Monday 12 January 2009, San José, Costa
Rica
Earthquake Rescue
Efforts Continue, Unlikely More
Survivors Will Be Found
40.000 Still
Without Running Water
Rescuer
Workers Menaced By
Mudslides After Quake
Percentage of
Permit-Less
Constructions Down in
Guanacaste
Violence Will Increase
Due To Economic Crisis
China's Huawei Awarded
3G Phone Deal
|
Percentage of
Permit-Less
Constructions Down in
Guanacaste
InfoWebPress - According
to inspection reports by
the Engineers and
Architects Federated
Association (CFIA), 22
percent of construction
projects in the country
are being done without
the respective municipal
permits. Such a
percentage is lower than
the one reported in
2007, when 27 percent of
constructions were
illegal.
The region with the
highest improvement in
this arena was the
Caribbean, followed by
the North Pacific
(Guanacaste) and the
Central Pacific. The
report is based on
inspections and document
verifications at
municipalities and
construction sites of
1,336 active projects
during the first
semester of 2008, when
35 of the country’s 81
cantons were inspected.
Of the total number of
construction projects
inspected, 300 didn’t
have the required
municipal permits.
In 2007, CFIA visited
1,036 construction sites
on 26 cantons, finding
282 projects (27
percent) without
adequate paperwork. Such
inspection was done to
verify the existence of
construction permits
from the respective
municipality, which all
projects must have by
law.
Among the key
conclusions of the 2008
report are that one in
every five construction
projects doesn’t have a
municipal permit; that
the situation is
improving, with the
percentage of
non-compliant
construction projects
going from 27 percent to
22 percent; and that the
Northern and Southern
regions show the highest
number of constructions
without permits, as they
experience real estate
booms.
According to CFIA, it’s
crucial that laws
regarding constructions
are respected to
guarantee the safety of
civil works, citizens
and users of those
structures —
particularly because one
of the main problems
found in permit-less
constructions is
non-compliance with
environmental laws and
urban development
regulations.
CFIA has called on
municipalities to be
stricter when enforcing
construction guidelines
and offered to help them
carry out inspection and
control actions.
Those who build without
permits can face a fine
of 50 percent over the
cost of a permit and
could even risk
demolition of the
irregular project. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
