Bolo approves ordinance for plot cleaning and biomass management

The Bolo City Council has now definitively approved its municipal ordinance regulating the cleaning of land, distance between plantations, and the management of forest biomass. The text, initially approved by the Plenary in the session of July 31, 2026, became definitive as no claims or suggestions were presented during the public exhibition. The full publication of the articles occupies announcement R. 2.558 of the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense dated November 5, 2026, in section IV for local entities, signed by the mayor Miguel Ángel García Fariñas.

From the initial process to automatic approval

The plenary agreement was submitted for public information via an announcement in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense number 157, dated August 19, 2026, for a period of thirty business days in accordance with article 49 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the bases of the local regime. After this period passed without claims, the initial approval became definitive automatically, without the need for a new agreement from the Plenary, according to article 49.c) of the same regulation.

The ordinance is a provision of a non-fiscal nature based on the regulatory power of articles 4.1 of Law 7/1985 and 6.1 of Law 5/1997, of July 22, regulating the local Administration of Galicia. Its material framework consists of Law 7/2012, of June 28, on the forests of Galicia; Law 3/2007, of April 9, on prevention and defense against forest fires; Decree 105/2006; Law 2/2016, of February 10, on the land of Galicia, and Decree 143/2016. Its declared purpose is to guarantee health conditions and prevent forest fires.

Urban land, rural nucleus, and delimited developable land

The scope of application covers land classified as urban land, rural nucleus, and delimited developable land within the municipal term. The obligation falls upon the owners or those with the right of use of these plots, as well as on the administrations, entities, and companies responsible for communication routes and electricity transport and distribution lines. Properties included in the PLADIGA are likewise subject to the regime.

The specific obligations are:

• Keep buildings clean and cleared of all types of vegetation, in conditions of safety and health, with periodic disinfection and deratization.
• Clearing of the herbaceous and shrub layers and pruning and thinning of the arboreal layer, to maintain horizontal discontinuity between crowns and vertical discontinuity with respect to the lower layers.
• Manage biomass before June 30th of each year.
• Respect a 50-meter perimeter strip around urban land, rural nuclei, and delimited urbanizable land, as well as around buildings, isolated dwellings, urbanizations, waste deposits, parks, and industrial installations located less than 400 meters from the mountain.
• Do not plant prohibited species within the first 50 meters, the list of which appears in Annex I of the ordinance and includes eucalyptus, pine, acacia, broom, gorse, heather, common fern, mimosa, and cedar, among others.

Planting distances and five years of adaptation

Article 9 prohibits forest reforestation in urban land, delimited urbanizable land, and rural nuclei. Reforestations pre-existing to the entry into force of Law 7/2012 must maintain a minimum distance of 15 meters from buildings, isolated dwellings, wells, and industrial installations when dealing with broadleaf species from Annex II, and 50 meters for the rest of the species. Existing plantations that fall below these distances have a maximum of five years to adapt, according to the transitional provision. The cutting of tree masses requires a prior municipal license.

Sanctions from 100 to 3,000 euros

The enforcement procedure begins with a provision from the Mayor’s Office, grants ten business days for a hearing, and then a period of fifteen business days to execute the works. If non-compliance persists, the City Council may impose repeated coercive fines every three months of 900 euros per unmanaged hectare, with a minimum of 100 euros, or resort to subsidiary execution with the repercussion of costs according to SEAGA rates and the seizure of prohibited species.

The sanctioning regime establishes:

• Minor infractions: from 100 to 600 euros, with a prescription period of one year.
• Serious infractions: from 601 to 1,500 euros, with a prescription period of three years.
• Very serious infractions: from 1,501 to 3,000 euros, with a prescription period of five years.
• Maximum period to resolve and notify the sanctioning procedure: nine months.

The ordinance will enter into force fifteen business days after its full publication in the provincial bulletin. Against the final approval, which ends the administrative route, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Galicia within two months from the day following publication.

The regulation transfers a direct responsibility for fire prevention to the municipality’s property owners: the cleaning of urban plots and rural center plots ceases to be a recommendation and becomes an enforceable obligation, with deadlines, sanctions, and subsidiary works carried out by the City Council that will subsequently be charged to the owners.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense, November 5, 2026, IV. Local entities (official reference: R. 2.558).