In short
Rule 3.4.2 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 puts a project’s planting mitigation into numbers. By cabida: every construction project or activity must plant a minimum of five trees for each cuerda or fraction impacted. By cutting: three trees for each tree removed with a DAP equal to or greater than four inches, four if the DAP is equal to or greater than twenty-four inches, and five if it is equal to or greater than forty. The two are not blindly added: planting mitigation by cuerda is not required when the cutting mitigation is greater, and the mitigation where more trees are planted is always the one chosen. On top come the amounts on account of solares — one for each solar to be formed — and parking — one for each four open-air spaces where the solar requires four or more. For segregations the amount rises with the solar’s size: one up to two thousand square metres, two from two thousand and one to four thousand, three above four thousand and one. This guide also reproduces three defects in the official document that we do not resolve: the coastal maritime zone section prints the word and the numeral in contradiction, and the summary tables at the end are damaged and do not agree with the text of the sections.
What is it?
It is Rule 3.4.2 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, titled Requirements for Mitigations and Tree Planting, inside Chapter 3.4 on Environmental Permits. It sets the number of trees a project must plant: per cuerda impacted, per tree cut according to its diameter at breast height, per solar to be formed, per parking space, in the coastal watch easement and in the maritime terrestrial zone, and by type of development. It is the chapter used to fill in the Forestation or Compensation Plan filed with the Incidental Operational Single Permit. The standards for what the tree must be like and where it is planted are in Rule 3.4.3, and the alternatives to planting — paying, donating land, conservation easements — are in Rule 3.4.4. Each has its own guide on this site.
Who can do it?
These amounts apply to every construction project or activity that impacts land or cuts trees and needs the Incidental Operational Single Permit. Planting by cabida is not required when the project’s impact area is under one cuerda or where that area is already previously impacted. Planting on account of parking is not required where the project has been exempted from creating parking or does not require it. And planting mitigation by cuerda is not required when the mitigation for cutting trees is greater than the mitigation by cuerda.
Requirements
- Planting a minimum of five trees for each cuerda or fraction impacted by the construction project or activity.Verified against the official source
- Planting three trees for each tree removed with a DAP equal to or greater than four inches, four for each with a DAP equal to or greater than twenty-four inches, and five for each with a DAP equal to or greater than forty inches.Verified against the official source
- Always choosing the mitigation where more trees are planted: mitigation by cuerda is not required when the cutting mitigation is greater.Verified against the official source
- Planting one tree for each solar to be formed, and one tree on account of the solar where cutting of one or more trees is proposed on a solar already formed.Verified against the official source
- Planting one tree for each four parking spaces where the solar requires four or more open-air spaces, in the area designated for that purpose.Verified against the official source
- If the grid method is used: providing the number of grids, their length and width in feet, the total cabida to be impacted in cuerdas, the forest-cover percentage, photographic evidence of each grid including an aerial photo, and the justification for using the method.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Five trees per cuerda impacted
Every construction project or activity must plant a minimum of five trees for each cuerda or fraction impacted by the project or activity. The fraction counts: if you impact a cuerda and a half, the fraction still enters. But planting on account of cabida is not required when the project’s impact area is under one cuerda, or where that area is already previously impacted.
Step 2: Three, four or five for each tree you cut
The number depends on the DAP, the tree’s diameter at breast height. Three trees are required for each tree removed with a DAP equal to or greater than four inches; four for each with a DAP equal to or greater than twenty-four inches; and five for each with a DAP equal to or greater than forty inches. The text’s bands are open: they say equal to or greater than, not a closed range.
Step 3: They are not added: the greater one is chosen
The rule says it in two consecutive lines. Planting mitigation by cuerda is not required when the mitigation for cutting trees is greater than the mitigation by cuerda. And the mitigation where more trees are planted is always the one chosen. That is: between the count by cabida and the count by cutting, the one producing the greater number of trees applies, not the two added together.
