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The implementation of the legalization of illegal buildings on rural land in Menorca had its first rocky episode today. The Technical Commission had to be suspended for a while, and in the end, a vote was held without any technical or legal report.
To apply this urban planning amnesty in Menorca, it must be approved by the Plenary of the Insular Council. However, it first requires a favorable report from the Advisory Technical Commission on territorial planning and urbanism.
This morning, a meeting of this Technical Commission, where GOB has a representative, was held, and procedural doubts regarding the proposed legalization were evident.
GOB warned that infractions on rural land do not expire and that the idea of legalizing construction on this type of land contradicts higher regulations. When asked if there was a technical and legal report to assess the effects of applying these measures in Menorca, it was acknowledged that there was no such report.
Under these circumstances, the members of the Technical Commission were asked to cast a strictly political vote, as without technical or legal reports, neither a well-founded debate nor a minimally rigorous position could be made. This is not the function of the Technical Commission. GOB highlighted these irregularities and will file an appeal against the decision, understanding that the Plenary would not have any prior reports.
The Balearic Government’s attempt to reward urban planning violations committed on rural land through a Decree-Law is considered by the GOB to be the largest speculative operation in the history of democracy in the Balearic Islands. In the case of Menorca, where territorial control has been especially diligent, it represents an insult to all the people who have done things correctly.
Offenders would be exempt from complying with any of the parameters applied to those who process things properly, and they would obtain a spectacular increase in the value of buildings that have been illegal until now.
In this way, there are no requirements for minimum plot size, maximum height, volume, or occupancy percentage. The aim is to allow urban developments typical of urban land but on rural land.
The supposed environmental improvements the Government touts are not such, as they are not described in any specific parameter. It is said that energy efficiency or water consumption must be improved, but without specifying minimum standards to avoid simple adjustments that whitewash the real objective, which is real estate revaluation.
This text is an adaptation from an automated translation of the original publication in Catalan on the GOB Menorca website.