2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-EIGHT - Public Lands (§§ 1 — 737) › PART III - Housing Development And Improvements Administration (§§ 521 — 737) › Chapter 55 - Family-Type Farm Program (Title VI of Land Law) › § 594 - Indivision of units—Approval of Planning Board

The Puerto Rico Planning Board shall not approve any project whereby it is intended to dismember said agricultural units or to devote them to non-agricultural uses, except for public use, or upon express authorization of the Legislature; Provided, That the following transactions or disposal of lands shall be exempt from said prohibition:
(a) Sale to bona fide agregados of the lots where their dwellings are situated upon verification that they cannot reasonably be relocated.
(b) Sale of vacant lots formed when developing lots to relocate agregados with housing problems, whose residences are situated on lands the sale of which is not convenient to the best public interest.
(c) Sale of lots and/or structures for residential purposes to administrators of proportional profit farms or other employees residing for a long time on a property of the agency, who upon retiring or pensioning off, lack an adequate dwelling and the economic means to acquire it.
(d) Sale of small remaining parcels of land without agricultural use to abutting owners under the condition that they be grouped with lands belonging to the abutting buyer or acquirer.
(e) Sale or lease of marginal parcels of land unfit for agricultural purposes which, in the judgment of the Secretary of Agriculture are not necessary for other agricultural programs, when the Director of the proprietary agency indicates they are unnecessary for his program.
(f) Lease or sale to nonprofit institutions of structures located on lots or parcels of land unfit for agricultural purposes.
The Secretary of Agriculture may authorize for these or any other purposes, in first instance, at the request of the agency, corporation or public entity, whether the owner of the land or not, the sale, cession or lease of said land, based on the following criteria:
(1) [That] it is satisfactorily proved that the land is unfit for agricultural development.
(2) That the proposed change, sale or lease of lands may result in greater benefits for the community or the People of Puerto Rico in general.
(3) That the proposed use, sale, cession or lease does not create or occasion unnecessary and excessive demands for public services.
(4) That the lands to be disposed of for sale, cession or lease do not have or present areas requiring the preservation of its flora or fauna for its economic, ecological or scientific importance; protecting the enjoyment and preservation of resources of public interest such as topographical features, forests, groves, landscapes, geological formations, natural bodies or springs of water, mangrove swamps, mineral deposits or beaches.
(5) That the sale, cession or lease of the lands does not tend to create pressures for allowing the future urban development of lands with high agricultural value.
(6) That upon requesting the authorization of the Secretary of Agriculture, evidence is submitted that the Board of Directors of the Land Administration is not interested in exercising preferential option for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to acquire the property. The option price shall be equal to the price paid by the acquirer plus thirty percent (30%) of the difference between the market value of the lands and their purchase price. In the case of those farms retained for a period longer than ten (10) years by the titleholders, including in said term the period of possession as an usufructuary, an additional increment of two percent (2%) a year shall be granted after the fifth year of the usufruct has ended. The Commonwealth may exercise preferential option within a term not to exceed one hundred and twenty (120) days from the time the offer is formally made. Once said term has elapsed, the acquirer shall be free to sell his farm subject to the other requirements imposed by §§ 592—596 of this title.
(g) With the prior authorization of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Planning Board and the Regulations and Permits Administration may authorize the segregation of a maximum of three (3) lots of up to eight hundred (800) square meters each, provided these segregation are devoted to the construction and exclusive use as dwellings, for the children of the title holders. In order to obtain said authorization, the children of the title holders must provide authentic proof of the fact that they do not have the financial resources to purchase a plot of land on which to construct their dwelling.
These segregation shall be authorized according to the planning studies conducted by the Department of Agriculture and/or the agency, so that the agricultural potential and use of the remainder of the property is not affected.
The title holder shall obtain the authorization in writing from the Department of Agriculture and the agency upon which this is delegated, regarding the location and/or construction of the dwelling; Provided, That these segregation[s] shall only be applied for by the first title holder of the property and not by subsequent title holders or acquirers. These segregation[s] shall not include the lot where the dwelling of the title holder of the property is located, which shall be part of the property and shall not be the subject to any segregation whatsoever.
History —July 3, 1974, No. 107, Part 1, p. 352, § 3; May 10, 1976, No. 33, p. 96, § 3; Aug. 5, 1989, No. 45, p. 152, § 2; Sept. 6, 1996, No. 191, § 1.