Limón orders demolition of garage encroaching on public promenade in Barrio Corales

The Municipal Mayor’s Office of Limón ordered the demolition and total removal of an illegal garage-type structure that encroaches upon the easement area and the public promenade in Barrio Corales 2, through Administrative Resolution No. 036-07-2026, published in La Gaceta No. 175 on Thursday, September 17, 2026, page 84. The registered owner of the adjacent property, Tamis de los Ángeles Obando Ugarte, identity card No. 5-0290-0752, has five business days to dismantle the work by her own means. Should she fail to do so, the Municipality will carry out the forced demolition and transfer all costs to the administered party.

The origin of the file and the neighborhood complaint

The procedure is being processed under file 2025-611-RIM, following a complaint by Jorge Luis Lazarus Montero, identity card No. 7-0113-0872, owner of an adjacent property in Barrio Corales 2, filed before the Intervention Registry No. 495544-2026-RI of the Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría de los Habitantes). The complainant requested the restoration of the promenade to its original state and the adoption of environmental and urban protection measures for the public-use asset.

The structure is located 150 meters east and 50 meters south of the Coope Recope Supermarket, in the Central canton of Limón, and extends from the property registration No. 116898-000, cadastral plan No. L-1076265-2006.

Technical findings and due process

Reports DIM-ML-INSP-0151-2026 and DIM-ML-0442-2026, signed by the Municipal Engineering Department led by engineer Antonio Babb Reid, proved the existence of a perlin and zinc construction intended as a garage that flagrantly encroaches upon the easement area and the public promenade, without the corresponding construction permits.

As the owner could not be located on-site, the Office resorted to notification by edict in accordance with Article 241 of the General Law of Public Administration (Law No. 6227). The edict was published in La Gaceta, Supplement No. 76 to La Gaceta No. 110, on June 16, 2026, page 364, with a deadline of three business days which expired without the interested party or third parties appearing before the file.

The terms of the resolution

The administrative act is based on the Political Constitution (Articles 169 and 170), the Municipal Code (Law No. 7794, Article 4, 17 paragraphs a and e), the General Law of Public Administration (Law No. 6227, Articles 11 and 241), and the Urban Planning Law (Law No. 4240, Articles 84, 94, 95, and 96). Its resolution points are:

• Order the demolition and total removal of the illegal structure to restore the public domain asset to the free use and transit of the inhabitants.
• Grant Tamis de los Ángeles Obando Ugarte a definitive and peremptory term of five business days, counted from the day following notification, for the dismantling and voluntary removal of materials.
• Warn that, upon expiration of the term without compliance, subsidiary execution will proceed through the Municipal Engineering Directorate, with the collection of costs via the municipal executive route.
• Commission the Municipal Engineering Directorate to coordinate support from the Public Force or the Municipal Police during the proceeding, drawing up the corresponding execution record.
• Admit the motions for revocation before the Mayor’s Office and for appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Court, pursuant to article 163 of the Municipal Code, within five business days.

The resolution bears the signature of licenciada Ana Janniel Matarrita Mc Calla, Municipal Mayor, and is identified by the official reference IN202601117899.

Impact

The case establishes an explicit criterion regarding the private occupation of public domain assets: the Municipality reminds that streets, plazas, parks, and promenades are inalienable, imprescriptible, and exempt from seizure, and that any private occupation lacks legal effect and must be repelled immediately. For the residents of Barrio Corales 2, the resolution opens the way to recover an occupied pedestrian transit space, while for the owners of adjacent properties, it establishes that the lack of a municipal license is not cured by the simple passage of time nor by failure to appear during the procedure.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 175 of September 17, 2026, Section I, p. 84 (official reference: IN202601117899).