ECB Desarrollos Sells NATIVA Lots in Playa del Carmen While Environmental Permit Pending

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Developer ECB Desarrollos is taking reservations for lots in its NATIVA residential project while federal officials still weigh whether to grant the environmental authorization the 90.9-hectare development requires.

The company applied to the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) for permission to build NATIVA on land adjoining the Felipe Carrillo Puerto Natural Protected Area, west of federal highway 307 near Xcaret park in the municipality of Playa del Carmen.

While Semarnat’s General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk (DGIRA) reviews the environmental impact statement (MIA) filed by the company, the project’s official website is already promoting lots through reservations of 20,000 pesos. No ruling has been issued on whether the works are viable.

What the project includes

According to the documents submitted, the site covers 909,180.33 square meters and calls for residential villas, apartments, a club house, commercial areas, a showroom, roads, landscaped medians, cenotes and an artificial lagoon.

The authorization being sought covers only site preparation and urbanization, including electricity, drinking water and drainage networks connected to the municipal system. Building each home will be left to the buyer of the lot. The developer estimates 10 years for the preparation and infrastructure phases, followed by an operating phase of indefinite duration.

Species at risk

The environmental statement lists 28 species in some risk category under Mexican standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010:

• 15 under special protection
• 11 threatened
• 2 in danger of extinction

It also identifies 14 species with potential presence that are endemic to the biotic province of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Semarnat must determine whether the urbanization is compatible with conservation conditions on the land and how far the proposed mitigation measures should go. Meanwhile, ECB Desarrollos continues marketing a project whose environmental authorization remains unresolved.