The small beach with calm waters has been surrounded by constructions and palapas that continue to expand. A hotel, a stilt house and two farms located in the area have already been suspended for not having a building permit.
A new construction was built right at the access to the Isla de Chivos beach. Now, the beach is surrounded by buildings and palapas that have continued to expand to the front and to the sides.
To enter this public space, users must go through a corridor. In addition, the beach is occupied by tables, chairs, lounge chairs and structures when the tide is low.
In 2022, a three-story building began to be built on the space occupied by one of the seafood restaurants located next to the access; the work is almost finished. This year, a raised palapa on stilts was also built, right on the spot that has been used as access for generations.
According to the testimony of workers in the area, it is a hotel and a restaurant, respectively, however, the Mazatlán City Council’s Sustainable Urban Development Planning Directorate has no records of these projects.
The agency suspended both works last Friday when they realized that the lack of construction permits. The same thing happened with two other properties that are located on the breakwater, apparently for vacation rental purposes.
The head of Planning, Wenceslao Paúl Galindo Maldonado, pointed out that constructions on the federal sea-land zone, as in these cases, must have an Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) approved by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). In addition to this federal procedure, they must also prove ownership, process a land use opinion and construction license before the municipality. None of these requirements has been recorded.
Galindo Maldonado said that the works will remain suspended while the investors approach the municipal office to prove ownership of the property with a deed, ejidal charter or parcel title. It must also be verified that the land use is compatible and that there is the technical scientific study of the impacts on the environment.
“In cases in which the project does not prove ownership or does not present an MIA made possible by SEMARNAT, the indefinite suspension proceeds,” he explained. It can even proceed to demolition for violations of the Construction Regulations.
If ownership is proven, but it is not compatible with the use of the land or the Environmental Impact Statement is lacking, the work will continue to be suspended. And if the works are resumed without having carried out the legal procedure, the workers could also be removed with the use of public force, he added.
Previously, inhabitants of the Ejido Isla de la Piedra have publicly denounced alleged irregularities in the urban development of that settlement, including the Isla de Chivos. An example of this is the construction of a private property on a waterhole, with the support of the SEMARNAT state delegation.
A few days ago, it was also detected that a real estate development was selling lots in the coconut groves of Isla de la Piedra through social networks without having a license.
Galindo Maldonado, who assumed the position of the Planning Directorate in November 2022, said that it is not ruled out that there are more irregular cases because in that ejido “they are not used to processing construction licenses.”
Urban disorder in Mazatlan
The same disorder has been detected in the tourist area and with the greatest real estate development in Mazatlán, he mentioned, since only during the first month of work, more than 70 works without construction permits were detected, including vertical developments. These buildings were suspended and since then they have been regularizing.
Having only 14 inspectors for the entire city has been a limitation in the detection of irregular works, Galindo Maldonado admitted, however, the inspection operations will continue, first in the tourist influx area, followed by Isla de la Piedra and neighborhoods of the port.
Citizen complaints through the platforms and modules of the municipality are helpful and they will be attended to, he assured.
Source: Son Playas
