The long-delayed bill on Territorial Organization, Soil Use and Human Settlements, basically a bill on how to use the land and obtain sustainability over the long term, was passed by a 28 to 1 vote in the Senate last week. This bill has been making the rounds in the National Congress for close to 20 years. In this latest reiteration, it was studied by a joint committee of the Chamber of Deputies (178 members) and the Senate (32 members) for over two years before the recent passing in the Senate.
Overall, the bill carries provisions to regulate land use from the national down to the municipal level. The application of the law will correspond to the Ministry for the Economy, Planning and Development, that is ordered to work with the private sector to regulate in a sustainable manner the use of land in the Dominican Republic. In the municipalities, this will most likely generate zoning regulations based on population density.
One point that was discussed was the use of prime agricultural land for urban development. This is still a hot issue. The fines for violations of the law can reach millions of pesos.
The bill was studied by a bicameral committee – Senate and Chamber of Deputies, but the bill can still be amended as it moves to the Chamber of Deputies.
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Listin Diario
31 October 2022