Zoning officials warn vs bribery

New signs adorn the CNMI’s zoning office warning people against attempting to bribe its officials, a move an administrator there says was prompted by several recent efforts by unnamed parties to coerce staff into granting special consideration when it comes to zoning rules.

“Zoning is worth something,” administrator Steve Tilley said in an interview Monday. “Various people in our office have been approached in various ways and we want to make a statement that we’re not going to stand for it.”

The signs are written in three languages—English, Korean and Chinese—and warn that anyone attempting to bribe a local government official can be penalized with up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000.

Tilley said staff posted the signs last week.

Meanwhile, the Zoning Board is gearing up for a series of educational workshops on local zoning laws to be held at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe later this month. Dates and times for the workshops have yet to be determined, Tilley said.

During the board’s most recent meeting Sept. 4, Tilley said its members agreed to push ahead with plans to establish an “adult business overlay zone”—a district where massage parlors, strip clubs and other similar establishments can open—along Middle Road beginning October. Adult businesses will have to relocate to the zone unless they can get an extension from the zoning office based on extenuating circumstances, Tilley added.

Zoning officials have already begun cracking down on adult businesses that fail to conform with a host of new regulations that apply to them—such as signage requirements, lighting rules and other similar standards. The zoning office recently issued its first fine under the new rules to a massage parlor that had previously gotten zoning approval to operate as a beauty shop.

“We’re starting to do some field work,” Tilley said, adding the zoning office is willing to work with businesses to help them avoid penalties. “We want people to know that there are consequences to breaking the law.”

In related news, Tilley noted the zoning board has denied a bid by a Buddhist temple in Marpi to build new housing for its monks and workers, along with a new dining room, on its grounds. Tilley said the board denied the request primarily because the new designation the temple had sought, known as “village commercial,” might have opened the property to other uses in the future that clash with the surrounding properties.

However, he said zoning officials have submitted a proposal to the Saipan legislative delegation to amend zoning laws in a way that would allow the board to grant the temple’s request without a major change to the zoning designation allowing future commercial uses.