2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART I - Public Planning (§§ 1 — 229ccc) › Chapter 10 - School Zones (§§ 206 — 206l) › § 206a - Regulation of School Zones

In order to comply with the purposes of this chapter, the Planning Board, in consultation with the Secretary of Education and with the Police Corps of Puerto Rico, shall adopt School Zone Regulations and shall review the regulations needed to attain the following ends:
(a) Establish a uniform public policy within the modern planning concept that will provide the most effective protection and safety of the students and teachers while at school or in its surroundings and that will expedite and encourage the best development of the school community’s work.
(b) Facilitate control of the activities carried out in the school surroundings in order to encourage those that develop and protect the school environment and prevent the proliferation of businesses and other activities that are harmful and incompatible with school activities.
(c) Designate the activities and businesses which are harmful to school zones pursuant to the prohibitions regarding their location in the school surroundings as established by the laws in effect, or when, in its judgment, these activities or businesses are incompatible with the purposes of this chapter. Pursuant to the provisions of this section, and without it being understood as a limitation, businesses for the sale of alcoholic beverages, horse racing and lottery betfing parlors, establishments operating electronic game machines, pin-ball machines, pool parlors and other games of chance, cockpits and night clubs, discotheques and similar entertainment centers shall be designated as harmful businesses and activities. The activities and businesses established before the determination of the school zone, herein classified as harmful, may only operate aside from school hours: two (2) hours after school closes until two (2) before school opens, except businesses such as restaurants and cafeterias in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is incidental or accessory, which are not intrinsically harmful. The Permit Management Office shall determine after consulting the Department of Education if this incidental or accessory sale of alcoholic beverages in contrary to the purposes of the designated school zone.
The Permit Management Office may issue a certificate of legal non-conformity whenever a harmful use to the zone has been determined. The holder of the certificate shall comply with the conditions or orders imposed by the Permit Management Office within the term of one (1) year, in order to adjust its use to the zone.
The operation of businesses, heavy industries, commercial establishments, workshops or technological service centers which produce smoke, gasses, noise, vibrations and other similar situations that may adversely affect health and the environment, shall not be allowed in the school zone [that comprises the 200 radial meters from the limits of the school property].
(d) Specify the school zones’ characteristics, taking into consideration each school’s educational level, the density of the school population, whether it is urban or rural, the nature of the educational offerings of the school and the existence of special education programs.
(e) Provide for control of the development and use of grounds, buildings and structures in the school zones, whether public or private, including incidental or related uses, in a manner compatible with the purposes of this chapter.
(f) Provide for the establishment and development of the school zones of other schools, as well as libraries, reading rooms, cultural centers, theater halls, galleries or museums, handicraft centers, music establishments and academies, bookstores, school supply stores and other similar activities.
(g) Provide for the development of passive recreation parks and facilities for the active practice of sports with special emphasis on facilities for the recreation and rehabilitation of disabled students who attend special education programs.
(h) Provide for the establishing and development in school zones of light industries, businesses, workshops and technological service centers, whose operations do not pose a hazard to the safety, health and well-being of the students and teachers, or interrupt or upset the school environment, provided they have their respective permits issued by the corresponding government agencies, which may stimulate the students’ vocational interests and are potential sources of employment or training for our youth.
(i) Prohibit the location of new schools in places where the existing nature of the zone, as well as the activities, businesses, land use, traffic conditions and other characteristics of the area where there is a proposal to locate a school are incompatible with the characteristics of a school zone and the necessary environment for educational pursuits.
History —July 13, 1988, No. 84, p. 345, § 2; Aug. 20, 1997, No. 91, § 2.