Zoning is something that most of us foreigners take for granted. We don’t think twice about it. . .maybe not even once. I suppose it comes from living in a developed country where everything is defined to the hundredth power. When foreigners came to Costa Rica and acquired a piece of beach front property, we didn’t think about zoning. . . nor did anyone mention it. . . including our own lawyers. That’s because zoning, in practice, is relatively uncommon in Costa Rica. Even though in 1977, the Maritime Zone Law 6043 was established for the purpose of regulating “rights of ownership and development along the coastline”, there was never been any effort on behalf of the government to actually go out and implement development controls for the Maritime Zone or Zona Maritima Terrestre ( ZMT for short ) which is the first 200 meter strip of coastline around the country. Now, twenty five years later...we see substantial development along the coastal zone, and not surprisingly, the vast majority without any legal framework or zoning in place...technically illegal. . .woops!

The concept of zoning in Costa Rica is essentially the same as in developed countries, but let’s put a brief description to it anyway. . .”Zoning is the process of defining certain areas of land coverage and the declaration of these areas spelling out a specific use or type of development that is allowed. . .or not”. In this article, we will discuss only one type of zoning which refers to tourism-related development (as opposed to industrial, agricultural etc.) Tourism development is defined as “private or public development of services and infrastructure supporting commercial or private usage that is related to most any form of tourism activities, i.e. hotels and resorts, condos, restaurants, bars, miscellaneous tourist services, and single family residences”. The zoning process also takes into account and dedicates areas for public accesses to the beach, public service areas, coop usage and green zones.

Since zoning is so rare, (maybe 5% of the coastline country wide), we could say the lack of zoning and related conflicts is the single biggest challenge the government faces in the Maritime Zone. . ..and the single biggest obstacle an investor faces. These conflicts and lack of controls have finally motivated the government to take some steps towards better management in regards to coastline development. The most significant step being the JICA study and project (see articles online in previous issues of Sol de Osa). Although still not approved, results of the JICA study and implementation of its recommendations will, in theory, put zoning on the “fast track”. . . did I say fast track?

It is important to note that even though the Costa Rican government is responsible for zoning the coastline, the occupants themselves in any given area or even third parties interested in presenting their own zoning proposal, have a right to do so. These private “promoters” of the zoning proposal, called a Regulatory Plan, or Plan Regulador, should understand that they, themselves, must coordinate all phases and follow up with the various institutions and of course. . . pay all the costs. In some cases, there have been coop funds available but are scarce. Currently, there are only three approved zoning plans in the entire canton of Golfito: Sombrero Beach (1997), Platanares Beach (1998), and Pavones - Rio Claro (2001). There are at least five other zoning plans now in progress. One in Sombrero adjacent to the existing plan, three others in Pavones and Pilon, and the Zancudo plan. Over half of these plans were financed by private interests.

THE ZONING PROCESS

The first step to the process is the “tourism declaration”, demonstrating that the proposed sector of beach has “aptitude for tourism.” This declaration is processed through the local Municipality and covers a specific sector of coastline.

Once the tourism designation has been established by Municipal resolution, the promoters must apply for and receive the anuencia from the Municipality essentially giving them first right to present a zoning proposal.

The next step will be to place the cement monuments demarking the 50 meter public zone. This process is initiated at the Municipality but the actual survey work is performed by the IGN, or Instituto Geografico Nacional who sends a team of engineers to measure and place the “mojones.”

Although there is no set amount of coverage for each mojón project, it is not cost effective to do a project for much less than 300 meters of beach frontage.

Now, to begin with the process of laying out the proposal itself, the promoters must hire a private company of engineers and planners to study and create the zoning proposal that will be presented and eventually approved through the corresponding institutions. . . ICT (National Tourist Institute), INVU (Housing and Development) and lastly, the Municipality, where at the end of the process, will hold a public hearing called a cabilde before the plan is officially adopted and published in the legal newspaper, the Gazetta. This procedure is lengthy and can get complicated so it is critical that the promoters closely interact with the institutions throughout the entire process. There will be changes and modifications along the way as the proposal gradually transforms into the final and approved version.

One good thing is that Regulatory Plans are quite flexible and allow for different density levels and arrangement of commercial use versus residential use. Plans must also provide a certain amount of area dedicated to public services and access to the beach. To understand in more detail, it is best to talk to a professional planner that specializes in the Maritime Zone. There are a handful of companies out of San José that offer these services but be sure to get a good reference. The entire process could take up to 2 years and cost upwards of 25K. . . all depending on the size and complexity of the plan. There is no “minimum of beach frontage” that is required for a single Regulatory Plan but there must be enough area to have a balanced arrangement of dedicated areas. One kilometer is used as an unofficial standard for the average size of a Regulatory Plan. There is also no maximum size but ICT engineers say that if the plan is over 2 kilometers, the technical side gets a little clumsy. Also keep in mind that the higher number of occupants inside the proposed zoning area could make things a little more complicated when it comes to making decisions as a group . . .too many cooks spoil the stew. It’s best to consider all the angles and plan an all around strategy before starting.

Over the last two years we have seen a few modifications to zoning regulations and Concession procedures. Some of the new regulations concern the transferring of more decision-making power to the local Municipalities versus ICT. Other changes have to do with the zoning guidelines to make plans a little more flexible in regards to density and green zones; and to make sure that public areas and accesses are enforced. Possibly the biggest recommendation is to streamline the bureaucratic approval process itself by creating a single commission comprised of representatives of the different institutions. This new commission will be dedicated to the review and approval of all new Regulatory Plans. Also, new regulations are being proposed to restrict certain movement inside the ZMT until there is proper zoning such as building of any kind, segregations of lots and parcels, and creating new access roads in and around the ZMT. ICT is not letting the cat out of the bag yet. . . supposedly, awaiting the JICA plan to be adopted. One thing ICT is clear about is that all new Regulatory Plans must coincide with JICA’s soon to be adopted Master Land Use Plan.