The City Council of Arrecife has taken letters in the matter and will apply the municipal ordinances to pass on to the owner the costs of cleaning, fencing, and sealing of a plot in the neighborhood of La Vega, located between Norte street and Brasilia street, which had become a focus of insalubrity and risk for public health.
As you will recall, La Voz echoed this situation the past month of March after complaints from residents and merchants due to the situation of dirtiness and unhealthiness due to the presence of garbage and rats.
Jointly, the Local Police departments, under the direct leadership of Mayor Yonathan de León, and the Cleaning department, led by Jacobo Lemes, have initiated a report on the situation of the plot and have intervened to seal off the area where all types of waste were accumulating.
The land, with an approximate depth of three meters, has progressively become a point of accumulation of waste and abandoned belongings, generating a focus of dirt that affects both the image of the environment and the sanitary conditions of the area. Among the main concerns conveyed by the neighbors is the proliferation of rats, which has motivated the need for an urgent deratization intervention.
Given this situation, and after repeated requests to the owner of the plot and with complaints registered in March and April 2026, as well as in May 2025, in which the cleaning and deratization of the space was already requested, the City Council has decided to act subsidiarily due to the inaction of the land owner.
The action is framed within the provisions of the Municipal Ordinance published in the BOP number 30, of March 11, 2026. Specifically, article 22 establishes the obligation of owners to maintain plots in adequate conditions of safety, health, and public ornament. Likewise, article 23 contemplates subsidiary execution by the administration when those responsible fail to comply with these obligations, subsequently passing on the costs to the owner. Furthermore, non-compliance may result in economic sanctions, as set out in article 56 of the same regulation.
Given that the municipal Cleaning services cannot act directly due to the depth of the plot, during the last week the collaboration of the Local Police was requested, which has intervened with the support of technical means such as a drone to evaluate the situation. Likewise, the fencing of the adjacent plot has been carried out as a preventive measure.
The intervention will be carried out jointly by the areas of Cleaning, Health, Roads and Works, and Local Police, including urgent rodent control and waste removal tasks.
The Councilor for Cleaning, Jacobo Lemes, has pointed out that “we have exhausted all administrative avenues for the owner to act, but given the seriousness of the situation, the risk to public health, and the appearance of rodents, the City Council cannot stand idly by”.
Lemes added that “we are going to intervene subsidiarily to guarantee the safety and healthiness of the neighbors, and subsequently all costs will be passed on to the owner, as established by the ordinance”.
