What Is The Risk?
This $700 million(!!) project covers 65 acres (26 ha) for luxury hotels, condos, villas, and townhouses. This would be enough housing for hundreds of people, but how much would the local community benefit? And we are concerned that a project of this size could cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem. Learn about the project at thedominicalproject.com.
We believe there could be serious problems with water availability (the developers even proposed a desalination plant!), and that the project could create additional stress on an already-problematic and fragile electrical grid. We are also concerned about proper disposal of the massive amounts of wastewater such a project would produce.
Local businesses would suffer in competition with the proposed luxury hotels and residences. The amount of public input the developers solicited for such a massive project strikes us as insufficient for an undertaking of this size.
What Is Osa Vive Doing About It?
We have studied the proposed Dominical development extensively, and our legal team has taken action. We want to ensure that the project does not run afoul of laws that protect forests and water resources.
Osa Vive hired a forest engineer to study the mountainous part of the project, inland from the highway (the developers call this Dominical Ridge). The engineer concluded that the land is largely forested and steep. Those two factors mean that the amount of building possible is significantly less than what the developers propose.
The part of the project on flat land, on the ocean side of the highway (the developers call this Playa Dominical), contains a flood zone and three springs. The legally required setbacks around these areas would further significantly reduce the amount of possible development.
In summary, Osa Vive is concerned that the project may not follow several important articles of Costa Rican law. Our attorneys are therefore working to nullify the permits granted to this project. We are confident that the work we have done will prevent the proposed project from happening, and we will not rest until all permits for this project have expired or been revoked or until we are certain that it fully complies with Costa Rican law.