PUERTO RICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Antonio J Santos and Donald E Hull, Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez LLC
The Planning Board has exclusive jurisdiction over certain projects requiring changes in zon - ing that are of regional impact or that do not meet use or density/intensity requirements in their zoning district, among other things. In a process known as a site location consultation, the government may approve these types of projects and authorise waivers of use, density/ intensity and other requirements, if applicable conditions are met. A site location consultation typically contains general parameters related to the proposed project, such as overall density, proposed uses and the proposed master plan. The OMP or the municipality, in turn, typically consider lesser permits, including: • non-discretionary construction permits (for projects strictly complying with all applicable requirements in the corresponding zoning district); • construction consultations (for projects requiring one or more waivers of applicable construction requirements under the corre - sponding zoning district); and • approvals for projects involving lot divisions and urbanisation or subdivision type projects, addressing primarily infrastructure develop - ment requirements. The construction consultations and permits address the specific allocation of density, build - ing heights, lot sizes, setbacks, and occupation areas, among other things. The construction permit is the final permit that must be obtained prior to actual earth movement for building con - struction (other than the earth movement for infrastructure, which may be covered in the lot division/urbanisation/subdivision approval). Oth - er permits addressing environmental and natural resource impacts may also be required prior to construction.
Once the construction is completed and before commencing operations, a project must obtain a Single Permit from the OMP or the municipality, as applicable. The Single Permit consolidates the use permit, sanitary licence, fire prevention certification, and other licences that could apply based on the specific activities taking place at the building or facility. 4.4 Obtaining Entitlements to Develop a New Project All permit proceedings are commenced by filing an application before the relevant agency. Upon filing of the application, the applicant typically is required to install one or more signs at the project site notifying the public of the applica - tion and where to submit comments. Except for non-discretionary construction permits, appli - cants may also be required to notify the property owners that are contiguous to or within a wider radius of the project site, depending on the type of permit requested. During the permitting process, the applicant must seek comments from the agencies with jurisdiction about the project (including public utilities, highway and transportation authorities, environmental and natural resource agencies, among others), and the requirements of these agencies may be imposed as permit conditions. The applicant must also obtain a certification from the OMP that the project meets certain regulatory environmental review requirements to ensure that a thorough assessment of the environmental impact of the project has been performed. The agency may hold a public hearing to con - sider the application, which may be mandatory or discretionary in some cases. Any interested person may submit written comments in favour or against the permit to the permitting agency
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