R-E and P-P districts: the scenic route and the public beach

They are Rules 6.1.25 and 6.1.26 of Chapter 6.1 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, defining the R-E, Scenic Route, and P-P, Public Beaches qualification districts. R-E’s brings its purpose, a use table by categories, a section of uses by exception and its parameter table with segregations, constructions and demolitions. P-P’s brings its purpose, a long table of recreational uses with a public beach’s minimum services and installations, the same exception section, and a parameter table dealing mainly with concessions, segregations and referrals to other chapters.

R-E applies to land and properties on the margins of scenic routes designated by legislation or by the Planning Board by resolution. P-P applies to Puerto Rico’s coastal sectors suitable for sea bathing and related passive recreation, and its delimitation in the water will be the line of installed buoys. In P-P, the concessions, franchises, permits or leases the State makes, through a government body, to private enterprises, of public land within the district for recreational purposes, will comply with the section’s own provisions.

• In R-E: that no structure obstruct visibility towards the panorama from the road; those on the panorama side will be built at a level lower than the road’s without exceeding the level of its running surface, and those on the opposite side will not exceed four metres in height above the elevation of the paved surface.Verified against the official source
• In R-E: a front yard facing the road of no less than ten metres, side and rear yards of no less than six metres, and the sum of the side yards’ widths being no less than the structure’s width measured parallel to the road.Verified against the official source
• In R-E: one access to the road per lot plus one access per every 250 metres of the lot’s frontage on that road; segregations authorised after the regulation took effect may not increase the number of accesses along the road.Verified against the official source
• In R-E: that every farm to be segregated be no less than five cuerdas and no less than one hundred metres wide; a smaller area may be authorised in consultas de ubicación or non-agricultural use permits under Chapter 6.3, but in no case under two thousand square metres, and where the width is under one hundred metres the depth will not exceed three times the width.Verified against the official source
• In R-E: that the products authorised for sale as an accessory use of the dwelling be made in the same dwelling, and that the agricultural retail stands be built no less than ten metres from the main road’s line and occupy no more than twenty-five square metres.Verified against the official source
• In R-E: that the retail commercial use not exceed two hundred square metres of floor area and that it be clearly shown to be necessary to serve the panoramic or scenic road’s purposes.Verified against the official source
• In P-P: providing in a public beach the minimum installations the regulation lists, including showers, changing rooms, lockers and toilets with discharges approved by the Environmental Protection Agency by NPDES permit.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: What a scenic route is for the regulation

   The R-E district is established for the enjoyment and contemplation of the landscape or panorama along scenic routes designated by legislation or by the Planning Board by resolution, through appropriate controls of the uses of land and properties on their margins. Its use policy is to conserve the land’s and properties’ existing natural condition as far as possible, and only uses that complement, harmonise with and foster the widest enjoyment of its cultural and natural environment and the beauty of its landscape will be allowed. That is: the district protects not a concrete resource but a view, and everything else is ordered around that.

2. 2

   Step 2: The visibility rule and the heights

   This is the provision defining the district. Any structure obstructing visibility towards the panorama from a road will not be permitted. Structures to be erected on the panorama side will be built at a level lower than the road’s, where their maximum height does not exceed the level of its running surface. And structures to be built on the side opposite the panorama will not exceed four metres in height above the elevation of that road’s paved surface. In short: on the view side, the house sits below the road’s level; on the opposite side, it does not pass four metres.

3. 3

   Step 3: The accesses and the yards

   One access to the road per lot will be allowed, plus one access per every two hundred and fifty metres of the lot’s frontage on that road. And land segregations authorised after the regulation took effect may not increase the number of accesses along the road: that is, splitting a farm gives no right to open more entrances onto the panoramic road. On yards, every front yard facing the road will be no less than ten metres; the side and rear yards will be no less than six metres; and in no case may the sum of the side yards’ widths be less than the structure’s width measured parallel to the road, a proportion rule limiting how wide a building facing the panorama may grow.

4. 4

   Step 4: The petrol station at five hundred metres

   R-E’s commercial column allows retail commercial uses provided the structure’s floor area does not exceed two hundred square metres and it is clearly shown that such uses are necessary to serve the panoramic or scenic road’s aims and purposes. And it adds an express exclusion: petrol stations are excluded from these provisions, because they will only be permitted on the access roads to the panoramic or scenic road’s main road, at a distance of no less than five hundred metres from the junction with it. The regulation closes the point with an agency duty: the DTOP will provide the signs needed to warn travellers of the services and the location of those petrol stations.

5. 5

   Step 5: The typical house, the crafts and the sale stand

   In residential, R-E allows single-family housing and micro casas, including accessory uses contributing to the typical mountain and Puerto Rican cultural setting, provided they are in keeping with the district’s purposes. And it sets a condition deciding what may be sold: the products authorised for sale, as part of the accessory use, must be made in the same dwelling, and will include products such as craft objects, typical foods or any other product of traditional regional use. It also allows short-term supplementary lodging and bed and breakfast in existing dwellings. In recreational: open-air picnic areas and viewpoints or areas for observing landscapes or panoramas. And in agricultural: agricultural uses including stands for the retail of products harvested on the site, provided each stand is built no less than ten metres from the line of the main road giving access to the lot and occupies no more than twenty-five square metres.

