P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 5043

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 5043. Martín Peña Canal land use plan and special planning district integrated development plan

The Highway and Transportation Authority shall devise a Special Land Use Plan and an Integrated Development Plan for the Special Planning District of the Martín Peña Canal, hereinafter, the District’s Plan, as designated by the Planning Board’s Resolution of May 3, 2002, taking into consideration the conservation easements and natural reserves established in the District. These special plans shall be developed using a participatory planning methodology, as provided in said Resolution, and shall include the environmental assessments required by the Environmental Public Policy Act. The Authority shall submit the District’s Plan (jointly or separately) through the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works for simultaneous evaluations by the Planning Board and the Environmental Quality Board. The Environmental Quality Board shall determine, within a term not to exceed twenty (20) days (which may be extended with the consent of the Planning Board in consultation with the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Highway and Transportation Authority) if the District’s Plan complies with the Environmental Public Policy Act and notify the Planning Board of such compliance within said term. Said compliance determination shall be extended to any action included in the District’s Plan as of its date of approval by the Governor. Final approval by the Planning Board shall take place within not more than sixty (60) days after the corresponding determination is notified to the Environmental Quality Board, provided that it includes a finding of no significant environmental impact or any other favorable determination applicable pursuant to the Environmental Public Policy Act. The Boards shall carry out all the joint legal processes possible to ensure a swift evaluation of the District’s Plan and its approval and effectiveness within a term not to exceed one hundred sixty (160) days after the effective date of this act.

Once the Planning Board adopts the Special Land Use Plan and the Integrated Development Plan, the Corporation shall be exempt from submitting particular consultations thereto pursuant to the provisions of said plans.

The Land Use Plan shall become one of the Area Plans of the Zoning Plan of the Municipality of San Juan. The Corporation shall take charge of any revisions to the District’s Plan during its effective term, and shall submit the amendments to the Planning Board for consideration and approval. In the event of conflicts between any plan, regulation, or norm, the governing policies and norms adopted in the District’s Plan shall prevail over any law, plan, or regulation concerning the use of the land in the District, including those drafted in connection with the redevelopment in the sphere of influence of the stations of the Tren Urbano, unless otherwise provided by the Planning Board in the general interest.

Public agency authorizations, permits, or endorsements (including any variations and exceptions to the rules), especially from the Permit Management Office or the successor thereof, the Municipality of San Juan (including, but not limited to its Land Use and Permits Offices), the Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Natural and Environmental Resources, the Environmental Quality Board, and the Planning Board (including, without being limited to site consultations) in the District shall only be granted when they are in accordance with the provisions of the District’s Land Use and Integrated Development Plans. The corresponding public agency shall consult the Corporation in writing about its position with respect to the proposed action, and whether or not the Corporation endorses the action and the conditions that the latter deems reasonable in order to proceed with the action. The Corporation shall have a term of twenty (20) days (which may be extended only by the consent of the corresponding public agency) to issue its comments in writing and, if no comments are issued, it shall be understood that the Corporation has no interest in stating its position.

History —Sept. 24, 2004, No. 489, § 14; Aug. 14, 2013, No. 104, § 10.