Big Jump In Coastal Building Permits
By Ralph Nicholson, thebeachtimes.com

Santa Cruz and Carrillo, two of Guanacaste’s fastest growing municipalities, have issued a record number of building permits in the first half of this year, and are on target to approve almost twice the building work of the previous 12 months.

According to the Cámara Costarricense de la Construcción (the Costa Rican Chamber of Construction), which measures construction by area, there was 241,853 square meters of new building work approved in Guanacaste in the 12 months until May this year.

That was 90,000 square meters more, or an increase of about 60 per cent on the previous 12 months, and four times that of 2003.

But some of the biggest increases were in the coastal municipalities of Santa Cruz and Carrillo, where the number of building projects in areas like Tamarindo, Langosta, Playa Grande, Flamingo, Potrero, Playas del Coco and Playas Hermosa and Panama, have sky-rocketed.

Diego Rodríguez, the Municipal Engineer at Santa Cruz said there had been a marginal increase in the number of building permits from 2003 to 2004. Last year the Municipality approved 689 permits to build, which was only 58 more than 2003.

However in the first seven months of the year, the municipality’s engineering department has issued a staggering 644 permits to build, slightly less than all of the previous year.

In fact the department has expanded to deal with the extra work.

“Given the growth in the area, the engineering and construction department now has two engineers, two inspectors and an assistant,” said Mr Rodríguez. “Of course this has eased things.”

Just this month, the Municipality took on a second engineer, José Moreno, to join the department and help speed the building permit process. Generally permits that meet building by-laws are being approved within eight days, although larger condominium and commercial projects must go before the full council.

“The idea is that next year an inspection department will be created that will function quite separately, and report directly to the office of the mayor,” Mr Rodriguez said.

“I think it is indispensable to have a separate department, which can help execute projects which right now lack the technical quality and control needed.”

The Municipality of Carrillo is reporting a similar boon in building.

Greivin Alvarado, building inspector for the Municipality of Carrillo said they had approved 440 building permits in the first seven months of the year, compared to a total 461 permits in 2004. In 2003 they approved 339, which was slightly less than 2002 (382).

But unlike Santa Cruz, Carrillo’s Municipal Engineer, Lucas Baldioceda, said it was difficult for his department to keep up.

“Most years we have been growing at about 30 per cent, but now it is different,” said Mr Baldioceda.

“We have been issuing the permits but the administration needs to give us more resources,” he said. “The workload is growing, but we are working with the same number of people.”

Carrillo’s engineering department includes just one engineer, one inspector and a part-time assistant.

The building boom has had unbudgeted benefits for both municipalities —- as the number of permits processed has increased, so too has the revenue from the paperwork.

Last year, in Santa Cruz for example, income from construction was about 102 million colones, or about $212,000 at today’s exchange rates. At the end of last month construction revenue was at more than $286,000, and the administration was estimating it could reach more than $370,000 by the end of the year.

In Carrillo, officials now believe construction revenue may well double what they budgeted.

The Municipality went into 2005 expecting 50 million colones, or nearly $104,000. But within seven months they had collected more than $186,000, and that figure could well pass $205,000 by the end of the year.

“They are telling me here at the municipality we should estimate some 140 million colones ($290,456) for 2006,” said Building Inspector Alvarado.

The rush to get permits and the sheer volume of construction along Guanacaste’s coastline has not been without problems. The rising price of gasoline has forced the cost of building materials up. A shortage of key commodities has further inflated prices, and the number of projects contemplated has meant problems finding labor.