Alumni of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Request Transparency
Plan. María del C. Gordillo Pérez,
President Puerto Rico’s Planning Board
Dear President Gordillo Pérez:
We are a group of Puerto Rican architects, landscape architects, urban designers and urban planners, who completed post-graduate studies at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Today we join forces to express our concern over the chaotic process being employed by the Planning Board of Puerto Rico to review and approve island-wide changes to the Mapa de Distritos de Calificación de Suelos de Puerto Rico (Zoning Map of Puerto Rico)
Transparency and civic participation in urban planning practices are instrumental in ensuring resilient, sustainable, and equitable outcomes in the future development of our regions. During the past months, the Planning Board of Puerto Rico has led a reviewal and approval process for incorporating significant changes to the zoning districts of the entire island that have severely limited civic engagement and kept valuable information away from the public eye.
The changes proposed by this process affect all municipalities of the island, including areas that are fundamental in guaranteeing the future success of our economy. The proposed changes do not consider the key role played by forested areas and agricultural land in increasing resilience in the face of climate change. We are deeply concerned that the new zoning districts allow for the development of golf courses in sensitive wild lands and the creation of solar farms on land known for its rich agricultural potential. Going against the current Plan de Uso de Terrenos (Land Use Plan), the proposals enable the construction of hotels in areas with a high risk of sea flooding and residential development in zones vulnerable to landslides. These types of urban policies and other irregularities expose Puerto Rico to further economic erosion and threaten the well-being of our communities. Additionally, the proposed Zoning Map ignores and stifles the power of municipal governments to regulate their land. It invalidates existing special overlay zones and zoning laws developed by municipalities without a due process of discussion and approval by the affected parties.
Despite the extensive scope of the proposed revisions, the Planning Board has failed to provide key information and a suitable timeline for a comprehensive examination and evaluation of the proposed revisions by municipalities, NGOs and the general public. It held most of its public hearings while the island witnessed the unfolding of an unprecedented constitutional crisis that resulted in the resignation of our former governor. Such act goes against our constitutional right that guarantees that every interested person should be given a platform to contribute ideas, raise concerns, and offer solutions on matters of public policy. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in this process goes against our demands during the past couple of weeks for a more democratic and less corrupt government. Therefore, the reviewal and approval process carried out by the Planning Board of Puerto Rico goes against the democratic spirit of the Commonwealth Constitution; in specific it goes against Article 4, 22, and 27 of Law 75 from July 24th, 1975. (“Ley Orgánica de la Junta de Planificación de Puerto Rico”).
We request that the Planning Board of Puerto Rico ceases the current process of reviewal and approval of changes to the Zoning Map of Puerto Rico, which unfolded during the ongoing constitutional crisis, and adopts a transparent and robust participatory planning process in the revision of such changes. We recommend the Planning Board to restart the process by providing a memo describing the goals, methodology, and objectives behind the proposed changes. In addition, the Planning Board should make available maps of the current and proposed zoning districts; a report detailing how the Land Use Map of Puerto Rico will be impacted by the proposed changes; and any other relevant information (including any geo-data) that allow for objective reviewal by third parties. We should highlight that none of this information was provided during the July cycle of public hearings. To ensure meaningful engagement by the public, this information should be made available to the public through the Planning Board’s website and in hard-copies within a period of 60 days from the start of the new cycle of public hearings.
We await your response to the concerns voiced by this group of alumni.
Respectfully,
Harvard Alumni from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Pedro Manuel Cardona Roig MAUD ‘91
Hugo Colón MLA ‘13
Manuel Antonio Colón Amador MLA ‘14
Irene Figueroa-Ortiz MUP & March I ‘15
Nataniel Fúster MAUD ’96 & DDes ‘99
Fabiola Guzmán Rivera March I ‘18
Yanick Lay Fumero MLA ‘18
Eduardo M. Llinás Messeguer MAUD ‘13
Maria Victoria Mateo MLA ‘11
Oscar Oliver Didier MAUD ‘06
Judith Rodríguez MLA & MAUD ‘13
Gabriella S. Rodríguez MLA & MAUD ‘16
Ángel Y. Rodríguez Colón MAUD ‘11
Joanna Rodriguez-Noyola MArch I ‘14
Héctor Tarrido-Picart MAUD & MLA ‘15
José Juan Terrasa Soler MLA ‘07
Emmanuel Torres MAUD ‘14
