The Pre-Consultation: asking OGPe for the list of permits before starting

It is the first of the services Section 2.1.8.7 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 makes available to the public in the SUI, apart from permit applications proper. The Pre-Consultation neither approves nor denies anything: it serves to clarify, before filing, which requirements and exemptions apply to the project, and which permits will need to be obtained.

It may be requested by any person interested in a permit, licence, certification, authorization, recommendation or any process needed for or bearing in any way on a business’s operation in Puerto Rico, before OGPe or the autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III, as applicable.

• Including in writing and in detail, at a minimum, the proposed location and a description of the project.Verified against the official source
• Paying the applicable charges: the Pre-Consultation process is subject to that payment.Verified against the official source
• To claim documents’ confidentiality: justifying it for containing business secrets that may not be disclosed, and paying the additional charge that may be required for handling the process.Verified against the official source
• For Pre-Consultations included in Rule 3.2.4 item (c) on works exempt from construction permits: an Explanatory Memorial with location data, cadastre number, footage, a detailed description of the work, materials where applicable, volume or quantity where applicable, and calification.Verified against the official source
• For those same Pre-Consultations: a sketch or photos of the area to be impacted, and for interior wall changes, a sketch of the existing and proposed layout.Verified against the official source

• Writing with the proposed location and the project’s detailed description.
• Explanatory Memorial with location data, cadastre number, footage, description of the work, materials, volume or quantity and calification, in Pre-Consultations for exempt works.
• Sketch or photos of the area to be impacted, and a sketch of the existing and proposed layout for interior wall changes.
• Written answer from OGPe or the autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III to the Pre-Consultation.

1. 1

   Step 1: What may be asked

   Any person interested in a permit, licence, certification, authorization, recommendation or any process needed to operate a business may request an orientation identifying the legal and regulatory provisions applicable to the proposed action, activity or project, and the information the applicant will have to file in due course. One need not be an owner nor have the project designed in order to ask.

2. 2

   Step 2: The list of permits

   The section’s most practical item is the second: the applicant may require the agency to provide a list of the permits or authorizations they must obtain, under the applicable legal and regulatory provisions, in order to begin the project’s construction or operation. It is a right to ask for the whole map before starting to walk it.

3. 3

   Step 3: Who evaluates it

   The Permit Managers, the Director of the Environmental Compliance Evaluation Division or their representatives take part in evaluating the Pre-Consultation, as applicable, at the discretion of OGPe’s Assistant Secretary or Regional Director. That is, the orientation does not come from a generic counter: it is signed by the same divisions that will later evaluate the case.

4. 4

   Step 4: What must be filed

   As part of the Pre-Consultation, the applicant includes in writing and in detail, at a minimum, the proposed location and a description of the project. That minimum is deliberately short: the more concrete the description, the more useful the answer.

5. 5

   Step 5: The answer is written and public

   The answer from OGPe or the autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III is given in writing, and that answer — like the information the applicant filed — is available for public examination in the SUI, unless the applicant claims and justifies the documents’ confidentiality for containing business secrets that may not be disclosed. Where confidentiality is claimed, payment of an additional charge for handling the process may be required.

6. 6

   Step 6: What the Pre-Consultation is not

   The process is only to clarify, before any application is filed, the requirements or exemptions applicable to the project, subject to payment of the applicable charges. And although the Pre-Consultation may include OGPe recommendations, it is in no case considered a final determination on approving or rejecting the proposed action. It serves to plan, not to start the work.

7. 7

   Step 7: If a meeting is requested, five days

   If the petitioner requested a meeting as part of the Pre-Consultation, within no more than five days of the filing date the client is notified of the required documents. A note on the source: that five-day term is stated only for the case where a meeting is requested; the section sets no term where none is.

8. 8

   Step 8: The Pre-Consultation for exempt works

   Pre-Consultations included in Rule 3.2.4 on works exempt from construction permits, item (c), carry more paper: an Explanatory Memorial with location data, cadastre number, footage, a detailed description of the work to be done, materials where applicable, volume or quantity where applicable and calification; a sketch or photos of the area to be impacted; and, for interior wall changes, a sketch of the existing and proposed layout. OGPe or the municipality may request any additional document or information.

The Pre-Consultation is requested from OGPe or the autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III, as applicable, and is processed through the SUI, where the answer and what was filed remain available for public examination unless confidentiality is claimed and justified.

• Treating the Pre-Consultation as an approval, when it is in no case considered a final determination.
• Starting the work on the strength of the recommendations the answer carries.
• Filing the Pre-Consultation without the proposed location and without a detailed project description.
• Not expressly asking for the list of permits or authorizations that will have to be obtained, which is the applicant’s right.
• Submitting sensitive information without claiming and justifying confidentiality, when what is filed becomes available to the public in the SUI.
• Assuming the Pre-Consultation is free, when it is subject to payment of the applicable charges.
• Claiming confidentiality without allowing for the additional charge that may be required for handling the process.
• Filing an exempt-work Pre-Consultation without the Explanatory Memorial with cadastre, footage, materials, volume and calification.
• Omitting the sketch of the existing and proposed layout where interior walls will be changed.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• OGPe Single Business Portal

  ogpe

  www.permisos.pr.gov

• Planning Board

  jp

  jp.pr.gov