to paint the trees, helping us to put up the park benches. Some people donated park benches it has been a lot of work has been put in here and it’s community based and leading  leading the work the bulk of cleaning has been the neighborhood watch has been the neighborhood watch and it just so happens that a few members of the neighborhood watch are members that were from the previous lands advisory committee. And all that is happening now is that these people that are in have a malicious agenda and trying to hurt these people and so they’re trying to take the park as part of malicious intent. And they’re not noticing that they’re not taking the park from these people but they’re rather taking the park from a community because children already come out in the afternoon to play at this park, because it’s a nice, safe environment. There are people who come out and work out. They come and walk around the park as a means of work out. They come and ride their bicycles around the park.”

The San Jose Nuevo Palmar Village has a unique history regarding its land use that dates back to 1936. Initially, the Indians occupied an area known as San Jose, but they were forcibly removed from their homes by Belize Estate and Company. As a result, Britain granted them the lands now known as the Nuevo San Jose Palmar with the understanding that only descendants of the original settlers would inherit the land. Elections are held every three years among those descendants to form the lands committee, which oversees land matters in the community. With all that said, Ayuso does concede that the lands committee does have jurisdiction over land distribution in the village, but it is the village council that controls the public spaces. 

Our newsroom reached out to the Chairman of the Palmar Lands Committee, Wincy Perez, for a comment on the situation. While he declined to provide an interview, he did state that the committee will meet to discuss Ayuso’s letter.