P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 62o
The Board shall adopt, among others, the following regulations:
(1) Zoning regulations.—
(a) To establish districts or zones, both in urban and rural areas, for the use and development of public and private lands and buildings for such purposes as industry, trade, transportation, residence, public or semipublic civic activities, sports and recreation, including all beaches and bathing resorts. Site consultations approved in accordance with this chapter or §§ 9011 et seq. of this title, known as the “Puerto Rico Permit Process Reform Act”, shall have the applicable effective term as provided by the Joint Permit Regulations for Construction Works and Land Use.
(b) To establish and provide for the control of the development and the uses of public and private lands in rural areas to be devoted or preserved for farming and for natural areas; in areas to be devoted to industrial purposes or to uses incidental or related to them; and in areas to be devoted or preserved for other uses of social interest.
(c) To designate areas of rehabilitation and improvements.
(d) To facilitate the control of urban expansion or growth, for which it shall establish green belts, which shall be lands within the urban zones or surrounding urban areas, or to be developed, or along highways, as the Board may establish. The Board shall determine the extension of the aforesaid green belts and the uses to which they may be devoted, and no other use may be given to them than that expressly indicated in the regulation. The areas thus established shall be considered as urban for the purposes of this subchapter.
(e) To provide for the construction of buildings, including the height and capacity thereof, and density of population.
(f) To provide for such business and advertisement signs as are not covered by the provisions of Act No. 427 of May 13, 1951.
(g) To specify the size of the lot and the proportion thereof on which to construct, providing for courts and other open spaces.
(h) To establish conditions and norms for dispensing with the regulation requirements, through concessions and direct authorizations.
(i) To provide for the development of hotels and related facilities.
(j) To provide for the development of parks and recreational facilities.
(k) To regulate the development and use of areas covered by special projects that implement the recommendations of the Integral Development Plan, the Four-Year Investment Program and the Land-Use Plans of Puerto Rico.
The Zoning Regulations, adopted as provided herein, shall apply within the territorial limits of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Board may adopt the corresponding zoning maps for all urban, suburban or rural areas of Puerto Rico, when it deems it advisable or necessary for the purposes of this subchapter.
(2) Regulations on control of the use of beaches, bathing resorts and other bodies of water.— For the control of the development and use of beach areas, bathing resorts and other bodies of water for the protection of the public interest as well as to concessions which, for the use of beach portions may have been made for recreational purposes and tourist facilities in order to insure that private enterprises which enjoy such concessions will afford to the public adequate facilities so that the use of such beach portions by the public may be guaranteed and not hindered.
(3) To govern the subdivision of lands in Puerto Rico.— This regulation may include provisions referring to the forms of proposed development and in conformance with the purposes thereof, adjacent lands, including trace and design of streets, light and power systems, water supply, telephone, the supply of all types of cable telecommunications and television services, sewerage, size and shape of lots, compulsory reserves of minimum areas devoted to schools, libraries or reading rooms, cultural centers, sports facilities, parks, areas for commercial use, churches, and any other area for public or private use needed for community development; as well as provisions needed to expedite the development of urbanizations which provide lots for low-cost housing, in which case the Board shall have the authority to ensure, in any legal way, that the price and other conditions set by the proponent for the sale of lots and for the authorized constructions be maintained. The corresponding officials and entities shall draft whatever detailed specifications and orders, inspections and certificates that are needed to enforce these regulations.
In adopting regulatory provisions and considering the subdivision of lands, the Board shall be guided by the convenience of avoiding subdivisions in areas that are not ready for such developments because they lack installations such as streets or roads with adequate capacity, water, electric power, telephone and sewer systems; because of the distance from other built-up areas to avoid isolated developments and encourage, on the contrary, compact developments; because of the agricultural importance or exceptional beauty of the lands, their susceptibility to floods or other analogous social, economic, physical and environmental deficiencies. In the case of housing projects with a social interest and land plots for low income families, the Planning Board or the Permit Management Office shall have discretionary leeway to determine whether telephone installations should be considered as a requirement to grant the authorization. In the case of lands of exceptional beauty, the Board, or the body on which it delegates, shall see to it that they are not used with the purpose or result of obviating the existing regulatory provisions.
History —June 24, 1975, No. 75, p. 183, § 16; Aug. 24, 1994, No. 100, § 1; June 20, 1998, No. 91, § 1; Aug. 26, 2005, No. 101, § 1; Nov. 19, 2009, No. 147, § 1; July 20, 2012, No. 142, § 3.