Copal Beach Resort, Placencia Peninsula, Belize

Update: The Ontario Securities Commission has now brought an action against Canyon, HEIR, Marco Caruso, Brent Borland, founder and CEO of Canyon, Wayne Robbins, President of Canyon, Placencia Estates Development, Ltd., Copal Resort Development Group, Rendezvous Island Ltd, The Placencia Marina, Ltd and The Placencia Hotel and Residences, Ltd. for violation of Ontario's securities laws.

A hearing on the charges has now been postponed to September 2011 (original hearing was scheduled for 27 April 2011). The defendants face possible penalties of up to $1 million in fines per entity and person, to disgorge all amounts received as a result of noncompliance and such other orders as the Ontario Securities Commission deems appropriate.

Located north of The Placencia Hotel and Residences on the northern end of the Placencia Peninsula, the Copal Beach development plan includes six 5-story buildings, swimming pool, 300 foot pier, office and staff quarters. A casino for Copal Beach was approved by the Belize Department of the Environment in the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) for the Placencia Marina. No environmental impact assessment was done for the casino.

The developer is The Placencia Land & Development Co. Ltd. Marco Caruso is a principal of The Placencia Land and Development Company, which also owns The Placencia Hotel and Residences. Mr. Caruso is also a principal of the companies that own the under-construction Placencia Airport, the proposed Placencia Marina, and the under-construction Rendezvous Caye.

As with the Rendezvous Caye and the Placencia Airport, DOE did not require an environmental impact assessment or consultation with the public prior to approval. DOE approved the Copal Beach Environmental Compliance Plan on 23 March 2007.

The developer constructed a large groyne just south of the project for use in loading and unloading materials. The developer was discovered dredging/mining the beach at the construction site for the development in August 2008. When originally discovered, the developer claimed to be complying with sand by-passing orders issued by DOE in connection with a groyne constructed by the developer.

The Belize Land Utilization Authority denied issuing a permit for the groyne and the Belize Department of Geology denied issuing a permit for the dredging. DOE disclaimed any responsibility for anything at all.

(We have been unable to get any information from government on whether the developer was fined or otherwise sanctioned for this illegal beach dredging.)

PCSD believes that the developer and its associates are piece-mealing individual approvals of Copal Beach, The Placencia, Rendezvous Caye, the Placencia Airport, the proposed Placencia Marina and Placencia Estates (a golf course and a golf course subdivision development, which may have already been approved) because they knew that a single resort with all these components would meet vigorous opposition from local residents (as occurred with the Ara Macao development). The developer's brochure, obtained 27 April 2010, promotes the golf course, which, according to DOE, was approved without being required to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment, and DOE will not release the environmental compliance plan for the golf course, despite the public nature of an environmental compliance plan. (See Panther Golf Course for further information.)

In addition, marketing is being primarily aimed at Canadian investors through Canyon Acquisitions Canada and Home Equity Investments Results Inc. (H.E.I.R), and the materials on the Website of Canyon Acquisitions Canada are available only to people in Canada and using a Canadian Internet Service Provider. Canyon Acquisitions is also providing financing to Marco Caruso for the building of the Placencia Peninsula developments.

Investments are made through either purchasing condos or time shares (not clear which - they seem to change from time to time) at pre-construction prices, or through investing in a Canadian unit trust in units of $10,000.

The Ontario Securities Commission has now brought an action against Canyon, HEIR, Marco Caruso, Brent Borland, founder and CEO of Canyon, Wayne Robbins, President of Canyon, Placencia Estates Development, Ltd., Copal Resort Development Group, Rendezvous Island Ltd, The Placencia Marina, Ltd and The Placencia Hotel and Residences, Ltd. for violation of Ontario's securities laws. A hearing on the charges was orignally scheduled for 27 April 2011 but has been postponed to September 2011. The defendants face possible penalties of up to $1 Million in fines per entity and person, to disgorge all amounts received as a result of noncompliance and such other orders as the Ontario Securities deems appropriate.

A "new beach" has also magically appeared in front of Copal Beach. DOE and Geology will not provide any information on whether a permit was obtained to dredge and create new land on the seashore. The Land Utilization Authority has not responded to questions about whether it authorized the groins that made this new beach possible.

Environmental Threats and Challenges

Environmental Threats
and Challenges