Municipio De San Juan v. Bosque Real S.E.; Mac Development Corp.; Junta Planificacion; Junta De Calidad Ambiental

Summary

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico modified and affirmed the Court of Appeals' judgment invalidating the location consultation and permits for the Bosque Real residential complex: although the requested relief from R-1 density limits was an 'other variance' rather than a use variance, the consultation in effect rezoned the parcel from R-1 to R-3 and was void because the adjacent Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín was never notified and the mandatory public hearings were not held. The Court also held that neither the Department of Natural Resources nor the apartment purchasers were indispensable parties, that res judicata and exhaustion of administrative remedies did not bar the Fundación's suit given the lack of notice and the public interest involved, and that its intervention complaint timely interrupted the one-year prescription period. Because the project was finished and houses 180 families, the Court could not order its paralyzation or demolition and remanded for the Fundación to prove its continuing damages and obtain compensation.