The Superior Court of Justice of Aragon (TSJA)recently dismissed the appeal filed by the Zaragoza City Council against the ruling that annulled in 2019 the special plan for La Torre Outlet, the commercial complex on the Logroño highway that occupies the land of the old Pikolin factory. The court’s decision has no consequences for the future of the complex according to municipal sources, because the City Council has changed the General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU) to legalize the planning of these lands.
The cancellation of the special plan at La Torre Outlet caused great political controversy in February and March 2019. At that time, the works reached a completion rate of 70%, and the municipal government at the time, ZEC, did not want to appeal. This situation puts not only the project at risk but also leads the City Council of Zaragoza to deal with millions of dollars in claims.
The case was filed by the association “I Buy in Las Fuentes”, combined with CC. OO., UGT, IU, Podemos, Ganemos Zaragoza (instrumental party of ZEC) the Federation of Zaragoza Neighborhood Associations (FABZ), and other entities.
The 2019 ruling made it clear that the City Council “exceeded” the uses allowed for the lands., classified as productive. This means, according to the first-time ruling, that the dominant use must be industrial and not commercial. According to that judicial decision, the City Council and the PGOU should have been modified earlier to accommodate the commercial zone.
Due to ZEC’s refusal to appeal, and, PSOE, and Cs forced the cassation to keep the jobs. After the municipal elections, the PP and Cs replaced the government and promoted the reform of the PGOU to accommodate the new functions. It was one of the first bipartisan decisions to be adopted.
Municipal sources explained that this decision prevents punishment and has a dissenting vote against the dismissal of the cassation, representing the changing situation of the city of La Torre Outlet. However, they indicated that the legal services will study the consequences that may ultimately come from the decision.
The president of the FABZ, Manuel Arnal, considered it “brave” for the City Council to make that reading because an “ad hoc” change in the PGOU was made when the special plan was judged. “We are reviewing all the consequences of the sentence,” said.
Arnal expressed “satisfaction” with the appellants because they were given a “corporate and legal name.” “It represents a decision against à la carte urban planning,” said the neighborhood leader.
