Vitoria-Gasteiz approves the Aretxabaleta-Gardelegi detailed study with seven homes

The Plenary of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council definitively approved the detailed study of block OR-9-20, plots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, of area OA 2.65, former sector 19 Aretxabaleta-Gardelegi, in an ordinary session held on July 24, 2026. The agreement, signed by the mayor-president Maider Etxebarria García on September 9, 2026, is published in BOTHA no. 108, of September 21, 2026, with the official reference 2026-02630. The planning enables a maximum of seven dwellings and a change in typology following the grouping of plots.

The instrument was drafted by Esparza Arquitectura y Rehabilitación Sostenible, SLPU, at the initiative of KREA S19, SL, and its purpose is to establish the detailed planning determinations for those five plots. The plots are located within the scope of ordinance OA 2.65 of the General Urban Development Plan of Vitoria-Gasteiz, definitively approved by the municipal Plenary on December 22, 2025, and recorded in article 12.6 of volume IV of the Particular Urban Planning Regulations.

An area with seven dwellings and change of typology

Ordinance OA 2.65 validates the planning of the former sector 19, regulated by its partial plan, published in BOTHA no. 97, of August 31, 2005, and by its latest modification (12), published in BOTHA no. 54, of May 13, 2016. Two previous modifications explain the content now approved:

• The third modification, approved on November 27, 2009 (BOTHA no. 8, of January 22, 2010), reduced the average surface area of the dwellings and allowed for an increase from 5 to 7 dwellings in the plot resulting from a detailed study.
• The fourth modification, approved on July 30, 2010 (BOTHA no. 91, of August 13, 2010), flexibilized the plotting conditions and enabled the grouping of plots, maintaining the total utilization without a maximum surface area limit.

The study proposes adopting the typology specific to the former ordinance OR-7 of the 2003 general plan, currently RE-BD 1, following the grouping of plots.

Processing: from initial approval to the Plenary

The file entered the Urban Planning and Execution Service on January 19, 2026. Following a request for correction on February 11 and the submission of a corrected version on February 23, a report was requested from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on March 3. The technical and legal reports in favor of the initial approval were issued on March 4 and 13, 2026.

The Local Government Board initially approved the study on March 27, 2026, and submitted it for public review for 20 days. The announcement was published on April 8 in El Correo (Álava Edition), in the Diario de Noticias de Álava, and in BOTHA no. 41, of April 10, 2026. No objections were filed.

The favorable report from the Sub-Directorate General of Airports and Air Navigation was received on May 29, 2026, and on June 11, the technical and legal reports were issued, concluding that final approval by the Plenary was appropriate.

Technical planning conditions

The study’s regulations establish the following parameters:

• Minimum separation of 4.50 meters from the boundaries bordering Asparrena Street and Gardelegi Street, and from the remaining boundaries of the area.
• Minimum separation of 6.00 meters between the different building volumes.
• Volumetry in B+G+1 (Basement + Ground Floor + 1), with an eave or cornice height of 6 meters below the slab, extendable up to a maximum of 7 meters if the separation between buildings is increased.
• Slopes: Building 1 (single-family) +579.98; Building 2 (two-family) +579.38; Building 3 (two-family) +578.64; Building 4 (two-family) +577.99.
• Joint building-free plot, with vehicular access to the basement garages via Asparrena Street (south) and two pedestrian accesses via Gardelegi and Asparrena.

The applied legal framework includes the Law 2/2006, of June 30, on Land and Urban Planning of the Basque Country (articles 60, 73 —modified by Law 6/2025, of December 11—, 74, and 98), Decree 46/2020, of March 24, which excludes these instruments from strategic environmental assessment, and Royal Decree 369/2023, of May 16, which requires a favorable pronouncement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The Plenary’s competence derives from article 123.1.i) of Law 7/1985.

Deadlines and appeals

The agreement concludes the administrative process. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against it before the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country within two months from the day following its publication, in accordance with article 46.1 of the Law of Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction. The technical documentation of the file is available at the link www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/s19-edor920-12345.

The final approval closes a file opened more than eight months ago and unlocks the realization of seven homes in an already urbanized area of eastern Vitoria-Gasteiz. The change in typology and the grouping of plots directly affect the owners of plots 1 to 5 and the neighbors in the vicinity of Asparrena and Gardelegi streets, who now have a period of two months to challenge the agreement before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA), no. 108, of September 21, 2026, section II - Local Administration of the Historical Territory of Álava, pp. 1-5 (official reference: 2026-02630).