Summary.
Law 12 of February 12, 2007 governs overlapping special treatment areas in the eastern and western sectors of the Interoceanic Region. It sets procedures for requesting and assessing projects in those areas and creates an interinstitutional technical commission.
What it covers.
- The territorial scope of overlapping special treatment.
- Applications and assessment of commercial and residential projects.
- The technical commission’s membership and functions.
- Public participation and access to application documents.
Who it applies to.
- Persons seeking designation of an overlapping special treatment area.
- Developers of commercial or residential projects in those areas.
- Institutions that receive and assess applications.
- Communities interested in or affected by an application.
Key points.
- Overlapping special treatment applies to areas in the eastern and western sectors of the Interoceanic Region, excluding the Canal area, and only to land use categories II and III under the Regional Plan.Art. 1
- The applicant publishes the application in two newspapers of national circulation for five consecutive business days and submits the original publications to the Urban Development Directorate General (Dirección General de Desarrollo Urbano) of the Ministry of Housing (Ministerio de Vivienda).Art. 1
- The Urban Development Directorate General assesses each application with the technical commission and has 60 calendar days from registration to approve or reject it.Art. 1
- Commercial or residential projects undergo a prior land use assessment; new urban development projects permit residential lots to occupy up to 50% of the area, and industrial activities are excluded.Art. 1
- Certain urban development resolutions issued by the Ministry of Housing from July 1997 until this law’s promulgation are exempt from Article 13 of Law 21 of 1997.Art. 2
- The law creates the Interinstitutional Technical Commission for Overlapping Land Use Analysis (Comisión Técnica Interinstitucional de Análisis de Uso Sobrepuesto), attached to the Urban Development Directorate General, to examine applications and make technical recommendations on overlapping land use.Art. 3, Art. 5
- Applications are received for 24 months from the law’s promulgation; the institutions involved process them expeditiously.Art. 6
- The commission establishes participation mechanisms for interested or affected communities and ensures that everyone has access to the documents for each application.Art. 7
Validity and changes.
- Ley 21 de 2 de julio de 1997Art. 1: amends Annex I; Art. 2: adds a paragraph to Article 13.