PUERTO RICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Antonio J Santos and Donald E Hull, Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez LLC
Use Plan, there is the Joint Regulation for the Evaluation and Issuance of Permits related to Land Development and Use (the “Joint Regula - tion”) and other regional plans governing par - ticular geographical regions, and sectorial plans addressing specific issues or needs within a particular sector that require a more detailed analysis. These plans may establish both land classifications and zoning districts. A zoning dis - trict is established based on the underlying land classification but governs more specific devel - opment parameters, such as permitted uses, density, building heights, lot sizes, setbacks, and occupation areas, among others. There is another layer of land use and plan - ning instruments adopted at the level of the municipality (a smaller self-governing division within Puerto Rico) – of which the primary is the Municipal Ordainment Plan. Municipal Ordain - ment Plans set forth the land use and develop - ment policies at the municipal level and may also establish land classifications and zoning districts within the municipality. Municipal land use and planning instruments must be consistent with the current Land Use Plan and, if not, must be revised to achieve such consistency. The Land Use Plan and other central govern - ment instruments generally have precedence over the Municipal Ordainment Plans and other municipal-level instruments. 4.2 Legislative and Governmental Controls Applicable to Design, Appearance and Method of Construction The design, appearance and method of con - struction of new buildings or refurbishment of existing buildings are typically subject to requirements established under the zoning dis - trict where the new building or existing build - ing is located. The zoning districts are estab -
lished under the applicable regional, sectorial or municipal-level plans and regulations. These plans and regulations and a central government regulation called the Joint Regulation specify the controls and parameters applicable to each district, which include building height, setbacks, occupation areas, parking areas, fences, and signs, among other things. The determination of which of these zoning regulations applies to a specific project depends on the nature and location of the project. In addition, technical construction requirements apply to all buildings and refurbishments of buildings under the Puerto Rico Building Code, a central government regulation. Other central government regulations governing technical requirements may also apply depending on the nature and location of the particular project. 4.3 Regulatory Authorities The Puerto Rico Planning Board and the Office of Management of Permits (OMP) are the central government agencies with jurisdiction over land use and development permitting. The jurisdic - tion of these agencies over a project depends on the type of project and permit under consid - eration, with the Planning Board generally hav - ing jurisdiction over more complex projects. In some cases, however, a municipality may have the primary authority to issue certain land use or development permits if the municipality has a Municipal Ordainment Plan and if the author - ity to issue these permits has been transferred from the central government agencies to the municipality. The legal instruments that apply in the evaluation or processing of permits by these agencies include the Land Use Plan, any appli - cable regional, sectorial or municipal plans and regulations, and the Joint Regulation, depending on the circumstances.
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