Peñalolén residents to hold referendum on Municipal Zoning Plan
The Municipal Council of Peñalolén unanimously agreed to convene a Referendum for the approval of the Zoning Plan — even though the Plan has already been approved at the administrative, technical, and environmental levels after a process of more than 2 years. The council also agreed to repeat the environmental approval process in accordance with the new provisions of the Environmental Assessment Service and the Ministry of Housing — something that had been repeatedly requested through various means, including legal channels, by residents.
The Zoning Plan has been challenged by environmentalist residents, urban planning experts, community organizations, and residents in general, all of whom have expressed their opposition at every stage.
Among the main civic objections is the PRC's overall orientation, which favors the development of upper-middle-class real estate projects at the expense of lower-income residents and areas of environmental interest; that the plan was approved without a baseline in social and heritage aspects; that it lacks a stormwater plan in a flood-risk area; that it has no road plan despite adding tens of thousands of new homes; that it hands over extensive precordillera areas to urban development; that it does not treat the San Ramón fault as a risk and permits high-rise construction in current recreational areas — among other shortcomings.
Residents of the ecological community maintain a protection writ accepted by the Court of Appeals challenging the environmental approval process, arguing that a Strategic Environmental Assessment must be applied and a genuine civic participation process must be conducted — while several other community groups organized to demand a referendum. The PRC directly impacts residents of the ecological community, as it removes protected status from 45% of the current 150 hectares of that emblematic neighborhood — territories that would then become suitable for condominiums and large shopping centers.
Jossie Escarate, President of the Ecological Community, stated that she hopes a new discussion of the PRC will allow the serious deficiencies of the plan to be resolved and that the Municipality will promote authentic solutions for social housing. In this way, a Zoning Plan with high civic legitimacy could be achieved.
Source: Junta de Vecinos Comunidad Ecológica de Peñalolén. Santiago, June 6, 2011. (via Radio del Mar) http://www.radiodelmar.cl/?p=8181
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