P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 64b
(a) Filing of petition and notice of public hearings.— Any petition for a permit or authorization for access control shall be filed with the municipality under whose jurisdiction the streets whose access is to be controlled are located, according to the provisions of §§ 64—64h of this title and the regulations adopted pursuant hereto. The municipality shall hold public hearings not later than forty-five (45) days after receiving said petition, and after having given public notice of the date, place and nature of the hearing by means of a written notice to the residents of the urbanization, streets and public or private residential community for which the access control is requested, and after the publication of a notice in one of the newspapers of general or regional publication in Puerto Rico, within a period of not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the hearing. Regional newspapers may only be used if the municipality concerned is located within the region served by that newspaper.
(b) Notice to the agencies.— The municipality shall send a copy of the petition for access control and give notice of the date, time and place set for the public hearings of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Puerto Rico Police, the Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps, the Electric Power Authority, the Aqueducts and Sewers Authority and the Postal Service no later than ten (10) days following the date of its presentation. It shall also notify the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources when cutting down or pruning trees in public or private properties is required for the construction, installation, maintenance and operation of the proposed access control; the Metropolitan Bus Authority, in the case of requests for streets, urbanizations or communities located in areas served by said Authority, and any other public service agencies that the municipality may deem convenient and necessary. The municipality shall also send to each of said agencies, a copy of all documents in its possession that may useful, convenient or necessary for the agencies to evaluate the petition for the access control permit and issue their opinion and decision.
(c) Agency endorsement.— Every agency shall state, in writing, whether it endorses the proposed access control or not, on or before the first public hearing is held. Should the decision be favorable, but with modifications and conditions, it shall clearly state what those modifications and conditions consist of and the justification for them.
Should there be opposition to the access control, the reasons for denying the endorsement shall be stated, and if the municipality requests it, [in] the statement shall [be] included a certified copy of the studies, reports, measurements, opinions and other documents used as grounds for the decision of the agency concerned. It shall be understood that those agencies which do not appear in writing before the conclusion of the first public hearing, endorse access control in the manner and to the extent proposed in the petition to such effect.
(d) Decision of the municipality.— The municipality shall issue its decision on every petition for an access control permit no later than ten (10) working days after the last public hearing is held.
Should the municipality’s decision favor the controls proposed by the board, council or association of residents, it shall issue a final decision and authorize its implementation. Said decision shall be binding from the date the copy of its notice is filed with the municipality. Should the authorization of the municipality modify or set restrictions on the controls proposed by the board, the municipality shall issue a preliminary decision which shall contain the conditions, changes or modifications under which the project is to be developed and said preliminary decision shall be adopted by means of a statement signed by not less that three fourths (¾) of the proprietors, within fifteen (15) days following the date on which the copy of its notice was filed with the municipality. The signature of said proprietors shall be limited to one proprietor per dwelling.
The preliminary decision adopting the access control under the conditions imposed by the municipality shall be binding as of the date the above statement was filed in the municipality.
(e) Reconsideration and judicial review.— Any person, residents association, urbanizer or developer who is not in agreement with the decision of the municipality regarding a petition for access control, may request a judicial review within twenty (20) days following the date that the copy of the notice granting the authorization or permit for access control, or the sworn statement adopting the preliminary decision, as the case maybe, has been filed in the municipality. The court shall issue its decision within thirty (30) days following the date of the request for review.
Any agency which according to the law and pertinent regulations must approve, endorse, recommend or take any other action on the design, plans and other matters needed to apply for and obtain permits for the construction and use of access controls in a street, urbanization or community, shall issue its decision or determination within the term of thirty (30) days from the date that the residents association or its authorized representative submits all documents required for that purpose. On its part, the Permit Management Office shall issue or deny the construction permit within the term of forty-five (45) days from the date that the residents association submits the petition for said permit with the approvals or endorsements required of other agencies and with all the documents and studies required by law and regulations.
The authorization shall also be subject to not preventing compliance with the regulations in effect on access to beaches; shall not prevent or hinder residents from outside the community to use and enjoy sports, recreational and other community installations, nor from obtaining the services of private institutions such as schools, churches, hospitals, civic clubs and others, located in the community; nor shall the access control constitute a physical or architectural barrier for disabled citizens; which rights shall be made public by placing visible notices at the entrance of every community which enjoys an access control system pursuant to the provisions of § 64—64h of this title, and said notices shall identify all public installations and facilities available in said community.
History —May 20, 1987, No. 21, p. 63, § 3; Aug. 10, 1988, No. 156, p. 669, § 4; July 16, 1992, No. 22, § 3.