Justice backs Costes and rejects Santanyí's appeal over Cala Llombards car park

PalmaThe High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) has dismissed the appeal filed by the Santanyí City Council against various resolutions of the Coastal Demarcation related to the parking lot located in Cala Llombards and has upheld the action of the State administration to order the removal of signage and the closure.

The ruling considers the decision of the Coastal Demarcation to require the City Council to remove the delimitation and signage elements located within the public maritime-terrestrial domain to be lawful, understanding that the authorization held by the municipality had expired.

The origin of the conflict dates back to a complaint filed by GOB in 2022 regarding the use of an area of Cala Llombards beach as a parking lot and its effects on the dune recovery of the area. Following the inspection carried out by the Demarcació de Costes, it was found that part of the parking lot and the signage were located within a surface classified as a beach, where state regulations prohibit the circulation and parking of vehicles.

The City Council argued that it was acting under an authorization granted by the Coastal Authority in March 2018 to install signage and demarcation elements for beach access. However, the TSJIB concludes that this authorization had expired in March 2022, as the Coastal Law establishes that these permits cannot exceed four years in validity. The magistrates thus reject the municipal argument that the Administration should have processed a specific review or revocation procedure to invalidate that permit. According to the Chamber, it is not a revocation, but simply the confirmation that the authorization had expired.

The sentence declares the appeal inadmissible because the City Council had not exhausted the prior administrative route, as it could have filed an appeal to the Directorate General of Coastal Authority. In addition to dismissing the rest of the municipal claims, the TSJIB orders the Santanyí City Council to pay the judicial costs, with a maximum limit of 3,000 euros. The resolution can still be appealed in cassation before the Supreme Court or before the same cassation Chamber of the TSJIB, according to the applicable regulations.