September 19, 2005: Court Allows Developer Vilá to Back Out Of Sandy Beach Agreement;
Developer Cites New and Unspecified DRNA Policy as Reason for Relief
Rincón, PR -- In response to a motion filed by Wilfredo Vilá, the Aguada Court relieved the Sandy Beach Apartments' developer of many of the terms of the agreement reached with the Surfrider Foundation in January 2005. The ruling was based on Vila's argument about a "new but yet to be approved DRNA policy related to the zona marítimo terrestre" and an alleged DRNA authorization to build in the Servidumbre de Salvamento of the adjacent quebrada. Vilá argued, and the court accepted, that these actions by the DRNA rendered the terms of the Sandy Beach Apartments agreement unenforceable. The hearing was held on September 19, 2005 and the ruling has not been notified (as of November 7) while work continues on the project.
The original agreement, which followed several court hearings, a preliminary injunction that halted work on the project for months, and extensive negotiations, was intended to protect public beach access and to minimize the environmental impact of the project to the beach, ocean and adjacent quebrada.
The DRNA action generously helped Vilá in his latest attempt to escape from his obligations under a signed agreement, degrade the environment and defraud the public of its rights. Specifically, Vilá is no longer obligated to hire a geomorphologist nor is he required to implement any protective measures that would minimize impacts to the beach and the quebrada.
The consequence of this unfortunate series of events is the unnecessary destruction of important and valuable coastal resources that belong to the people of Puerto Rico. This project should never have been granted variances that allowed for a very large building to be constructed in the Zona Maritimo Terrestre (ZMT) without public notification or hearings. The illicit nature of this permit has lead to a formal investigation (R. de la C. 2339) by the Comisiones de Desarrollo Socioeconómico y Planificación, y de Recursos Naturales, Conservación y Medio Ambiente de la Cámara de Representantes del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico.
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