A conversation with the Island Councillor for Regional Planning Miquel Ramon

"The coasts must be better protected."

The specialised area of regional planning that Miquel Ramón heads is, without a doubt, one of the most complex on Ibiza's Island Council. Sr. Ramón, born in 1953 in Jesus, is a member of the left-leaning Esquerra Unida party. As such he must work to reach consensus with the municipalities in balancing economic and environmental interests. This is not always easy. He says, "Considering land utilisation and the construction industry, there have been a large number of sins that have been committed in the recent past."

However, he does realise that he cannot turn back the hands of time. Sr. Ramón hopes to set a new course for more moderate growth on the island with a reworked land-use plan for Ibiza (Plan Territorial de Ibiza, or PTI) that should be passed by the legislators later this year.

IbizaNOW: Whether at a local, regional or countrywide level, the portfolios for regional planning and land use have played a key role in politics over the past decades. In many town halls the mayors personally administer these specialised areas. How do you explain this development?

Miquel Ramón

Miquel Ramón: In all of Spain, but especially along the Mediterranean, we have been forced to watch excessive building activity over the past few years. In the first place much was built out of speculation and not in order to satisfy a real demand for living space. The bill for these heedless policies has just recently come due. In an extensive report released at the end of March the EU parliament in Strasbourg recently decided to sanction the settlement and construction policies of many Spanish regions. They even threatened as a last consequence to suspend subsidies.

IbizaNOW: That begs the question as to whether or not the powers municipalities have with regard to land-use planning go too far. Ultimately the issuance of building permits provides them with a wonderful source of income.

Miquel Ramón: Many municipalities finance themselves primarily with the receipts from the issuance of building permits and the related taxes and dues for such. As a result the construction boom allowed for large increases in local budgets. This is a dangerous development. I believe that we have to forge new paths for municipal financing.

IbizaNOW: Discussing the topic of regional planning is something usually only understood by experts and lawyers. Can you give us a short description of the duties that fall to your specialist area?

Miquel Ramón: The core of our work is the PTI land-use plan. This plan contains limits that we set on construction growth, especially for "suelo rustico" (land not free to be developed), as we are directly responsible for such. It's a bit different, for example, with "suelo urbano" (land approved for development), as the competencies for such are located with the appropriate municipalities. When they in turn pass their local land-use plans these are then submitted to the Island Council for approval. The local land-use plans cannot be implemented before we give them a green light.

IbizaNOW: At the moment the Island Council is working on a new PTI land-use plan. What will change and when will it come into effect?

Miquel Ramón: There will only be a few selective changes. In the end there aren't any big changes. Roughly speaking, we want to ensure that our territory, but especially the coastal areas, are better protected from construction in the future. Additionally we wish to ensure that construction will only be allowed where settlement has already begun.

IbizaNOW: Ibiza's current PTI was passed in Spring 2005. Currently the local town halls have been unable to adapt their local land-use plans to the requirements of the PTI. Why does the process take so long?

Miquel Ramón: It is quite a complex undertaking. For example, the municipalities have to revise their projected growth downwards. We ended up sending land-use plans that Eivissa and Sant Joan submitted for final approval back to the municipalities for some technical failings.

IbizaNOW: What were the problems?

Miquel Ramón: In Eivissa these included the construction of the new Can Misses II hospital and the Ses Feixes wetlands. The latter is no longer designated as "suelo urbano" but instead as "suelo rustico" in the new land-use plan. That sounds very simple, but is fraught with a plethora of legal pitfalls. Or take Sant Joan. The municipal authorities would like to see much more construction in Benirras, Port de Sant Miquel, Portinatx and Sant Vicent than we consider appropriate. So they'll have to make some improvements in this area.

IbizaNOW: The Spanish Coastal Authority has redrawn the coastline around the whole country. This created storms of protests, especially on Formentera. Homeowners near the beach fear that they might be expropriated in the coming years. In contrast on Ibiza, which hasn't yet been completely remeasured, it is fairly quiet. Why do think that is?

Miquel Ramón: With the new redrawing of the coastline the Coastal Authority is placing a very high value on the preservation and/or regeneration of dunes. In the specific case of Formentera they sometimes reach far inland in many areas. That is the decisive difference to Ibiza, where the consequences of the new coastline will probably affect fewer homeowners.