Step 4: One tree per solar, one per four parking spaces
On account of family unit and formation of solares, one tree is required for each solar to be formed; and on a solar already formed where cutting of one or more trees is proposed, one tree is required on account of the solar. On account of parking: where a solar requires four or more open-air parking spaces, one tree is planted for each four spaces, and those trees are planted in the area designated for that purpose. Planting on account of parking is not required where the project has been exempted from creating parking or does not require it.
Step 5: The grid method and what OGPe reserves
If you choose to calculate the tree inventory by the grid method, you must provide additional information: the number of grids, their length and width in feet, the total cabida to be impacted in cuerdas and the forest-cover percentage; photographic evidence of each grid justifying that percentage, including an aerial photo, and anything else supporting the suggested percentage; and the reasons the method is being used. The inventory is prepared as in every other situation: species identified by scientific name, common name, DAP and other details. Two express reservations by the agency: OGPe reserves the right to revise the forest-cover percentage and adjust it as it sees fit, and reserves the right to reject this method where the justification does not satisfy the agency.
Step 6: Coastal watch easement and maritime terrestrial zone
In the coastal watch easement the amounts are the same as in general cutting: three trees for each removed with a DAP equal to or greater than four inches, four with a DAP equal to or greater than twenty-four and five with a DAP equal to or greater than forty. In the maritime terrestrial zone the official document contradicts itself and we do not resolve it: all three lines print the word and the numeral in disagreement — "the planting of three (4) trees" for a DAP of four inches or more, "four (5) trees" for twenty-four or more and "five (6) trees" for forty or more. We do not know which of the two figures the Regulation meant to set. If your project is in the maritime terrestrial zone, ask OGPe before assuming either.
Step 7: Segregations: the amount rises with the solar’s size
For segregations, one tree is required for each solar to be formed or each family unit, with cabida up to two thousand square metres, increasing as the solar’s cabida increases up to a maximum of three trees per solar. The printed table breaks it down: from zero to two thousand square metres, one tree per solar; from two thousand and one to four thousand, two per solar; above four thousand and one, three per solar. The sections on planting by cuerda and by cutting also apply, provided they are not greater than the mitigation for cutting trees by cuerdas.
Step 8: By type of development
In single-family residential developments, one tree is required for each solar to be formed, and planting by cuerda and by cutting also apply provided the mitigation for cutting trees by cuerdas is not greater. In multifamily residential developments, one tree for each four parking spaces under the parking section; planting by cuerda also applies provided it does not exceed the cutting mitigation by cuerdas, together with planting by cutting. In commercial, industrial and institutional developments, one tree for each four parking spaces, plus planting by cuerda and by cutting with the same proviso. And for other developments not included in the Rule, the mitigations by cuerda and by cutting apply, with the same proviso.
Step 9: The summary tables at the end do not match the text
Section 3.4.2.9 closes the rule with two summary tables, one for segregations and one for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional developments. In the document we read those tables are damaged in the scan and, as far as they can be read, do not agree with the sections. First, they appear to express ratios of two to one, three to one and four to one where the text of Section 3.4.2.2 says three, four and five trees. Second, they band the DAP as "4-23”", "24-29”" and "above 40”", which leaves thirty to thirty-nine inches uncovered, while the text uses open bands of equal to or greater than. Third, they cross-refer to Section 3.4.2.3 for solares and 3.4.2.4 for parking, when the sections that actually carry those rules are 3.4.2.4 and 3.4.2.5. We report all three discrepancies and do not resolve them: we follow the text of the sections, not the tables.
