The Supplementary General Plan of Arrecife, pending approval, opens the door to building buildings of up to 7 stories high both on the Islote del Francés and the site located at the entrance of the Charco de San Ginés, next to Ginory. This has been confirmed by the Councilor for Urban Planning of Arrecife, Samuel Martín, in statements to Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero.
According to the councilman, in the first draft of the Plan of 2014, even 9 floors were allowed, although now they have left it at 7. For this, they have included those plots in homogeneous zone 6, which authorizes that number of heights. "It has been given a buildability that will have to be developed, through a special plan, a partial plan," explained the councilman, recalling that in both cases, the owners of those plots claim millionaire amounts from the City Council.
In the case of the Ginory site, although it is currently still litigating to lower the figure, the City Council already lost the main lawsuit in court, and did not even appeal that decision. "The City Council has not always been lucky enough to win all the sentences," said the councilman, referring to all the latest rulings that have been known to be favorable to the City Council. The last two reject the claims of the companies Parque La Vega and Taguaro S.A., which claimed millionaire amounts from the City Council.
"There will be no agreements with owners who do not accredit ownership"
In those cases, despite the fact that agreements with these companies had been considered, Samuel Martín affirms that the judicial rulings open a new scenario. The councilman has referred especially to Parque La Vega, which has up to 9 lawsuits open with the City Council, one for each property that it supposedly segregated from a parent property acquired ten years ago. According to the latest ruling, the promoters intended to multiply the value of that land by 30. In addition, the ruling rejected the claims of the promoters because the boundaries of the segregated properties do not coincide with the original and because the plaintiffs have not even proven to be the owners of those plots.
"The City Council will never sign an agreement with an owner who cannot prove that the land is his. It is not only that I say so, it is that the law says that you have to prove ownership before signing an agreement," Samuel Martín has now pointed out. In the case of the lawsuit with Taguaro, for a property in Valterra, the City Council's defense also argued that the company has not proven ownership, although the courts have not ruled on this point. In the ruling of the TSJC, now ratified by the Supreme Court, the claims of the plaintiffs are dismissed for other reasons and it is concluded that there are no grounds to expropriate or compensate the company.
"The City Council has never renounced any of the judicial lawsuits," the councilman has maintained, thus responding to the latest statement from Nueva Canarias, in which he asked the City Council to "respect its judicial victories" and not sign urban agreements with promoters who have lost the lawsuits filed against the City Council.
"We will try to place the buildability in an area that does not affect the view"
Regarding the area of Islote and Ginory, Samuel Martín affirms that the situation is different and that is why the City Council has decided to allow them to be built. "We understand that it has to have a special treatment, because they are privileged areas within Arrecife", said the councilman, stating that they will "try to place the buildability" in an area "that does not affect the citizen's view towards the sea".
In the case of Ginory, the sentence that the City Council did not appeal in its day forced the owners to pay 20 million euros. Now, Martín affirms that the City Council "continues to claim" and is trying to "present documentation to try to lower that money", but insists that the solution is to give it buildability. "We have to try to make that land have a value if not 20, almost 20 million euros, and that is done by including it in homogeneous zone 6" and, therefore, allowing constructions of up to 7 floors, defends the councilman.
They will appeal the ruling that annuls the agreement with Galerías Rosa
Regarding the other ruling published this week by La Voz de Lanzarote, by which the agreement that allowed Mercadona to be established on land owned by Juan Francisco Rosa in Argana has been annulled, the councilman has announced that the City Council will appeal it, since it is a first instance ruling.
"We have spoken with the technicians and with the lawyers and we are looking at all the possibilities," said the councilman, stating that "we have to treat the issue with great delicacy" and "with great care", because "we are talking about a very important area of development" and we have to see "the solutions that can be given".
In addition to this first ruling that annuls the agreement, there is also another ruling pending for the lawsuit that the same person filed against the Action Unit Number 12, where that commercial area has been developed.
