Calp to Expropriate 300,000 m² of Urbanizable Land for Municipal Use

"Historic decision." This is how the Calp Town Hall describes its intention to expropriate 300,000 m² of urbanizable area for public use. Before this, the local government will present the proposal at the November plenary session, which will involve the declassification of the sectors known as Garduix I and II, Pla Feliu I and II, and Ráfol I and II.

The council aims to "relieve urban pressure and preserve this green lung by allocating it" for sports, educational, recreational, or cultural uses.

The expropriation will mean that the town hall compensates the owners financially for expropriation and fair price, something that, according to municipal sources, "changes the urban dynamics of the municipality and also proposes a different way of compensating the owners, as it will not be done through units of use or increasing the volume in other areas as has been done until now."

The mayor, Ana Sala, added that "the General Plan of Calp is from 1989, in recent years we have tried to improve it within the limited room for maneuver we have and adapt to social sensitivity, after so many years the sensitivity of citizens in this regard has changed, today citizens choose to preserve these spaces and also give them a public use for everyone's enjoyment."

The process leading to declassification began in 2018, when it was agreed to approve the proposal to the plenary session of Compromís Calp for the technical services to prepare an environmental and economic impact study regarding the declassification of these sectors.

In 2019, a report from the Urban Planning Technician indicates that according to jurisprudence, the fact of not having developed the sectors in the last 20 years means that when compensating the owners, the land is valued as it is and not for the urban rights that have not been materialized.

In June 2020, a Public Consultation was held on whether or not to maintain these sectors as urbanizable land or, if necessary, declassify them. In this public participation process, a total of 214 people participated with very different solutions, however, according to the document, citizens understood the purpose of the consultation as a problem that should be addressed by the Town Hall.

Already then, the Town Hall and the Municipal Technical Services indicated that the alternative to study must involve trying to conserve these sectors as they are. The Technical Services drafted an initial strategic document to propose the declassification of these areas and their conversion into green zones or non-urbanizable land.

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