Where to do it
These amounts are not filed on their own: they go into the Forestation or Compensation Plan prepared and signed by an OGPe-authorised IA de Siembra and filed with the Incidental Operational Single Permit through the SUI. OGPe evaluates the forest inventory and the mitigation calculation, and the DRNA receives notice of the cutting, pruning, transplanting and planting authorisation.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The costliest mistake is adding all the mitigations and over-budgeting, or adding them wrongly and under-budgeting. The rule does not order planting by cuerda to be added to planting by cutting: it says planting mitigation by cuerda is not required when the cutting mitigation is greater, and that the mitigation where more trees are planted is always the one chosen. The amounts per solar and per parking space are additional depending on the type of development. The second mistake is mismeasuring the DAP and landing in the wrong band: the difference between four and twenty-four inches is one more tree for each one cut, and between twenty-four and forty, another. The third is relying on the summary tables at the chapter’s end, which in the official document are damaged and do not agree with the text of the sections. And if the project is in the maritime terrestrial zone, the section that applies contradicts itself in the document and you must ask OGPe.
Common mistakes
- Adding the mitigation by cuerda to the mitigation by cutting when the rule orders you to choose the greater of the two.
- Forgetting that a fraction of a cuerda counts the same as a whole cuerda for the five trees.
- Mismeasuring the DAP and applying three trees where four or five were due.
- Believing that an area already previously impacted still generates planting by cabida.
- Forgetting the tree for each solar to be formed once the planting by cutting has been counted.
- Not counting the tree for each four open-air parking spaces in a commercial or multifamily project.
- Using the grid method without photographic evidence of each grid or the aerial photo.
- Following the summary tables of Section 3.4.2.9 instead of the text of the sections.
Frequently asked questions
How many trees must be planted per cuerda impacted?
Every construction project or activity must plant a minimum of five trees for each cuerda or fraction impacted. That planting on account of cabida is not required when the project’s impact area is under one cuerda or that area is already previously impacted.
How many trees are planted for each tree cut?
Three trees for each tree removed with a DAP equal to or greater than four inches; four for each with a DAP equal to or greater than twenty-four inches; and five for each with a DAP equal to or greater than forty inches. The DAP is the tree’s diameter at breast height.
Are planting by cuerda and planting by cutting added together?
No. The rule says planting mitigation by cuerda is not required when the mitigation for cutting trees is greater than the mitigation by cuerda, and that the mitigation where more trees are planted is always the one chosen. The amounts per solar and per parking space are additional depending on the type of development.
How many trees per solar in a segregation?
The amount rises with size: one tree per solar from zero to two thousand square metres, two trees from two thousand and one to four thousand, and three trees when the solar is above four thousand and one. The maximum is three trees per solar.
And parking spaces?
Where a solar requires four or more open-air parking spaces, one tree is planted for each four spaces, in the area designated for that purpose. That planting is not required where the project has been exempted from creating parking or does not require it.
Why do you say the maritime terrestrial zone section is contradictory?
Because in the official document we read, the three lines of that section print the word and the numeral in disagreement: "three (4)" trees for a DAP of four inches or more, "four (5)" for twenty-four or more and "five (6)" for forty or more. We do not know which figure is in force and we do not invent one. If your project falls in the maritime terrestrial zone, ask OGPe.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)
OGPe
docs.pr.gov
- Permit Management Office
ogpe
ogpe.pr.gov
- Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
drna
www.drna.pr.gov
Last verified
September 5, 2026
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Incidental Operational Single Permit: moving earth, cutting trees and the CES Plan
The four permits it consolidates, the 40-cubic-metre and 900-square-metre thresholds, and five years’ validity with 90 days to renew.
Planting standards: six feet tall, species proportions and the distances
What the tree you plant must be like, what proportion of natives and palms the regulation demands, and how far from corners, hydrants and power lines.
If you cannot plant: paying one hundred dollars per tree, planting elsewhere or donating land
The six proposals OGPe evaluates, the percentages that must be planted before cutting, and the one-hundred-dollar-per-tree cost.
Cutting trees and classifying an auxiliary forest
The Forest Act bars cutting certain trees without a permit, limits felling to weekdays 6 a.m.–6 p.m., and exempts auxiliary forests from property tax.
Segregating land: the subdivision rules of the Joint Regulation
The nine prohibitions, lot shape, the 600 square metres and the three-segregation count running from 1964.