Cabinet will have greater flexibility to update building code regulations under legislation passed by the Parliament of the Cayman Islands.
The Development and Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was presented to parliament on 2 October and passed its third reading on 5 October after moving through the committee stage.
The legislation changes how building code regulations under the Development and Planning Act can be updated.
Other regulations under the act will continue to require parliament’s approval through affirmative resolution.
Planning and lands minister Jay Ebanks said the bill originally proposed removing the affirmative resolution requirement for regulations under the act more broadly.
The government amended that provision during the committee stage to apply only to building code regulations.
Under the amended framework, a building code can provide for the application of codes and standards adopted by the building official and published in the Gazette.
This includes amendments or repeals to those codes and standards.
Ebanks said the change would allow technical updates to be made without each change having to go through parliament.
“It’s about ensuring that Cabinet can respond to technical development, construction methods, and local conditions without forcing every minor technical update to wait in line for parliament time,” he said.
The government is also drafting a new Cayman Islands building code based on the International Code Council’s 2021 codes, with Cayman-specific amendments.
The transition is expected in January 2027, with the code to be available in electronic and hard-copy formats.
“Anybody that wants to build to the standards of the Cayman Islands will be able to pull up the first ever Cayman Islands building codes,” Ebanks said.
The new framework will also replace the use of Miami-Dade building codes as the reference.
“No longer will we reference to the Miami-Dade building codes,” Ebanks said. “It’s going to be called the Cayman Islands building codes.”
Ebanks said wider planning regulations affecting land use, development rights and neighbourhoods will remain subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
The bill also gives Cabinet authority to waive fees prescribed under Schedule II of the Development and Planning Regulations, 2024.
Opposition leader Roy McTaggart supported the bill, citing the need to address bureaucracy in planning and development.
“I do agree with him. We do talk about some of the hurdles – the red tape, if you want to call it – the bureaucracy that often gets in the way of making progress in some of these real issues,” he said.
