What is the Municipality of La Florida hiding? - A reply in defense of Bosque Panul
Mayor Carter responded that there are no approved housing projects in Bosque Panul, but there are other projects permitted by his Zoning Plan that would equally damage the forest. So the community's question in the complaint is clear:
Are there subdivision and/or urbanization projects submitted by Inmobiliaria Gesterra to the Dirección de Obras that fall under the current Zoning Plan?
PRESS RELEASE
The Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera clarifies and informs the following regarding Parque Comunitario Panul, in response to false statements published in a recent Municipal Press Release, as well as in previous election years, which only cause fear and misinformation in our community:
1- Fundo Panul is private property that was auctioned to a single bidder during the Dictatorship and acquired by Vicente Navarrete Marinot, who created real estate companies such as Gesterra, transferred the estate and fictitiously inflated its value. In 2008 the real estate company Gesterra, owner of Fundo Panul, submitted a project to build 1,304 homes (not 3,000 as stated in the municipal press release). The mayor at the time, Rodolfo Carter, while freezing construction permits for homes — and only due to the social pressure it unleashed — did not help stop the real estate project, but rather approved its preliminary design on the very first day of his term as appointed mayor (June 30, 2010). It was the collective work of the neighbors that stopped the project at the Environmental Assessment Service (January 2012).
2- The Municipality of La Florida modified the Zoning Plan prohibiting the construction of homes in ONE PART of Bosque Panul. This modification is in force and published in the Official Gazette, through Exempt Decree No. 461, approved in an extraordinary session by the Municipal Council in January 2015. Since that date, indeed no housing has been built, and no real estate project has been approved. However, with regard to what was described in the Red Precordillera's press release, it refers to the road axes and urbanization that Mayor Carter has NOT mentioned, nor has he modified, LEAVING OPEN the opportunity for the company to carry out an intervention that would end the life of the forest.
3- At various times, but especially during election season, mayors and candidates issue press releases that confuse and distort reality, without providing answers to the questions and challenges put to them.
4- We call on Mayor Carter to clearly answer whether or not urbanization and subdivision projects have been submitted for Panul that are currently under discussion. On the other hand, we do not believe it is something to boast about to criminally pursue people who think differently. But we want to clarify that there are currently no Red founders under house arrest. We ask candidates not to exploit the natural heritage of all the people of La Florida during election season.
5- We ask neighbors to get information from legitimate and real sources, such as the website of the Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera (www.redprecordillera.cl), and not to fall for the same old trick every year. During election season many things can be said, but what cannot be done is to ignore what the community is asking — questions that have not received clear and consistent answers.
6- The community maintains its commitment and concern for Bosque Panul, understanding that not only housing can lead to its destruction, but also projects that seek to intervene in it, such as roads, subdivisions, etc. Bosque Panul is the heritage of all the people who live in La Florida, not an electoral tool to deceive and confuse people.
7- We challenge the Mayor and his Municipality to respond to the questions raised by the community regarding the submission of subdivision and urbanization projects for the forest. Everything else is smoke and mirrors with which they can no longer fool us.
RED POR LA DEFENSA DE LA PRECORDILLERA
Links of interest:
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The information archived in Archivo Panul was collected using automated tools, so there may be inconsistencies between what is presented here and the original link. You can visit the original link at the top of this article.