BÁVARO, LA ALTAGRACIA.- Orbis Soriano, an architect specializing in permits, explained to a large group of real estate agents in this area the steps that must be taken before carrying out a real estate development and the entities involved in it.
According to the specialist, the first thing to consider when working on any type of real estate project is to validate its location and verify that the project complies with the housing density, in the case of construction in a tourist area.
Regarding housing density, he pointed out that this step is governed by the Ministry of Tourism, clarifying that although it is normal for it to be initiated by the City Council, it is always necessary to take into account, even in the design, how many rooms the development allows.
Speaking at the launch of the Time To Grow training program last week in Bávaro, Soriano explained that, generally, the first step is to go through the local city hall. “In this case, we have two city halls, one in Higüey and the other in Verón, where the requirements can be submitted.”.
Architect Soriano said that the first thing to have on hand is the preliminary design. “Obviously, as I mentioned before, you need to follow the Ministry of Tourism regulations to determine the number of rooms allowed, based on the area, density, and available land.”.
Architect Orbis Soriano. (Fidel Pérez/El Inmobiliario).
He went on to explain that once the number of rooms has been determined, the project is designed, whether it will be with houses, apartments, or hotels.
“Based on that density and design, you can now submit the project to the corresponding city hall; you can go to either one and they will process the project in parallel.”.
Regarding the requirements for depositing with the city council, he explained that they must have the title deed or sales contract and the preliminary project, which in turn refers to the architectural plans of the project (location and site, architectural plans of the complex, architectural plans on each level by type, elevations and sections).
“Those are the basic types for a preliminary project and that is what should be taken to the city council,” the permitting expert stressed.
He added that once the city council evaluates the project, validates that the documents and plans are based on the area, it is taken to the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur).
He reiterated, however, that the first step he recommends is to visit the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) because it is the agency that validates the density. “That's why it's advisable that you make sure the number of rooms and the design you have comply with the density regulations, and not go to the city hall first and then find that the project doesn't comply when you go to the Ministry of Tourism.”.
He added that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is among the institutions that must be involved in the permitting process, in order to explain what the project entails.
“The projects are divided into several categories and are all deposited on the platform of the Ministry of Environment and once they validate it on the platform and see that it depends on the central office, they decide whether to send it to the regional office in Higüey or if they leave it at the central office in Santo Domingo, that depends on the type of project, it may be a macro-project, which in those cases are under an environmental umbrella and therefore come in a lower category and can be processed in the East zone.”.
He argued that the Environment Ministry decides on the project, depending on the category, the amount of land and the type.
He reiterated that the basic requirements for any procedure are to have the property documents, cadastral map and the preliminary project to process it in Tourism, City Hall and Environment.
He specified that with the complete list, it is passed to the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed), where in addition to the architectural plans approved by the City Council, Tourism and with the certification of the Environment, the electrical, sanitary, structural plans with their respective reports and the soil study are needed.
“Once this complete list is available, it can be submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MIVHED), and they will review each institution. This is where the internal technical review process begins. Once it has been verified that all technical areas (sanitary, structural, electrical, and soil study) are correct, an inspection is carried out.”.
