An operation is being carried out by Register and Licenses Director Luis Enrique Hurtado Gomar to verify that businesses and restaurants along the malecón are not exceeding the expansion permits they have received.
“We regulate the expansion. But we are checking because sometimes it is exceeding in terms of the invasion. Right now, we have an operation that has not been completed. We are going to verify, because some restaurants were given, say, 30 meters and they grab 50, or some have 50 and grab up to 120.”
He added that “we are going to put order to this because what we want is for it to be respected, for it to be well organized. So yes, permission has been given to some, but only as long as they comply with the regulatory measures.”
The abuse by restaurateurs and other service providers has already generated annoyance not only among regular passers-by, but also among tourists, because by hijacking almost half of the malecón, they have reduced the space for pedestrians and cyclists.
Hurtado said, “Regularly, we have given them up to 100 meters because they spread out… We try not to invade the part of the boardwalk, and the part where passers-by pass. If there is any complaint about an invasion, then we go and attend to it immediately, trying not to hinder visibility and for people to move freely.”
Expansions are charged approximately 200 pesos per month, and some restaurants have more expansion space than their own premises.
Another issue that has caused concern and annoyance among citizens, and particularly in the Romantic Zone, is the presence of dozens of street vendors that appear every day.
However, Luis Enrique Hurtado said that there are no permits for street vendors in any part of the municipality.