Special Permisos Únicos: PYMES, temporary activities, political propaganda, automatic and startups

They are Sections 3.7.1.6 to 3.7.1.11 of Chapter 3.7 of Joint Regulation No. 9473: the PYMES Permiso Único, the Permiso Único for temporary activities, the temporary permit for political propaganda activity, the Automatic Permiso Único, the Permiso Único for incubator or startup companies, and the certification of conformity with a construction permit. They are the routes the regulation opens for cases that do not fit the ordinary process: a small business, a weekend festival, a campaign office, a case an engineer can certify in full, or a two-person company starting from a house.

PYMES: the construction or proposed use must be ministerial and certified as a categorical exclusion, and the applicant must certify the business meets the PYMES Programme’s requirements. Temporary activities: short-duration activities, inside or outside a structure, in any qualification district. Political propaganda: propaganda premises and Permanent Registration Boards, in any existing qualification district. Automatic: any use a licensed engineer or architect can certify, except residential, industrial and institutional uses, those involving the preparation and handling of food, lodging people, the sale of alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and live music, petrol stations, anything related to cannabis, and telecommunications towers, signs and advertisements. Startup: companies less than two years old with no more than three employees, with six categories of use excluded.

• PYMES: that the construction or proposed use be ministerial and certified as a categorical exclusion, that the applicant certify the business qualifies within the PYMES Programme, and that it meet the Permiso Único’s filing requirements.Verified against the official source
• Temporary activities: that the activity be of short duration and that temporary-use structures be removed completely when the permit’s term expires.Verified against the official source
• Temporary activities in historic sites and zones: the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s recommendation before issuing the permit, where the activity lasts more than thirty days.Verified against the official source
• Automatic: the certification of a licensed engineer or architect under Act No. 135 that the use is permitted in the property’s qualification, meets the district’s parameters, meets fire prevention and the health licence, meets the categorical exclusion or approved environmental compliance, and a recommendation of the Government Entity Concerned.Verified against the official source
• Startup: being less than two years old, evidenced by the merchant’s registry for individuals or the Department of State’s incorporation certificate and the good-standing certification for corporations or partnerships, and having no more than three employees.Verified against the official source
• If there was a prior construction permit: including the Final Works Report certified by the engineer stating the works were built in accordance with the construction permit issued.Verified against the official source

• Startup in a space that already has a permit: the Permiso Único application, the payment, the structure’s current use permit or Permiso Único, evidence of title or a lease, an explanatory memorial, the current fire-prevention certification, the current health licence and the structure’s sketch.
• Startup: the merchant’s registry, for an individual; or the Department of State’s incorporation certificate and the good-standing certification, for a corporation or partnership.
• Automatic: the licensed engineer’s or architect’s certification and the Government Entity Concerned’s recommendation on the proposed use’s compliance.
• With a prior construction permit: the Final Works Report certified by the engineer.

1. 1

   Step 1: PYMES: thirty days, and silence approves

   A PYMES Permiso Único may be issued where the construction or proposed use is ministerial and certified as a categorical exclusion. The applicant must certify the business meets the requirements to qualify within the PYMES Programme and must also meet the ordinary Permiso Único’s filing requirements. The Use and the Building and Energy Conservation Permit Managers may issue final determinations for small and medium enterprises; those managers, together with the Health and Safety Manager and DECA’s Director, give priority to and expedite the evaluation. And here is the rule worth knowing: PYMES Permits are issued within a maximum of thirty days from filing, and a PYMES Permiso Único conforming to the use where it sits that is not attended to within that term is deemed approved for all legal purposes. Three years after issue, renewal must be sought under Section 3.7.1.4.

2. 2

   Step 2: Temporary activities: six months, no extension

   OGPe or the Autonomous Municipalities with Hierarchy I to III issue single permits for short-duration temporary activities. The term may not exceed six months and the permit is not extendable, and granting it does not constitute approval of a use variance. They may be considered in any qualification district and are issued for activities inside or outside a structure. The regulation gives its own list, "such as but not limited to": stands, pavilions, carnival tents, fairs, patron-saint festivals, religious activities, sales fairs, equipment testing — except telecommunications installations — and research and analysis. Temporary-use structures are removed completely when the term expires. In historic sites and zones the ICP’s recommendation is required before issuing this kind of permit for activities lasting more than thirty days. And this permit requires no categorical exclusion.

3. 3

   Step 3: Political propaganda: fifty metres, a hundred metres, sixty days

   OGPe or the municipalities may issue single permits for temporary activity to set up political propaganda premises and Permanent Registration Boards in any existing qualification district. Location follows Article 12.14 of Act 58-2020, the Electoral Code, which the regulation quotes in full: no propaganda premises of parties, aspirants, candidates, independent candidates, citizen groups or political action committees may be established at a distance of less than fifty metres, measured along the public access ways between the two nearest points of the properties’ perimeters. The Local Commission may close any premises established within fifty metres of a previously established one, and may close the operation of any established within one hundred metres of a Permanent Registration Board office or a Polling Centre; the Local Commission’s President notifies the local Police Commander for immediate action, and implementing the article is the Local Commission’s exclusive responsibility. The permit expires sixty days after the elections have passed, may not exceed six months and is not extendable.