6. 6

   Step 6: Segregating on a scenic route, and not demolishing the typical house

   Every farm segregated after the regulation took effect will be no less than five cuerdas and no less than one hundred metres wide. A smaller area may be authorised in consultas de ubicación or non-agricultural use permits authorised under this section and Chapter 6.3 on variances, but in no case under two thousand square metres. And where the width is under one hundred metres, the depth will not exceed three times its width. On demolitions, the district is blunt: the demolition of structures with typical Puerto Rican environmental characteristics will not be permitted. And when considering demolition applications the applicant will be required to guarantee that the demolition, once approved and begun, will be carried out in full and that the lot will be left free of rubble and ballast.

7. 7

   Step 7: Accessory uses and the "never before" rule

   R-E sets four conditions for every accessory use. It must sit on the same lot as the principal use it will serve. It must be clearly incidental and related to that use. It must contribute to the comfort, convenience or need of the principal purpose’s users. And it may be established together with or after the principal use’s establishment, but never before; the regulation adds that discontinuing the principal use will imply discontinuing the accessory uses. Moreover, the accessory use will comply with the yard requirements set for the principal use.

8. 8

   Step 8: P-P: how far the beach district reaches

   The Public Beaches district is established to identify areas reserved for bathers and to classify and designate Puerto Rico’s coastal sectors suitable for sea bathing and related passive recreation. And it brings a practical definition worth knowing: the P-P District’s delimitation in the water will be the line of installed buoys. That is: the district does not end at the shore; it extends seaward as far as the buoys reach.

9. 9

   Step 9: A public beach’s minimum services and installations

   P-P’s use table lists the public beaches or areas reserved for bathers including these minimum services and installations: buoys to protect bathers from motorboats and jet skis; an access ramp for people with disabilities and limitations, with buoys marking bathing areas for them; vehicle parking in areas duly segregated from the pedestrian areas; shower, changing room, locker and toilet areas with discharges approved by the Environmental Protection Agency by NPDES permit; first-aid medical services; cleaning, refuse collection and area maintenance services; lifeguard, surveillance, security and station posts; an information area with municipal and DRNA Ranger Corps staff; solid-waste collection and recycling areas with identified bins; signs identifying areas and parking hours; and signs with information on turtle nesting areas and nesting dates.

10. 10

    Step 10: What else is allowed on the beach, and the concessions

    The same table adds bird watching, nature appreciation, rest areas, nurseries for critical species such as turtles under the DRNA’s and educational institutions’ surveillance to raise the species’ survival rate, diving and controlled snorkelling activities, surfing or windsurfing, the boat landing area at fishermen’s jetties, day-trip areas including kiosks and barbecue installations as compatible with the principal use, the area for removable camping shelters by the Adjudicative Board’s authorisation, and restaurants, cafeterias and typical craft sales areas as accessory uses to the above, besides gastronomy and educational and artistic uses. In parameters, the rule deals mainly with three things: the concessions, franchises, permits or leases the State makes to private enterprises of public land within a P-P District for recreational purposes will comply with the section’s own provisions; land segregation is not allowed except to make the permitted uses viable or to devote the portion to public use by public deed; and the parking, accessibility and constructions are governed by other chapters of the regulation. A note on the source: the construction row refers to "Rule 6.5.2 (Proyectos)" for coastal-zone projects, and the chapter this regulation devotes to the coastal zone is 6.4; we reproduce the reference as printed.

A property’s qualification is read on the Planning Board’s qualification maps, and the Board is also what designates scenic routes by resolution where legislation does not. R-E’s tourist installations are processed by consulta de ubicación and require the Tourism Company’s recommendations before authorisation. P-P’s area for removable camping shelters is authorised by the Adjudicative Board. A public beach’s shower and toilet discharges need the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval by NPDES permit. And the signs warning of the petrol stations off the panoramic road are provided by the DTOP.

• Putting up in R-E a structure obstructing visibility towards the panorama from the road.
• Building on the panorama side at a level exceeding the road’s running surface.
• Passing four metres in height above the paved surface on the side opposite the panorama.
• Opening more accesses to the road than the one per lot plus one per every two hundred and fifty metres of frontage.
• Assuming segregating a farm on a scenic route gives a right to open new accesses.
• Segregating below five cuerdas and one hundred metres wide without a consulta de ubicación or variance, or below two thousand square metres in any case.
• Leaving the front yard facing the road under ten metres, or the side and rear ones under six.
• Building a building whose width parallel to the road exceeds the sum of its side yards’ widths.
• Selling in the accessory use products not made in the same dwelling.
• Putting up an agricultural sale stand over twenty-five square metres, or within ten metres of the main road’s line.
• Opening retail commerce over two hundred square metres of floor area on a scenic route.
• Planning a petrol station on the panoramic road instead of on an access road five hundred metres or more from the junction.
• Demolishing a structure with typical Puerto Rican environmental characteristics.
• Starting an approved demolition without guaranteeing it will be carried out in full and the lot left free of rubble and ballast.
• Establishing an accessory use before the principal use, or keeping it after the principal one is discontinued.
• Setting up a public beach without the shower and toilet discharges approved by the EPA by NPDES permit.
• Placing the beach’s parking without duly segregating it from the pedestrian areas.
• Segregating land in P-P for anything other than making the permitted uses viable or devoting the portion to public use by public deed.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Junta de Planificación de Puerto Rico (JP)

  Junta de Planificación

  docs.pr.gov

• Planning Board

  jp

  jp.pr.gov

• Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

  drna

  www.drna.pr.gov