Some of the things that CATCAS says should be priorities for the new deputy are:

• Repair of the road between Hone Creek and Manzanillo and the principal streets of Puerto Viejo and Cahuita
• Sewage and water treatment
• Garbage collection
• Security and crime
• The possibility of a small airport in the Hone Creek area
• Review of the municipal taxes and fees (which are exorbitant and unequally applied)
• The promotion of the local culture
• The Puerto Viejo school

CATCAS has asked for a meeting with the new deputy to discuss their proposals.

You can view the full letter (in Spanish) here.

May travelers had been reporting the poor state of the road, which was loaded with potholes that made driving hazardous.

The Ministry (MOPT) has also announced the continuation of work on the 18 kilometers on road from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. The ministry release did not specify the amount of money to be invested in the project or the timeframe.

Today’s MOPT inspection coincides with the visit of President Arias to the Puerto Limon, where he will be on hand to receive the first racers of the Transat.

More: La Nacion: MOPT realiza bacheo de emergencia en ruta Limón – Puerto Viejo

A judge of the administrative court has ruled that the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC) is responsible for the eviction and demolition of Hotel Las Palmas located inside the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge at Punta Uva.

The decision was rendered by the court yesterday after a period of apparent inaction by the Ministry of Environment and SINAC to act on previous orders for the eviction of the hotel.

The judge, Lorena Montes de Oca, absolved of responsibility the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) and its chief, Jorge Rodriguez. The information was confirmed by MINAET spokesmen and the Comptroller General of the Republic, which brought the suit.

The judge ruled that SINAC must coordinate with all institutions to ensure that “the demolition of the property proceeds as soon as possible”.

According to the MINAET spokesman, Ricardo Arias, the eviction order was scheduled for last week, but there was “a problem” in coordination with security forces.

The case dates back to 1985 when the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines (MIRENEM) granted an occupancy permit for the Resort Punta Uva, SA. Eight years later MIRENEM withdrew the permission from the owner of the complex, Jan Kalina.

In 2004, the Sala I court ordered the eviction and demolition of the hotel. However, since then a series of legal moves and lawsuits have held up the eviction order.

More: La Nación: Jueza ordena demoler hotel dentro de área protegida

The measure was passed yesterday in what should be its final form. It will take effect six months after the administration publishes the law in La Gaceta so while there is some small measure of flexibility for when the government will implement it, the details are set.

The law is of great interest to the many ex-pats from North America and Europe who make their homes in the Puerto Viejo area as well as to the even greater number of Central American migrants from Nicaragua and other places.

Some of the highlights include:

- All residents will be required to join the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social as a condition of their residency.

- A new immigration police force will be formed out of the Fuerza Publica to enforce the provisions of the law

- Immigrants applying as pensionados (a status that allows a foreigner residency as a retiree but not to work) will now have to prove a monthly income of $1000US/month, up from $600. However, the part of the law that made that provision retroactive to pensionados already here was deleted so that worry was avoided.

- Immigrants applying as rentistas (a status that allows a foreigner residency and to work as a business owner or investor) will now have to prove a monthly income of $2500/month but this includes status for close family members.

- Police will now only be able to detain a person for a maximum of 24 hours while their immigration status is being verified.

The law does not address the issue of perpetual tourists, those who leave the country for 3 days every 90 days and then return for a new 90 day visa.  Some in government had suggested a rule allowing a maximum of two 90 day stays per year.

More details: La Nación: Próximo Gobierno tendrá nueva ley migratoria

The station in Puerto Viejo, located beachfront, has already had a septic tank donated by the local tourism association CATCAS and local business owners doing construction in the area have stepped in and donated work to get the septic field built.

So apparently the work is well under way.

But an A.M. Costa Rica article yesterday alarmed many people as it only mentioned the closure order and not the fact that work is ongoing.

The tourism board among others are negotiating with the health ministry to make sure the order is delayed so that the work can be completed and Puerto Viejo is not left without a police station.

Thank you for your concern about the police stations in Puerto Viejo and Cahuita. I have received a lot of emails about this article in the past 24 hours and there is some confusion about the issue. The police stations are not closing nor is anyone trying to close them.

