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Homestead moratorium lifted
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Posted on Aug 21 2005
The Marianas Public Lands Authority lifted Friday the moratorium on the acceptance of applications for villages and agricultural homesteads for the islands of Saipan and Rota.
The MPLA board of directors made the decision at the request of Gov. Juan N. Babauta, who wrote the agency regarding the matter earlier this year.
The moratorium has been in effect since Oct. 1, 2002 and affected village homestead applications for Saipan and village and agricultural homestead applications for Rota. MPLA imposed the moratorium due to the dwindling inventory of public lands.
A statement issued by the MPLA quoted Peter Callaghan, the governor’s press secretary, as saying: “The governor is pleased that the MPLA board has lifted the restrictions on this very vital project for the CNMI and its people.”
For her part, MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro said: “The MPLA has struggled to achieve balance in our stewardship of public lands. Our lands are our lifeblood, fueled by a limited resource. The moratorium was put into place to ensure that we could properly manage the supply of public lands for generations to come.”
In March 2005, Babauta asked MPLA to lift the moratorium, which he said had denied the eligible indigenous citizens of Saipan and Rota the opportunity to apply for a village homestead.
“My office continues to receive many inquiries from our indigenous citizens [who] desire to fulfill the CNMI dream of owning a home for their family. This cannot be achieved without providing these individuals the opportunity to own a piece of land on which to build that home,” Babauta had said.
MPLA’s Homestead Program was created pursuant to the CNMI Legislature’s findings that many Commonwealth residents were without the finances to purchase home lots in order to construct safe and decent housing.
There are two types of homestead programs—the village and agricultural homestead programs. The village homestead program allows eligible applicants ample public land lot for the construction of a residential dwelling. The agricultural homestead program allows eligible applicants a sizable lot for the development and maintenance of farm crops.
