The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, and municipal technicians met this Thursday in Gran Canaria with the Deputy Minister of Territorial Planning and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Leopoldo Díaz, and his technical team to address the content of the latest report, dated June 2021, from the General Directorate of Coasts, which urges the Yaiza Supplementary General Planning Plan to set 100 meters of protection easement on the coastline. According to the Consistory, "the municipal planning document commissioned at the time by the City Council to the regional Executive, in force since the end of 2014, establishes it at 20 meters."
Noda appreciates "the involvement shown by the Deputy Minister in this matter, considering that although the focus is centered on the Yaiza report, the demarcation proposed by Coasts would end up affecting the entire Canary Islands because not only in Lanzarote, but also in municipalities of other Islands, the protection line is less than 100 meters from the coast."
The mayor of Yaiza states that "we know that it is a very complex issue and that is why we advocate for a detailed study that is interested in the reality of each island, and that based on its conclusions, consensus proposals emerge between all administrations."
In fact, Óscar Noda expressly asked the Government of the Canary Islands to participate in the meeting with representatives of the Ministry for Ecological Transition of Spain scheduled for next September "in order to address this same issue, sharing data and documentation. The Deputy Minister also trusts in the attitude and willingness of the Ministry to reach a consensus in the coming dates, encouraged by the good relationship and trust between the Autonomous and State Administration."
From Yaiza they point out that "the Deputy Minister of Territorial Planning and the technicians are willing to find solutions to extremes of the Coasts report that at least for Yaiza should be reviewed, an opinion shared by Jorge Coderch, head of the General Plan drafting team who also participated in the meeting, although via telematics."
Leopoldo Díaz was accompanied in his meeting with Yaiza by technicians from the Technical Service of Urban Planning of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Water and Territorial Planning, from the Coastal Department of the Government of the Canary Islands, as well as the Head of the Legal Service of Urban Planning.
Óscar Noda concludes that "I perceived firsthand how the technical team of the Autonomous Community had addressed, prior to the meeting, the ways to explore to comply with the requirements imposed by the Ministry in its report without implying the reduction of the rights acquired by the owners of the affected plots, which denotes the rigor and urgency with which the Deputy Minister has taken the matter. Furthermore, the fact that the highest responsible for the Area is from Lanzarote gives us peace of mind because he knows perfectly the situation of the entire coast of the Island."
The Yaiza City Council continues to defend the usefulness of the General Plan both for municipal action and for the legal certainty of residents and investors. It should be remembered that in response to the request from Coasts that requested the nullity in its entirety of the Yaiza General Planning Plan, judgments from the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (2018) and the Supreme Court (2020) determine that their rulings refer to the public maritime-terrestrial domain line and the coastal easement zone, understanding both courts that there is no sufficient cause to agree to the full nullity of the Plan.