This is what happened: The Ministry of Health issued a series of orders to the Ministry of Public Security about some health and safety concerns they noticed in police stations along the Atlantic coast, which is nothing abnormal. The Health Ministry requested that the station in Puerto Viejo replace a damaged door, install a new fire extinguisher, replace some old electric outlets and repair two windows.

The only closure the Health Ministry issued was for the kitchen and the bedroom in the police station in Tuba Creek. The Tuba Creek police station will remain open, but officers will not be able to cook or sleep there until the two rooms are cleaned and repaired. I confirmed this information with both ministries. I also spoke with Luis Videla, the man from the Southern Zone Chameber of Commerce cited in the AM Costa Rica article. His concern was mis-communicated in AM Costa Rica’s story. His wish was to call a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Security, which has been scheduled for next Monday, to ensure that the police stations comply with the Health Ministry’s requests so they do not have to close the station in the future.

Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, was among the dignitaries in Hone Creek (just outside Puerto Viejo) on the weekend to open a new water system. The new system will also service the communities of Puerto Viejo, Carbón Uno, Comadre and Catarata.  The executive chairman of Costa Rica’s water company AyA, Ricardo Sancho, said that the new service would benefit approximately 5,000 residents.

Sancho said that the project was to “install chlorination systems, construct new PVC and polyethylene pipes and distribution lines for each of the communities; also pressure valves to homes.”

The project involves pumping water from a well located near the community of Sand Box, to a storage tank located near Hone Creek. From here the water is gravity fed to the communities benefiting.

The old system often ran out of water during dry periods.

The new system was built with the financial help of the Institute for Agriculture (IDA) which contributed 25 million colones (approximately $44,000 US), and the Joint Social Welfare Institute (IMAS) which contributed ¢100 million (approximately $175,000 US).

Sancho said the residents may apply starting this week to connect to the new project.

However, comments from readers regarding the announcement indicate that the project isn’t really complete yet, but that the inauguration went ahead anyway as Arías was scheduled to attend and so they didn’t want to move the opening ceremony even though the completion of the work is “at least 2 weeks away”.

Source: Costa Rica Hoy: Hone Creek inaugura nuevo acueducto

With this change, the nightly room tax for a room in Costa Rica will now be 13% instead of 16.39% so for most visitors the savings from the hotel tax should offset the $15 additional paid for their tickets.

The government is also hoping that the new airline tax will be easier to collect and less subject to evasion as well.

The airline ticket tax took effect on April 1st. The hotel tax change was effective as of Friday March 27 but many hotels are just now hearing about the change and making it effective. For those hotels which include taxes in their rates, it will be up to them whether to decrease their rates accordingly or just take a little extra profit.

More: La Nación: Aerolíneas advierten que cobro de $15 más en boletos afectará turismo

Update Apr 4: The new tax rate in this article was initially erroneously reported as 13.39%. It should be 13.00%. The old tax was 16.39% since the 13% sales tax was also applied to the 3% ICT tax.

In a long awaited decision released on Feb 25, the Sala Constitucional declared that the law making Cahuita and Puerto Viejo cities was unconstitutional.

Law 8464 passed in October 2005 had declared that these communities were municipalities. This would have allowed people who have lived in these areas for many years to obtain title to land as the city designation would have exempted these areas from some of the provisions of the maritime zone law which states that the first 200 meters of property from the high tide line is public property. Under this law, in effect since 1977, the first 50 meters can not be developed at all and the next 150 meters can only be leased from the government as a “concession”.

But law 8464 was challenged from the very beginning and it also did not specify the boundaries of the proposed cities. So local property owners and governments were left in limbo as to who would ultimately be responsible for making rules and determining development planning.

Real estate agent Manuel Pinto told the Talamanca News that this decision is unfortunate for those long time residents who would’ve obtained more valuable legal title to their land.  But much of this land had also been bought from those long term residents by speculators in the hopes that title would come through.  Those residents and those to whom they have sold will now have to abide by the maritime zone rules.

