The High Court of Justice of Catalonia has rejected the appeal of the Palamós City Council and has confirmed the annulment of the special contributions foreseen to finance the urbanization works of the second phase of La Fosca, a project valued at 3.8 million euros.
The resolution ratifies the sentence issued by the contentious-administrative court number 1 of Girona, which had already overturned the financing system proposed by the council. The core of the conflict was in the municipal decision to charge the affected residents 90% of the cost of the works.
The court rejects the economic distribution proposed by the council
The TSJC concludes that the City Council did not sufficiently justify either the distribution of costs or the existence of a special benefit for the owners of the affected area. The chamber considers that the works do not only benefit the residents of that specific sector, but are useful for the entire municipality.
The ruling also highlights that the imposition of taxes cannot be determined based on the type of occupation of a property or the socioeconomic profile of an area. With this criterion, the high court endorses the reasoning already established in the first instance.
A pending action in the area of La Fosca
The second phase of urbanization affects the sector comprised between the Fosca road, the Sant Joan cemetery road, the old Fosca road, and Church street. The new POUM of Palamós had been approved on October 10, 2008, while the project for this second phase went ahead in the summer of 2022 with the forecast to start the following year.
That calendar, however, has not been met. The procedures are currently halted, in a context marked by controversy over how the cost of the action should be assumed.
Sentence in costs to the City Council
In addition to dismissing the appeal, the TSJC has imposed on the Palamós City Council the costs of the procedure, with a limit of 2,000 euros. In this judicial phase, the council was represented by the lawyer Sebastià Martínez de Trincheria.
The resolution leaves without effect the formula with which the City Council intended to pass on most of the investment to the owners of the sector and reinforces the thesis that it is an action of general interest within Palamós.