2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 20D - Sports and Recreation Department (2004) › § 444g - Sports and recreational facilities

(a) Concerning real estate, the Secretary may:
(1) Convey ownership of community recreational and sports installations to municipalities, in agreement with §§ 814—834 of Title 21, known as the “Municipalization of Sports and Recreation Community Installations Act” and the regulations adopted thereof;
(2) sell in a public auction the lands ceded to the Department for recreational use that have lost their usefulness, at market value, with the previous authorization of the Puerto Rico Planning Board; Provided, That in those cases where the land without recreational value was of a nature that made a public auction undesirable, such as an irregular configuration, insufficient surface or inadequate topography, among others, the Secretary may sell it directly to adjoining owners for its market value, with prior authorization from the Puerto Rico Planning Board;
(3) lease, grant the usufruct or the management of any recreational or sports installation owned by the Department or by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under its jurisdiction for recreational or sports use, to other agencies, municipalities, agencies of the United States federal government or private recreational organizations;
(4) acquire plots of land that may be developed as recreational or sports installations, with prior authorization from the Puerto Rico Planning Board, and
(5) sell any lands assigned to the Department for recreational use that have lost the same, at the appraised value thereof, without undergoing a bid process, to charitable, faith-based, and community organizations that provide social services to adjacent communities. Provided, that these organizations submit attesting evidence from the Department of State of Puerto Rico that certifies their status as charitable organizations pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Management and conservation.—
(1) Primary responsibility for management and conservation, maintenance, cleaning and decoration of the sports and recreational installations shall be the duty of their owner.
(2) Management, conservation and control of leased sports and recreational installations, the usufruct or management of which has been ceded and those transferred to municipalities in agreement with §§ 814—834 of Title 21, shall be controlled by the regulations issued for such purposes by the Secretary.
(c) Licenses to operate the facilities.— The Secretary shall delegate on the Permit Management Office the authority and duty to evaluate and issue such permits and recommendations under his/her jurisdiction which regulate the activities directly or indirectly related to the development and use of lands in Puerto Rico, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d)(2) of this section.
(d) Planning and authorization.—
(1) The Secretary shall establish through regulations the rules for planning, location and construction of sports and recreational facilities, in addition to any other rules established by law, which shall be strictly complied with by all natural or juridical persons, public or private entity, constructing or ordering the construction of recreational and sports facilities in the Island, with the exception of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Such regulations shall be submitted before the Planning Board prior to the adoption thereof in order to receive comments that shall be adopted by the Secretary.
(2) The Permit Management Office shall have the authority and duty to evaluate and issue such permits and recommendations that regulate activities related, directly or indirectly, to the development and use of land in Puerto Rico. The Permit Management Office shall evaluate and issue or deny such recommendations and permits, pursuant to the provisions established by the applicable laws and regulations. The Secretary shall oversee the petitioners’ compliance with the permits and recommendations, whose evaluation and issue has been delegated to the Permit Management Office, and such violations determined to have occurred shall be addressed and adjudicated by the Office of the Chief Permit Inspector.
(3) The location and construction of facilities in violation of the planning rules of the Department shall entail the fines and sanctions provided in § 444v of this title.
History —Jan. 8, 2004, No. 8, § 10; Dec. 1, 2009, No. 161, § 19.7; May 18, 2011, No. 74, § 2.