The Todos Santos PDU

What is the Todos Santos PDU?

The Todos Santos urban development plan, commonly referred to as the PDU, was developed for our community over a decade ago. It laid out a roadmap for our community that ensured that growth would not exceed our resources and would protect our environment from over development. But right now we are in a battle to protect our current PDU because the municipality in La Paz is attempting to completely change that plan and their plan threatens our community with significant over development that could add 150,242 new residents to our small town without addressing our infrastructure needs and scarce water resources. 

The Program for Urban Development (PDU) for Todos Santos, El Pescadero, and Las Playitas was published in the Official Bulletin of the State Government, No. 40, dated August 10, 2012, and has been active and legally binding for the past ten years. The plan covers more than thirty miles of coastline from Elias Calles on the southern border to Agua Blanca on the northern border. 

Our current plan was developed:

• To promote the sustainable development of the natural areas within the region.

• To prevent and eliminate the contamination of our arroyos, streams, lagoons, and beaches.

• To maintain the beaches as preservation and recreation zones, as well as providing convenient access to them.

• To preserve permanent bodies of water, wetlands, and estuaries, as well as mangrove areas.

• To promote tourism and position the region as an attractive destination by promoting its stunning natural landscapes.

• To develop tourism areas with low environmental impact.

• To educate the population about the importance of ecosystems and the balance between the natural environment and urban development.

The PDU provides technical zoning regulations and establishes conditions, characteristics, requirements, and other elements that must be adhered to by landowners, contractors, and developers for each of the zones identified on the Regional Map.

For Construction Projects in Each Region, the PDU:

• Regulates permitted land uses by restricting some areas for residential development only.

• Establishes the maximum number of homes allowed per hectare along with minimum lot sizes.

• Establishes the maximum allowable lot coverage area for the first floor and all floors of construction.

• Restricts the number of levels and heights allowed for each area.

• Includes a requirement for water flow and vegetation studies prior to lot clearing.

• Provides requirements for government approval for changing water courses and regulates the diversion of water.

Impacted Tourist Residential Zones 

The main violations of the PDU have occurred mostly in the coastal zone tourist residential areas of Todos Santos and Pescadero. In these areas, the PDU allows:

• Only single-family residences and a casita. 

• Only 4 homes per hectare of land.

• Minimum lot size of 2,000 square meters.

• Minimum lot frontage of 25 meters.

• Maximum first floor lot coverage of 25 percent of lot size.

• Maximum lot coverage of 60 percent of lot size for all floors combined.

• Permitted levels: 2 stories and 7.5 meters or 24.5 feet within 400 meters of the coastline and 3 stories and 10.5 meters or 34.5 meters beyond 400 meters from the coastline.

• No commercial buildings or apartment buildings in the tourist area.

Action Plan

• As an organization, we will actively support current development rules and environmental protection laws and work to expand them when necessary. 

• We will act against all illegal construction on the dunes and work with permitting agencies to ensure residences, hotels, and commercial buildings are not constructed in single-family-only areas in accordance with the PDU.

• We will lobby the municipality in La Paz to create the Development Plan Oversight Committee called for in the PDU and ensure the committee reviews all plans for compliance before construction permits are issued.

• We will alert the authorities and legal counsel as soon as illegal building activities are discovered.