The townspeople of San Antonio Tlayacapan are up in arms over a new snag in the construction of their waterfront malecon.
Frustrations began boiling up Thursday, September 27 when inspectors for the National Water Commission (Conagua) showed up at the site and shut down the project, slapping closure seals across dump trucks, earth movers and the restroom module.
The intervention of Conagua was the latest in a series of stumbles that have cropped up since development of the recreational park started more than four years ago.
Personnel from Conagua and Profepa (the federal environment enforcement agency) executed a similar shut down in February last year, charging that the municipal government was building on the shoreline federal zone without proper permits. Work was halted while local authorities waded through red tape and ponied up a substantial fine.Semarnat (the federal environment agency) called a public meeting in July 2011 at which Chapala’s planning department laid out project plans and a related environmental impact study. Interested parties were also allowed to air their opinions. Three months later Semarnat issued a 29-page finding, authorizing completion of the malecon in adherence to blueprint specifications but outlining conditions for avoiding or mitigating any environmental damage. During the interim, city hall reportedly worked out a written pact with waterfront property owners who hold concession titles to adjacent federal land.
Work was finally resumed and was close to completion when Conagua struck this latest blow. Alerted to the situation, a crowd of villagers showed up at the scene to protest the action. Some questioned the city government’s role in the problem.
The October 1 change of government may complicate an immediate resolution of the conflict. San Antonio residents staged a peaceful protest outside the Auditorio de la Ribera as new elected officials and Governor Emilio Gonzalez were arriving for the September 30 swearing-in ceremony.
The new administration has jumped right in to sort out the problem, holding talks with villagers to allay their concerns and heading into Guadalajara to take up the case at Conagua headquarters.
According to newly appointed Chapala ecology chief Moctezuma Medina, the shut-down was prompted by a complaint registered by one of the concession holders, even though the project work was being done by the book. He expressed confidence that the matter will be fully cleared up so that the malecon can be finished in the near future.