Castellón opens public consultation prior to the municipal markets ordinance

The City Council of Castelló de la Plana has opened the prior public consultation process regarding the report for the future Regulatory Ordinance for Municipal Markets of the city. The Local Government Board, in a session held on September 24, 2026, agreed to submit the document for public information and hearing, according to the announcement published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón number 118, dated October 1, 2026, with the official reference 04270-2026-U.

The report serving as the basis for the process was signed on September 23, 2026, by the delegate of the Government Area of Citizenship and Participation, Vicent Francesc Sales Mateu, and the announcement appears signed in Castelló de la Plana on September 29, 2026. The file is processed in accordance with article 133.2 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, which requires enabling a period of citizen participation before drafting a regulatory norm.

Fifteen business days to submit contributions

The granted period is fifteen business days and is calculated from the publication of the report on the municipal web portal, not from the appearance of the announcement in the provincial gazette. During this period, potentially affected individuals and organizations, as well as the general public, may submit observations, suggestions, and contributions.

The enabled channel to do so is the submission of written documents to the email address patrimonio@castello.es. The full document can be consulted on the Castelló de la Plana City Council website, under the section “Municipal Regulations – Regulations in process – Prior Public Consultation.”

What is being asked of the citizens

The announcement specifies the four points that the citizen contributions should address:

• The problems that the initiative intends to solve.
• The necessity and opportunity of its approval.
• The objectives of the regulation.
• Possible alternative regulatory and non-regulatory solutions.

This is, therefore, a phase prior to the drafting of the articulated text: the council is gathering opinions on the diagnosis and the purposes of the future regulation before preparing the draft ordinance.

Affected parties and scope of the process

The future ordinance will regulate the operation of the municipal markets of Castelló de la Plana, therefore its direct impact reaches merchants with stalls in these venues, vendors’ associations, and regular users of the facilities. The announcement is published simultaneously in Spanish and Valencian, with identical content in both languages.

The procedure is part of the regulatory drafting phase of the Castelló de la Plana City Council, whose competent body for approving the ordinance will be the Plenary once the processing is completed. The prior public consultation does not imply the approval of any text, but rather the opening of the participatory process that precedes the drafting of the regulation.

A mandatory preliminary step before drafting the regulation

The call responds to the mandate of article 133.2 of Law 39/2015, which requires gathering the opinion of the recipients of a future regulatory norm prior to its drafting. The agreement of the Local Government Board on September 24, 2026, activates this mechanism and sets the participation calendar.

With the opening of this period, the municipal government takes the first formal step toward a new regulation of markets, an area that affects local commercial activity and the daily lives of thousands of residents. Interested parties have fifteen business days from the publication of the report on the municipal website to influence the content of the future ordinance.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón, no. 118, October 1, 2026, Local Administration, official reference: 04270-2026-U.