The mayor of Arrecife, María Isabel Déniz, has given provisional approval, by decree, to the Special Plan of the Port of Arrecife (PEPA). This approval could be taken to a plenary session or carried out by decree, and the mayor has opted for the latter possibility to "speed up the procedures, because we were very short on deadlines", according to reports from the Government Group.
After this provisional approval, the PEPA must now be put out for public display, to then take the next and final step, which is the final approval, which cannot be done by decree like the provisional one, but must be taken to the plenary session of the municipal corporation.
The provisional approval, whose decree was signed on the 6th, although the City Council had not reported on such action, occurs after the Port Authority responded to the allegations presented, rejecting most of them. What Puertos has done is to formulate a series of suggestions, which have been included in the aforementioned decree.
One of the main suggestions of the Port Authority is to minimize the planned filling between the Charco de San Ginés and the Puerto Naos dock. On the other hand, the removal of the coastline will not finally be included in the PEPA because Puertos has reported that said removal is possible but not through this document, but must be processed through another file, separately, via the Department of Territorial Policy and Environment of the Cabildo.
Regarding the allegations presented regarding the height of the hotels planned in the port area, Puertos has rejected them since it understands that they do not fit in what concerns the PEPA, since they cannot go against what is established by the General Urban Planning Plan, according to which the City Council grants licenses, and that is its scope of processing, as explained by the Councilor for Urban Planning of Arrecife, Nuria Cabrera.
Regarding the bridge to connect the cruise dock, the Port Authority "has not said yes or no", Cabrera said, but raises "the possibility of making another bridge, which can be opened, and in any case leaves the final decision pending a study that is being carried out".
Another of the allegations on which Puertos does not pronounce and leaves pending a study in progress is regarding the alleged problems for maneuvering in the commercial dock, for which this specific report on maneuverability will be taken into account.
Regarding the mayor's decision to give provisional approval to the PEPA by decree, Nuria Cabrera did not fully agree, because "I am in favor of everything that can be taken to a plenary session, should be taken, but it is the mayor's power to do it by decree, she considered that this was the convenient thing to do, and it must be respected", said the socialist councilor.
