Regulatory Plan/Presidential Decree:

The Tamarindo Regulatory Plan got its first airing to the public last month. This plan addressed many areas including: building height, land use, density, roadways, and protected areas. The plans purpose, which is still in the process of being finalized, will draw up project development for the next 50 years. It has been three years since a regulatory plan was started and the rough draft has finally been released. With the plans release, a two month long preliminary public debate will begin with residents and developers. Many interesting ideas have been proposed, which can and will be debated during the next month. One idea is for two more access roads leading towards Tamarindo, one of which would bypass Villareal. This would then allow the current main road to be shut off and only used for pedestrians.

President Oscar Arias recently signed a planning decree for all of Guanacaste. The decree oversteps many local municipalities and restricts developments. The new law, known as the Decree of Territory Organization for the Chorotega Region, divides areas around the beach into different zones, each of which have different development restrictions. The first zone is the Maritime Public Zone, which is 50 meters from the high tide mark, and nothing can be built in this zone. The Restricted Zone, or the second zone, allows buildings to be built up to 16 meters high from the 50 meter mark to the 200 meter mark. The third zone, also known as the Intermediate Zone, allows building heights up to 24 meters from the 200 meter mark up to 800 meters inland. The final zone which covers the next four kilometers allows building heights to be up to 36 meters.