I bumped into a developer today that told me of some inspections that are going on in Costa Rica’s southern zone.

Since this is all just now happening I’m only able to report on what I know and have found on some news sites on the net.

There was apparently a large construction site that was shut down in a project that was called both “Hermosa Arriba” and “Playa Hermosa Arriba”. The project was cited for not staying within the confines of it’s building permit. The project went whipping right by its permitted size of 5,381 feet to construct a house of 37,673 feet.

Here are a couple of links to what I’ve found so far:

• AM Costa Rica’s report – English
• La Nacion (Sorry, the linked page has been deleted) – Spanish

The La Nacion article is the most in depth, and actually was written prior to the current inspections. The article cites the above mentioned oversized house.

The El Financiero’s report quotes a fellow as saying that “the coastal mountain range is bleeding”.  Evidently some aerial photos played a part in discovering developments that have cut roads and building sites into these jungle clad mountains without permits, or with questionably obtained permits.  One of the big concerns is the orange clay runoff that washes into the Pacific and that then chokes the coral.  This issue is likely to continue with some heads rolling as the mayor of the Canton de Osa is being investigated for his records of these events.

I have received some inquiries from concerned property owners as to what effect these inspections and development/construction closures may have on them.  So far I don’t see any concern to any of our clients.

The effect will most likely be that the land deals here will be a bit more arduous in the due diligence stage.  This has got to be a good thing since it is nature’s radical presence here that has attracted us all to The Zone in the first place.

The so far sketchy info and street talk that we are hearing here is that there are numerous projects being subjected to well deserved scrutiny. I’ll post more as I hear it.