Citing irregularities in the issuance of a building permit, Cancún has halted construction of the 449-room, US $90-million hotel Gran Solaris Cancún located next to Playa Los Delfines in the city’s hotel zone.

The permit, issued by the previous administration, was “issued without taking into account the validity of certain documents that are part of the administrative file, which were expired at the time of the issuance of the license,” said municipal secretary for ecology and urban development Armando Lara De Nigris.

Prepping of the construction site involved surrounding the property with a concrete wall and removing one of the beach’s emblematic sand dunes, drawing fire from ecologists and citizens concerned about the privatization of public beaches.

Plans for the site call for a 14-story hotel with underground parking, six restaurants and two pool areas on the 18,844-square-meter beachfront property. 

The hotel’s construction permit was first granted on June 19, 2017, and later rescinded on September 21, 2018.

However, six days later and after lobbying from the hotel group, the then director of urban development issued a new construction permit, effective from September 27, 2018, to September 27, 2020.

Part of the controversy surrounding the hotel is that the municipal permits were issued prior to the hotel obtaining federal environmental permits from Semarnat, which by law must come first. 

Mayor Mara Lezama has made the protection of public beaches a cornerstone of her administration, and she is backed by citizens and non-profits that have decried the loss of beach access to development.

“We will not allow any privatization. They are spaces for today and for the future, it is our legacy,” Lezama said.

Source: El Economista (sp)