Favorable environmental report for the regulation of tourist accommodations in Logroño

The General Directorate of Environmental Quality, Climate Change and Water of the Government of La Rioja has issued a favorable strategic environmental report regarding the specific modification of the urban planning regulations of the General Municipal Plan of Logroño for the regulation of tourist accommodations and the conditions for the implementation of uses. The decision, adopted through Resolution 335/2026, is published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja number 176, dated September 14, 2026, in section III of other provisions and acts.

The file, identified as EAE 05/2026, was promoted by the Logroño City Council, which requested the initiation of the simplified strategic environmental assessment procedure on March 23, 2026. The modification affects articles 1.2.22, 2.1.1, 2.1.27, 2.2.3, 2.2.11 and 2.2.43 of the urban planning regulations of the General Plan, and its scope is limited to urban land and developable land of the Riojan capital with an approved Partial Plan.

Processing and consultations

The environmental body initiated the consultation phase on April 13, 2026, with a fifteen-day period for the affected administrations to issue their reports. During the process, statements were received from various bodies, all of which were favorable or included observations:

• Sub-directorate General for Emergencies and Civil Protection (April 16): favorable report.
• General Directorate of Public Health, Consumption and Care (April 21): compliant with observations.
• Higher Council for Cultural, Historical and Artistic Heritage of La Rioja (May 11): favorable within its area of competence.
• General Directorate of Environmental Quality, Climate Change and Water (May 14): favorable.
• General Directorate of Natural Environment and Landscape (August 12): favorable, as a modification compatible with the landscape and natural values is foreseen.
• General Directorate of Urban Planning and Housing (August 26): considers that the processing may continue.
• General Directorate of Tourism and Territorial Promotion (September 7): favorable with observation.

The Logroño City Council and the Villamediana de Iregua City Council were also consulted. No allegations were received from interested parties during the public exhibition period.

Report conditions

The report concludes that the modification will not result in significant environmental effects that require an ordinary strategic environmental assessment, provided that the indicated protective and corrective measures are adopted. Among them, the following stand out:

• Comply with Law 37/2003, of November 17, on noise, especially Article 20 regarding construction licenses.
• Remove the reference to projects of supra-municipal interest, deleted by Decree 26/2024, of September 3.
• Require a health report for activities in exclusive buildings and establish objective criteria to declare stressed or saturated zones.
• State that tourist accommodation dwellings must meet the minimum required habitability conditions.

The final approval of the modification shall correspond to the Logroño City Council, following a report from COTUR, in accordance with LOTUR and Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015, of October 30.

Validity and scope

The strategic environmental report will lose its validity if the specific modification is not definitively approved within a maximum period of four years from its publication in the bulletin. Once approved, the substantive body must submit the documentation for publication within ten days. The report is not subject to appeal, without prejudice to those that may proceed through judicial or administrative channels against the provision that approves the modification.

The resolution, signed on September 9, 2026, by the Director General Isabel Vitoria Díez, clears the way for Logroño to orderly regulate the implementation of tourist accommodations in the city, a matter of growing relevance for the tourism sector and for coexistence with residential housing in the Riojan capital.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 176, September 14, 2026, section III. Other provisions and acts, pp. 15819-15822 (official reference: BOR-A-20260914-III–3501).