City heads to court to fight Obarrio zoning change

PANAMA MAYOR José Isabel Blandón,  is heading to the Supreme Court to fight  a Ministry of Housing   zoning  decision for Obarrio.

The Ministry issued a resolution on March 29 which changed the zoning of 42 parcels of land  in Obarrio from low- and medium-density residential and mixed commercial to urban high density.

The Ministry said that the changes were in response to a request from the community, but Lucía Silvestre de Stratmann, president of the Association of Owners and Residents of Obarrio, said that there was no support for them in public hearings on the issue.

Mayor Blandón presented a motion in July to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the decision, which would allow the construction of high rises in an area that is now mostly residential homes.

According to Blandón, the Mayor’s Office is the only competent entity allowed to change zoning in the city.

He said that if the decision is allowed to stand, the area would suffer “irreversible” damage.

However, the ministry has countered that it has both the authority and the expertise to make the decision.

Blandón said: “The Ministry, in our view, is not competent to make the changes made in Obarrio, so we have taken the issue to the Supreme Court.”

The  city recently announced  a long term development plan in response to pressure from residents.