The Times, They Are A Changin’
Summer is many things to many people. I recall “the dog days of summer”. Not sure what that means or what it meant originally, but I associate it with late August and baseball. How many baseball commentators or announcers have used that line? Summer in Bucerias for a Canadian expat, is an experience. Kelly and I are in our seventh summer here. Lots of heat, lots of rain, less people. We all have friends who spend their winters here. When they leave in late winter and early spring, our community is nationals and expats. It is a pleasant mix and time passes easily, and, other than getting caught once in a while in a tropical downpour, the days are quite enjoyable.
The one topic on every fulltime resident’s mind is the rapid growth. Houses we passed by many times are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. They are being replaced by condominium after condominium. The oceanfront in Bucerias is attracting condo developments like moths to a porchlight. Given the wide beach and spectacular Pacific Ocean views, the development is understandable. Many years ago a small developer advised that anyone can turn a moose pasture into a subdivision, but you can’t make more waterfront. Makes sense.
One thing that stands out is the number of ongoing developments that do not have access to the water, and in fact are nowhere close to the beach. What drives this? Are they predominantly for winter use, investment for rental units, permanent accommodation for retirees? The pandemic created a work from home situation, or working remotely. Is that a factor? I used to think working remotely was like my great uncle Roy who was a prospector. Seems that now working remotely is mostly about the availability of good wifi.
During the next few weeks, we intend to speak with some nationals and some expats, to get their views on the growth explosion that is part of our daily life. First up in a few days will be Dave Pletz, broker/owner of Casa Connections, a local real estate firm.
Anyway, back to summer. The season of hydration. How do you tell a local expat or national? Look for the ever present bottle of water!
As you explore views on the development boom that is occuring in Bucerias maybe you could ask the developers some questions related to development requirements. When talking with locals, water issues are one of the many things that are brought up especially about how salty the water is and some mention the white film that they have seen. There are comments that all the “good’ water is going to all the new developments. I don’t believe there is a way to do that but it raises my concerns that view maybe become accepted as true. There is the awareness of a large pipe that takes water to Punta Mita developments and golf courses and again seen to be impacting the local water quality.
Drinking Water is world wide issue that is getting more serious by the day. Do local developers have water conservation requirement? Are there development fees that are directed to improving the water systems in Bucerias? When developing areas that use to be occupied by a few homes and now support 50 to 100 or more condos, is the increase in water usage and sewer usage taken to account and somehow addressed by development fees? I don’t drive here and many immigrants have chosen to use the local transportation but all development brings more autos and are there parking requirement part of local development.
Unlike Puerta Vallarta space and resources are more limited . There is no way to stop development and I am aware that my presence here is why there is development but my question remains, are there plans already in place to help address its impact?
Thank you for your message, Napawaiki. We love hearing from our readers.
Your questions are topical and thought provoking, and similar to many other’s as to the water supply and responsibilities of developers.
Perhaps we will touch base with one of the developers to get an idea of the building process…might just be another article!
Gracias y Saludos