While giving title to those currently holding such land would’ve been a boon to them financially it would have also opened up that land to development which didn’t necessarily respect the natural environment or character of the area.

Local property developer Christer Ericsson stated that “longtime residents have no reason to fear eviction if they truly have been living on their lands before the law took effect and obtained it in a lawful manner. They will simply get the right to the concession inheriting the rights and obligations that come with it. Concessions will be granted by the local government (Municipality) and ICT only. The arrival of a plan regulator is setting the stage for proper planning and zoning that will protect our community in the future from indiscriminate development.”

Ericsson said his impression is that overall “the community is welcoming this decision and are happy to see all institutions unified working together for the sake of all residents and the future of the community.”

More:

• Nuestro País: Cahuita y Puerto Viejo en Limón no son ciudades (in Spanish) (Google translation to English)
• A.M. Costa Rica: Sala IV strips Cahuita and Puerto Viejo of city status

Finally JAPDEVA (Junta de Administración Portuaria y Desarrollo Económica de la Vertiente Atlántica or the Board of Port Administration and Economic Development for the Atlantic Coast) has made good on the offer they made 3 months ago to repair and pave 2 kilometers of the road between Puerto Viejo and Hone Creek. During the last 3 days, their equipment has been working to prepare the surface of the road for these 2 km that are between Hone Creek and approximately the Hotel Hawa. We will have to continue fighting to ensure that the remaining 4 km are paved and, in the short term, repaired.

The original in Spanish read:

Finalmente JAPDEVA cumplio con su ofrecimiento hecho hace tres meses de arreglar y asfaltar al menos dos kilometros de la carretera entre Hone Creek y Puerto Viejo. Hace 3 diss maquinaria de ese ente comenzo los trabajos de preparacion de la superficie a fin de posteriormente asfaltar esos 2 diolometros que estan entre Hone Creek y aproximadamente el Hotel Hawa.. Tendremos que seguir luchando para que el resto de este tramo de aprox. 4 kilometros tambien sea reparado en el corto plazo.

Thank you CATCAS for your hard work!

Anyone who has traveled the road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo knows what a danger it is: unpaved, huge potholes, full of dust, lacking in signage, shared by bicycles and cars and pedestrians with no separation between them. It has always been a strange exception in that the route between San Jose and Hone Creek is one of the better routes in the country, but those last 5 kilometers to Puerto Viejo remind you you’re still in the developing world.

Locals have been complaining to the municipality for years to get the road paved. The municipality always responded that they didn’t have the money to fix the road. Finally last year, the road was declared a national route by CONAVI, the national roads council.

But so far the Conavi designation hasn’t translated into a road up to standards. The minimum width of a nationally designated road is 20 meters. Darwin Mena, an engineer working with Conavi, said that this road at points is only half that and that the width is encroached upon at several points by buildings owned by the Municipality of Talamanca which need to be removed.

Neighbors complain that the many cars and buses traveling at high speeds are a daily risk to people on bicycles and on foot that are covered by clouds of dust. Not only does the narrow potholed road cause collisions, the clinic in Hone Creek reports that they treat at least 4 people each week who were hit by stones thrown up from the road.

At the Hone Creek clinic doctors have also reported another hazard of the road — increased cases of asthma. The cases have been reported by those who need to commute the road daily by bicycle, children who walk along the road to get to school and those living near the dusty road. The director of the clinic, Wilman Rojas said that 80% of those living on the edge of the road are suffering from respiratory problems.

Eddie Ryan of the Chamber of Tourism says “As inhabitants of this place, we feel completely abandoned. Puerto Viejo is a unique tourist destination and the need for repair of this road is urgent.”

Ryan stated that the road receives maintenance every six months, but weeks later is damaged again. “The grader scrapes the street and spreads the material, but when it rains you lose all the work.”

The engineer Mena said that the repair of the road could be done in two years. Funds are supposed to be budgeted for 2010 to execute the work.

More:

• La Nación:Ruta en Talamanca es peligrosa para viajeros
• La Nación: Polvo afecta salud de los habitantes