4. 4

   Step 4: Campaign structures, after the elections

   Building temporary structures for political propaganda is allowed, subject to their meeting the other requirements of the regulations in force for the district or sector where they are proposed. Once the permit’s term runs out, those temporary structures are eliminated within thirty days. In commercial and industrial districts permanent structures dedicated temporarily to this use may be allowed; once the term runs out, that structure is used only for the uses permitted in its district, and for that the corresponding Permiso Único must be sought and obtained. Granting a construction or use permit for this purpose does not entail recognising any prior or later legal non-conformity as to the property’s use.

5. 5

   Step 5: The Automatic Permiso Único: five certifications

   OGPe or the Autonomous Municipality with Hierarchy I to III may issue a Permiso Único automatically where a licensed engineer or architect, under Act No. 135, certifies five things: that the use sought is permitted in the property’s qualification; that it meets the qualification district’s parameters; that it meets the fire-prevention and health-licence requirements; that it meets the categorical exclusion or approved environmental compliance; and that a recommendation of the Government Entity Concerned is filed stating that the use permit for the proposed activity meets the applicable requirements. One year after issue, renewal must be sought under Section 3.7.1.4.

6. 6

   Step 6: The nine uses the automatic cannot cover

   The Automatic Permiso Único may not be used for: residential uses; industrial uses; institutional uses, including specialised lodging, elder care, child care, hospitals and any use requiring a Certificate of Need and Convenience; any use involving the preparation and handling of food; any use for lodging people or guests; any use involving the sale of alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and live music; petrol stations; any use related to the sale, cultivation, production or distribution of cannabis; and telecommunications towers and signs and advertisements. It is a list worth looking at before hiring the engineer: if the use falls in any of the nine categories, the automatic route is not available.

7. 7

   Step 7: Startups: less than two years, up to three employees

   These permits are issued so emerging companies may begin operating in residential spaces without impairing the property’s principal residential use, in areas with incubators or accelerators, universities, educational centres, or in commercial or industrial buildings with shared offices. The regulation defines a startup as one developing prototypes of products or services through innovation and the application of technology. To qualify it must be less than two years old — the merchant’s registry is accepted as evidence for individuals, or the Department of State’s incorporation certificate and the good-standing certification for corporations or partnerships — and have no more than three employees. It may not be used for the preparation and handling of food, lodging people or guests, the sale of alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and live music, anything related to cannabis, any use emitting objectionable odours or noise, or institutional uses. It may be renewed only once; after that an ordinary Permiso Único must be applied for. And startups sited in residential spaces may not place signs. A party adversely affected by the final determination may seek administrative review before the Administrative Reviews Division.

8. 8

   Step 8: The certification of conformity with the construction permit

   A Permiso Único for which a prior construction permit issued must include the Final Works Report certified by the engineer, stating the works were built in accordance with the construction permit previously issued. The regulation foresees the awkward case: where the original Works Inspector was replaced by an involuntary acquirer of the works, the conformity certification may rest on the original inspector’s monthly inspection reports, the study of the certified plans, ocular inspection of the works, the new Works Inspector’s monthly reports if applicable, and any other documentation the new inspector deems pertinent.

All these variants are processed before OGPe at permisos.pr.gov, and those for temporary activities and political propaganda also before the Autonomous Municipalities with Hierarchy I to III. The PYMES Permiso Único is evaluated by the Use and the Building and Energy Conservation Permit Managers, with priority from those managers, the Health and Safety Manager and DECA’s Director. The recommendation for temporary activities in historic sites and zones comes from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. And review of a final determination on a startup Permiso Único is sought before the Administrative Reviews Division.

• Trying the Automatic Permiso Único for a use involving the preparation and handling of food, lodging, alcohol or cannabis.
• Trying the automatic one for a residential, industrial or institutional use, or for a telecommunications tower or a sign.
• Seeking the startup permit with a company two years old or more, or with a fourth employee.
• Placing a sign on a startup sited in a residential space.
• Counting on renewing the startup permit more than once.
• Using the temporary-activities permit for something that will last more than six months, or seeking an extension the regulation does not grant.
• Leaving temporary structures standing after the permit has expired.
• Staging a temporary activity of more than thirty days in a historic site or zone without the ICP’s recommendation.
• Opening propaganda premises within fifty metres of another, or within one hundred metres of a Permanent Registration Board or a Polling Centre.
• Leaving campaign structures up more than thirty days after the permit has run out.
• Filing as PYMES a use that is not ministerial or not certified as a categorical exclusion.
• Forgetting that the PYMES Permiso Único must be renewed after three years and the automatic one after one year.
• Filing a Permiso Único on works with a prior construction permit without the engineer-certified Final Works Report.

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