Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — An illegal public bathroom at Punta Esmeralda has been shut down by the city. Solidaridad city officials had the illegal structure closed after the builder failed to produce a permit for its construction.
Playa del Carmen officials noticed the facility hidden under a palapa roof earlier this week. A further look revealed a public restroom which the owner built on Zofemat property where permanent construction is not permitted.
María de Lourdes Várguez Ocampo, Municipal Secretary for Sustainable Environment and Climate Change and Zofemat, said they are preparing to move forward with charges.
“We are integrating a file in order to deliver it to Profepa and file the corresponding complaint since they did not prove to us that they had an environmental impact study,” she explained.
The municipal official pointed out that within the zone there were even some rotoplas water tanks filled with waste.
“I was a bit disguised because the palapa covered that project. It was a wooden structure that didn’t affect anything, but the real intention was to cover the existence of those bathrooms,” she said.
“It is important to act and have the complaint before Profepa to proceed with the demolition because it is in an area where fixed constructions are not authorized,” she said.
The city charges a fee of 5 pesos to use public facilities at Blue Flag beaches like Punta Esmeralda. Várguez Ocampo did not say how much the owner of the bathroom was charging for public use.
