The lawyer of the city government of the National District and the lawyer for the company building a motel on the Malecon both requested the postponement of the hearing that would put a stop to the construction of a motel by would be Chinese investors.
Neighborhood groups have been requesting the city government of Mayor Carolina Mejia put a stop to the construction of the motel that violates three resolutions of the city government itself. The city government of Carolina Mejia irregulrly authorized the construction based on a photocopy of a court order in 2001 that would have overruled the first resolution banning the construction in 1998. The court order was later repealed because it was issued by a court that did not have jurisdiction.
Another resolution in 2004 impedes the construction of motels at the chosen site on the iconic city avenue. Nevertheless, the government of Carolina Mejia has unexplainably ignored the resolution and failed to ban the construction despite numerous neighborhood protests. The secretary general of the city government, Ricardo Ayanes has admitted the permits to build were irregularly granted by the city government planning department under Mayobanex Suazo.
The lawyer of the neighborhood groups, Julian Roa says that it is strange that the city government alleges it is not familiar with the case when all the documentation has been shared for months now.
The neighborhood groups have taken the city government to court and the case is being heard in the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) that looks into whether the government entity has correctly applied the law. The court set the date of 28 July 2023 for the next hearing.
The construction of the motel affects the rights of citizens to entertainment and security and property value rights. It violates three resolutions issued given the importance of the sea-bordering boulevard to the city of Santo Domingo. Before the administration of Carolina Mejia, no other Santo Domingo mayor had violated the three resolutions that limited the construction of the motels on the avenue to the last km of the sea-bordering avenue.
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Diario Libre
DR1 News
17 July 2023