More than five years after the Stratvs winery was closed by court order, businessman Juan Francisco Rosa has reopened part of the facilities to the public, which were built illegally in the heart of La Geria.
Specifically, Rosa has opened the store, despite not having obtained a license from the City Council. This has been confirmed to La Voz from the Consistory, which states that there has not been an "express act" to authorize the reopening. However, they add that the businessman "could consider that he has the right to open", adhering to the law that allows the opening by submitting a responsible declaration, by which the interested party assures compliance with all regulations.
However, in this case it is not a new business, but a complex that had up to three municipal files, which has the activity license annulled by the first sentence of the Stratvs case and which is still pending trial of the main part of that case, within the framework of which the sealing was ordered. That precautionary measure adopted in December 2013 by the investigating judge was lifted four years later by the Provincial Court, but at that time the Chamber made it clear that this did not imply "the authorization of this Court for the exercise of the activity".
That was what Section Six of the Court clarified in a resolution subsequent to the order by which the seal was lifted, and which was issued by the controversial judge Salvador Alba, who is currently removed from his duties and awaiting trial, accused of serious crimes of corruption in the exercise of his office. In that subsequent resolution, the Court made it clear that what it did was lift the precautionary measure due to the time elapsed since it was adopted, but without analyzing whether its reopening was legal or not. Thus, it left the decision in the hands of the institutions, pointing out that it should be the Cabildo and the Yaiza City Council who ensure compliance with the "regulations".
The former mayor was also convicted of not ordering the closure
It should be remembered that although the main part of the Stratvs case is still pending trial, a first part has already been tried and sentenced, which focused only on the granting of the classified activity license under the Mayoralty of Gladys Acuña. And in that piece, the mayor was not only convicted for action but also for omission, for not having taken measures against the winery when she learned of its illegality. In fact, the lack of action by the City Council was what led in its day to agree on the precautionary measure of sealing by the investigating judge, Silvia Muñoz.
At that time and after the requirements of the Court, the City Council had three files open to Stratvs, although it only completed one, focused on the restaurant. In that case, it did order the sealing, concluding that it did not have any type of permit, since it did not even appear in the project that Rosa presented when applying for the building permit.
As for the winery and the store, the Consistory had two other files open that also proposed the closure, but that were not completed, when the investigating Court intervened ordering the closure of the entire complex as a precautionary measure within the Stratvs case. However, nothing has been known about those files since Judge Alba ordered the seal lifted two years ago and since the Court returned responsibility to the administrations.
Noda, awaiting reports
After learning of the reopening of the Stratvs winery store, La Voz has contacted the current mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, who has indicated that he is awaiting legal reports to make statements. Thus, for the moment, the Consistory has only confirmed that there has been no express authorization on its part.
It should be remembered that after Judge Alba's order, the Prosecutor's Office strongly opposed the reopening of the facilities, stating that "its operation is illegal due to the lack of enabling titles and the frontal contradiction with the urban planning that applies to it".
In fact, in the indictment of the piece that is still pending trial, it demands the demolition of the entire complex, arguing that it is illegal and unlegalizable. And it is that in addition to pointing out that he obtained an illegal permit, the instruction of this case revealed that what was built did not even have anything to do with what had been authorized, which was the rehabilitation of a protected historical house and the construction of a 900-meter winery. Instead of that, as the prosecution maintains, Rosa demolished that protected house and built a new one - which is where the store is located - and built a complex of more than 12,000 square meters, which also included terraces and a restaurant that were not even included in the project.
