JEDDAH, 18 March 2006 — Majed Abu Sohul, a resident of Jeddah, has a bone to pick with his neighbor.
“My neighbor started building a resort on his land,” Abu Sohul told the Arabic-language daily Al-Madinah. “He informed me that it is going to be for family use only and based on this we reached a deal. Surprisingly, I found out later on that many people and companies rented the resort for special events and occasions. They caused us a lot of harassment by playing music loud and crowding the parking slots in the street. Besides the huge number of children who run around destroy our properties.”
In the past few years, the phenomenon of constructing private resorts for rental has started to spread in different parts of Jeddah. People are surprised to find the lands they bought to build houses are now surrounded with resorts that host youth parties and family events.
Large numbers of visitors to these resorts have become an annoyance for the neighborhood residents. Citizens wonder if building resorts near residences is legally permitted or if it is considered to violate people’s privacy. They ask what the municipality is doing to control this phenomenon.
“Why don’t we have strict supervision over building resorts in residential areas?” said homeowner Saad Al-Rabei.
“We’re depressed because we can’t find peace or quiet anymore inside our district. Look around and you’ll find many resorts rented on a daily basis, depriving us privacy and tranquility. I sometimes become suspicious of certain people renting the resorts. No one knows what these people do inside. I demand that the authorities crack down on these resorts that are overcrowding our neighborhoods.”
A source from the Jeddah Municipality said the resorts were built illegally. Several requirements are to be met for legally constructing a resort. First, the land must be no less than 3,000 square meters. The plot has to be located between two main streets, and should include a commercial zone. And a construction license has to be obtained from the authorities.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said citizens have the right to complain to the police against people disturbing the peace in their neighborhood.
