REQUESTS THE TRANSFER OF THE FINES TO THE CANARY ISLANDS COASTAL DEMARCATION

The Cabildo will not sanction vehicles reported for invading protected spaces in Famara

March 30 2017 (07:51 WEST)
The Cabildo will not sanction vehicles reported for invading protected spaces in Famara
The Cabildo will not sanction vehicles reported for invading protected spaces in Famara

The Island Council of Lanzarote has decided not to initiate a sanctioning procedure in relation to the complaints against vehicles processed by the Civil Guard for invading protected spaces during the last Famara festivities. The island corporation considers that the reported events do not constitute an infringement of the regulations of the Master Plan for Use and Management of the Network of National Parks (PRUG) and agrees to transfer the complaints to the Canary Islands Coastal Demarcation.

In a resolution dated last March, the Cabildo assures that there is no classification in the PRUG applicable to this matter. On the one hand, it highlights that Marinero Avenue allows the circulation of vehicles; and on the other hand, that the roads that connect Caleta de Famara and Islands Homes -parallel to the coast and that invade the dune area- have not been neither eliminated nor replaced for the circulation and parking of automobiles, as it would correspond.

Thus, despite the fact that "the circulation of vehicles outside the tracks enabled for this purpose in Protected Natural Spaces constitutes a very serious infraction", the resolution of the Cabildo remarks the need to offer "the alternative that implies the least impact on the territory and the best location for the replacement of the aforementioned road, as well as the number of necessary parking spaces and their location". It is for this reason that a "lack of culpability" of the accused is pointed out, which also justifies the non-initiation of a sanctioning procedure by the Cabildo.

The island institution also analyzes the category of Rustic Land of Natural Landscape Protection that the area possesses and assures that the parking of vehicles is not expressly prohibited, and only the circulation of these outside the enabled tracks is classified as an infraction. Therefore, it concludes that a sanction is not appropriate, because "the reported fact does not conform to the normative and descriptive budget", despite the fact that it could pose a danger to the natural space.

 

Referred to the Canary Islands Coastal Demarcation


However, given that the events occurred within the limits of the maritime-terrestrial domain, the Cabildo agrees to transfer the complaints to the Canary Islands Coastal Demarcation, since "parking is strictly prohibited in the Rustic Land of Coastal Protection (SRPC)", in which the Coastal Law applies. Thus, it estimates that, due to its competences, this Demarcation would be the body that could apply sanctions.

On the other hand, the Island Council also affirms that the parking of vehicles is regulated by the Law on Traffic, so it also requests that the complaints be sent to the General Directorate of Traffic for the taking of sanctioning measures in this regard.

The events took place during the Famara festivities of 2016, when the Civil Guard reported a total of 71 vehicles for invading protected spaces, arguing that they were serious breaches of the Canarian decree on Tourism Planning and Protected Spaces. The Benemérita then stressed that the coast of Famara is a zone of special protection for belonging to the Natural Park of the Chinijo Archipelago and that this type of infractions could entail fines of between 100 and 1,000 euros, depending on the damage caused.

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