Palma residents denounce the government's use of public land for private businesses: "It's nonsense."

PalmThe Federation of Residents' Associations of Palma has filed formal objections against the decision of the municipal plenary session of July 31 to reclassify several public plots of public service nature – that is, designated for community services – to convert them into heritage land. susceptible to being transferred to real estate developers. According to the contested agreements, these lands could be exploited for 75 years by private companies for the construction of rental housing. "We want the plenary session's decision to be reversed in order to commit this nonsense," said the president of the Federation, Maribel Alcázar, in statements to ARA Baleares.

The affected plots are located in different parts of the city: two in Son Quint (Camino Son Vida 8 and Bernat Pomar 4, Son Rapinya), two in Son Güells (Pierre Lavedan 1 and 5), one in Coll d'en Rabassa (Camino Son Fangos 4), and another in Oliv.

The Federation believes that this transaction violates urban planning regulations, since the land is legally required to be used for public and non-profit purposes. "It's like expropriating some owners to hand over the land to others for profit," the organizations complain.

Alcázar stated that "not one inch or one centimeter of public land can be given away for real estate speculation, which will not solve the housing problem" and also stressed that "without citizen participation there is no democracy."

One of the central points of the allegations is the lack of transparency and citizen participation in the processing of the agreements. The Federation denounces that neither it nor any of the registered entities have been informed in advance, despite the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 of the Organic Regulations on Citizen Participation.

"The City Council is obligated to notify and allow the participation of entities before initiating the procedure," the Federation recalls, claiming to have learned of the decision through the media. "Where is citizen participation and compliance with the regulations established by the City Council itself?" it asks.

"The Court will receive debris."

The organizations also warn of the risk that, after 75 years of private exploitation, the buildings will be returned to the City Council in a state of disrepair. "This exceeds the acceptable useful life of a building. When the 75 years are up, the City Council will receive rubble that will cost money to rehabilitate, while the developers will have made a profit with public land," the Federation states.

The Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Palma warns that if its complaints are not addressed and a "real and transparent" participatory process to address the housing crisis is not resumed, it reserves the right to take legal action against the land classification changes.

The organizations also demand that the City Council approve a full commitment not to develop the so-called "transition areas" while there is available developable land, and they criticize the planned increase in density in areas such as Son Güells and Son Puigdorfila without impact studies or dialogue with the neighborhoods.

"General collapse"

According to the Federation, this whole package of measures, "without impact studies, of new needs that are generated, of participatory processes, or real urban planning worthy of such consideration", opens the door to "a general collapse of the city, in A speculative real estate bubble that will not solve the housing problem".

They are Rapinya

In addition to the Federation, the Son Rapinya Residents' Association has also filed complaints regarding the two plots of land in their neighborhood. The organization held an open meeting on October 3rd with the participation of the neighborhood group and the CIDE educational center. During the meeting, it was agreed to initiate joint actions, such as a signature collection, to demand the recovery of these spaces for community use.

During the meeting, the existence of an agreement signed years ago between the City Council—when the mayor was Joan Fageda—the developer Vivelba, and the residents' association was recalled, which includes one of the now rezoned plots. Residents maintain that the fact that the planned facility has not been built does not mean that the agreement has expired or that the land can be used for private purposes.