IbizaNOW: What do you consider the chances for the Chiringuitos in the Ses Salines Natural Preserve that are a thorn in the side of the Coastal Authority?

Miquel Ramón: It's beyond debate that these Chiringuitos have continually expanded over the years and done so without permission. According to official interpretation the Coastal Authority would like nothing better than to remove the beach restaurants. However, I believe that they will reach a compromise. You must consider that these Chiringuitos offer a service that beachgoers enjoy and want. What will probably happen is that the beach restaurants will be allowed to remain, but only on the condition that they considerably reduce their footprints.

IbizaNOW: Last year your department initiated 128 sanctions proceedings for offences against the land-use law, 28 more than in 2007. And this despite a study by the Association of Construction Managers that showed the number of new constructions on the island collapsed by about 50 percent. How do you explain the increase in proceedings?

Miquel Ramón: There are a variety of reasons, one of which is that we hired two additional employees last year, but I also think that something has changed in people's awareness. This is best shown by the number of complaints, which keep climbing, whether from neighbours or environmental activists. About 35 to 40 percent of the initiated proceedings can be traced back to the initiative of private individuals. Furthermore, I believe that the population realises that our government takes the protection of land very seriously.

IbizaNOW: Getting around the law with construction projects was almost a given on Ibiza for a long time. What are the most common tricks?

Miquel Ramón: There are plenty! Often we find builders who declare they are simply renovating an existing house. Later we find that the aforementioned house was nothing more than the derelict remains of a few walls. However, in no way can that be called a renovation. That is a new construction.

IbizaNOW: For many years it was popular to build first and then obtain approved after the fact...

Miquel Ramón: That is true. Sometimes I get the impression that the law only applies to builders with limited financial means. Since they require a loan from a bank, the banks only release the money when the paperwork meets their thorough requirements. Those who don't require a loan often sometimes seem to succumb to the temptation of simply building what they want. However, this tendency has markedly declined since it's gotten around that the times when the authorities simply turned a blind eye to everything are over.

IbizaNOW: When an illegal construction is stopped by the authorities an ugly unfinished building often remains, and these often remain standing for years. Why aren't the builders forced to tear down these eyesores?

Miquel Ramón: That is desirable, but unfortunately it is a complicated process. If the case goes before the courts, builders keep appealing to higher courts in order to avoid the costly demolition. That can take several years. A house demolition is even more difficult when the home is already occupied, but I am confident that we will be seeing more demolitions than has been the case in the past.

IbizaNOW: The most famous case of this sort is the estate of music producer Michael Cretu. Little has happened although a court ordered the demolition years ago.

Miquel Ramón: That is also because his lawyer has been fighting the demolition decree with every legal trick in the book. At the same time I believe it is very important that this villa is demolished. If the court's verdict is not implemented then the citizen on the street will get the impression that anyone here can do whatever he or she wishes.

IbizaNOW: All over the country there have been countless numbers of mayors and local politicians answering accusations of corruption in the courts over the past months. The focus of these cases is always building policies. Ibiza currently has two former mayors from Sant Josep and Santa Eularia who are being investigated. What has been the problem over the past years?

Miquel Ramón: A miniscule change to a land-use plan in a municipality can be worth quite a lot of money. With the simple stroke of a pen land that previously could not be developed can then be built upon. No one can be surprised that bribery thrives in such an environment. We are talking about vast sums, there are huge killings to be made.

IbizaNOW: Which does make it surprising that there is not a single judge on Ibiza who is specialised in violations of land-use law.

Miquel Ramón: That is true, there is just one public prosecutor, but that's a recent development. First of all the judges on Ibiza are overburdened with other cases, secondly they are not sufficiently trained for working through the sorts of highly complex facts of such cases. In addition there is a lack of appropriate expert witnesses. It would be a great step forward if we had such a specialised judge here on Ibiza.

IbizaNOW: Do you see the current financial and economic crisis as a chance to help protect Ibiza's environmental integrity?

Miquel Ramón: The crisis is fundamentally not a good thing, especially when I think about its social consequences for many people, but perhaps this crisis will give us the possibility to forever take leave from these heedless, profit orientated construction policies.