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Judge orders halt to construction permits in protected areas for Tulum City Council

Tulum, Q.R. — The Tulum City Council received a new judicial setback for granting construction permits in an area where the federation has already granted full protection. A judge has ordered no logging or construction permits are to be granted for a development called Calle la Palma.

The judicial order came after the project, which is a mix of residential and commercial properties in a mangrove area, was reported by state councilor of the PRD, Gabriel Sifri Jiménez.

A judge from the Seventh District Court issued the definitive suspension of the Municipal Program for Territorial, Ecological and Sustainable Urban Development of the Municipality of Tulum and ordered it to suspend the issuance of construction licenses.

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) notified the municipality of Tulum on April 13 of this year that the Municipal Program for Territorial, Ecological and Sustainable Urban Development of the Municipality (PMOTEDUS), published on March 31, 2021 in the Official State Newspaper, will not be recognized by the federal agency due to relevant faults and inconsistencies that lead to the environmental deterioration of the municipality and the state.

Among the main inconsistencies detected by Semarnat is that the PMOTEDUS of Tulum does not include Article 23 I of the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection, which states that urban development plans or programs must take into account the guidelines and strategies contained in the ecological zoning programs of the current territory.

Nor does it take into account the State Law of Ecological Balance and Protection of the Environment of Quintana Roo or its regulations on ecological management.

According to Semarnat, PMOTEDUS Tulum proposes changes in land use to encourage and allow urban growth and real estate development that has a negative impact on ecosystems, thus causing negative and diverse effects on hydrogeological systems and on terrestrial, reefs, marine species and archaeological monuments.