Senija approves the ordinance on aesthetic conditions for urban buildings

The Senija City Council has made Municipal Ordinance number 205 definitive, which regulates the aesthetic conditions for buildings, constructions, and installations developed on the urban land of the locality, following the absence of claims during the public exhibition period. The initial approval was agreed upon by the Plenary of the Corporation in an ordinary session on June 30, 2026, and the full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Alicante number 166, dated September 2, 2026 (document 6664/2026).

The regulation, signed by the mayor, Ms. Pepa Argudo Ferrer, will enter into force the day following its publication in the gazette, in accordance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. Against the definitive approval, interested parties may file a contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Contentious-Administrative Court of Alicante.

Purpose and scope of application

The purpose of the ordinance is to develop the aesthetic conditions to which new buildings, constructions, and installations must adhere, as well as renovation, rehabilitation, and expansion works on urban land within the municipal district with a characteristic residential use. Its primary objective is to preserve the general aesthetics of the municipality and its traditional typology, as well as the maintenance and improvement of the values of the urban and rural landscape.

The scope of application is limited to the areas classified in the Senija PGOU (General Urban Development Plan) as:

• Calvario (CLV), in its sub-zones CLV.1 and CLV.2
• Organic Expansions of the Nucleus (EON)
• East Ring Extension (ERE)
• Traditional Historic Nucleus (NHT)
• Transitions (TRS)
• Crossing (TRV)

Buildings on land classified as Activity Corridor (CDR), Single-family (UNF), Single-family La Cometa/Commercial Equipment La Cometa (URC/ECU), and Isolated Industry (INA) are excluded and shall be governed solely by the urban planning regulations of the PGOU.

Aesthetic conditions on urban land

The second chapter details the formal requirements for facades, party walls, plinths, plot enclosures, exterior carpentry, ironwork, eaves, gutters, roofs, posters, signs, awnings, flags, and the installation of devices and cabling. Facades must be plastered and preferably painted in white, cream, ochre, and bluish tones; exposed ceramic brick, glossy finishes, exposed concrete, and flashy or non-traditional dark colors are prohibited.

The ordinance also regulates the installation of air conditioning units, solar thermal and photovoltaic panels, antennas, and cabling, which must not be visible from the public road, as well as the obligation to fence plots with enclosures between 2 and 2.5 meters in height. In the Traditional Historic Center, protected by the Catalogue of Architectural Assets and Urban Spaces, original elements shall be preserved and the replacement of the pre-existing volume shall be required, respecting the original characteristics of the building.

Infractions, sanctions, and restoration of legality

The third chapter establishes the regime of infractions and sanctions. If works are carried out that breach the determinations of the ordinance, the City Council will order the immediate cessation of the activity and will adopt the appropriate measures for the restoration of legality at the owner’s expense, in accordance with Legislative Decree 1/2021, of June 18, of the Consell, approving the consolidated text of the Law on land management, urban planning, and landscape (TRLOTUP).

For works executed without a license or in non-compliance with it, as well as for the restoration of legality, the provisions of the TRLOTUP shall likewise apply, and the developer shall be obliged to restore or demolish the elements necessary for compliance with the regulation. Licenses requested prior to the publication of the ordinance shall not be subject to its conditions beyond what has already been established in the urban planning regulations of the PGOU.

The new regulation provides the municipality with a homogeneous instrument to preserve its urban and landscape image, and obliges owners and developers in new construction and rehabilitation works to adapt their buildings to the traditional typology of the locality, with a sanctioning regime that guarantees its effective compliance.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Alicante, No. 166 of 02/09/2026, Section III. Local Administration, page 1 (official reference: 6664/2026).