CRIMES AGAINST URBAN PLANNING

Crimes against urban and land planning are regulated in articles 319 and 320 of the Penal Code. These laws protect the public system of land use allocation with the objective of ensuring rational and balanced planning of the environment. This is a matter that, in addition to being regulated by criminal law, depends on administrative law. Therefore, in order to determine whether a conduct constitutes an urban planning crime under the Criminal Code, it is also necessary to know the administrative regulations in force at the time of the facts.

What is an urban planning crime under the Penal Code?

The crime of illegal urbanization is typified in article 319 of the Penal Code. This article penalizes promoters, builders or technical directors who carry out urbanization, construction or building works that are not authorized. The applicable penalty varies depending on the type of soil where the works are executed:

• Specially protected land: If the works are carried out on land intended for roads, green areas, public property, or in places of scenic, ecological, artistic, historical or cultural value, the penalty is imprisonment for 1 year and 6 months to 4 years, a fine of 12 to 24 months, or three times the benefit obtained, and a special disqualification for a profession or trade for 1 to 4 years.
• Undeveloped land: If the works are carried out on undeveloped land, the prison sentence is from 1 to 3 years, maintaining the amount of the fine and the penalty of special disqualification.

In both cases, in order to be considered an offense, the works must not be licensable, which means that works that, although carried out without the necessary license, comply with the requirements to obtain it, are not penalized. The judge may also order the demolition of the work and confiscate the proceeds derived from the urban crime.

Legal entities may also be criminally liable for this offense, facing fines of 1 to 3 years or double to quadruple the benefit obtained. Additional penalties may include dissolution of the company, suspension of activities, closure of premises, prohibition of future activities, disqualification from receiving public subsidies and aid, and judicial intervention.

Types of urban planning offenses and their legal consequences

Crimes against urban planning, included in the Penal Code, encompass various actions that infringe urban planning and environmental regulations.

Crime of urban prevarication

The crime of urban prevarication, regulated in article 320 of the Penal Code, punishes authorities or public officials who, knowing their injustice, commit irregularities in the approval or granting of planning instruments, urbanization, subdivision or construction projects, or in the granting of licenses that contravene the rules of territorial or urban planning. Silencing violations or omitting mandatory inspections is also punishable.

Those responsible for this crime face special disqualification from public employment or office and from the exercise of the right to passive suffrage for 9 to 15 years, imprisonment for 1 year and 6 months to 4 years, and a fine of 12 to 24 months.

Examples of this offense include granting a license to build on land for a specific use other than the one granted, such as a mayor who approves the construction of a hotel on a plot of land intended for school use, or councilors who vote in favor of building on undeveloped land.