Physical accessibility: Condition of the site, building, structure, portion thereof, or means of egress that allows the movement and use by all persons according to the basic principles of Universal Design, under conditions of equality, safety, comfort, and autonomy.
Exceptional access for residential use: That access which, by exception, enables the subdivision (fraccionamiento) of a plot of land for residential use, within the urban quadrant or in the expansion area of the urban quadrant; which has restrictions regarding its length, width, and the number of lots it serves.
Access by easement (servidumbre) to parcels for agricultural, forest, livestock, or mixed use: That means of access to a parcel with agricultural, livestock, forest, or mixed use, resulting from a subdivision (fraccionamiento), which is due to the productive nature of the property it serves.
Sidewalk: Strip of land within the right-of-way that extends from the property line to the outer line of the curb and gutter or green strip if one exists, and which is reserved for pedestrian traffic. It must comply with the characteristics established in the Regulation to the Law on Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, Executive Decree No. 26831-MP, its amendments, and regulations that replace it.
Wastewater: Water that has received use and whose quality has been modified by the incorporation of contaminants.
Storm sewer system: Public network of pipes used to collect and transport rainwater to its discharge point.
Sanitary sewer system: System formed by collectors, sub-collectors, accessory works, pipes, or conduits generally closed that carry ordinary, special, or both types of wastewater, to be treated and disposed of in compliance with the discharge quality standards established by the Regulation on Discharge and Reuse of Wastewater, Executive Decree No. 33601-MINAE-S, its amendments, or regulations that replace it.
Alignment: Distance or minimum physical limit for the siting of a building with respect to public roads, waterways, streams, springs, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, springs (nacientes), maritime-terrestrial zone (zona marítimo terrestre), railway lines, high-tension power lines, special zones; it is issued by the competent entity.
Building height: Vertical distance measured from the minimum ground level in contact with the building, to the top beam of the last floor. Basements and semi-basements are not considered as part of this calculation.
Block layout: Size and shape of blocks or groups of lots.
Road widening: Process by which the width of the right-of-way must be adjusted, in accordance with the provisions established by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport on national roads, or by the Municipality on local roads.
Front setback (Antejardín): Distance between the property line and the building line, which must be reserved as a green area. It implies the issuance of an alignment granted by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or the Municipality, as applicable, which establishes a restriction for building, without the portion of the plot of land losing its condition of private property.
Construction area: The total sum of the areas of the various floors that constitute a building, excluding rooftops, open balconies, and porticos. It is also known as floor area.
Sheltered area: A seating area that provides protection from sun and rain, which includes the roof structure, generally without perimeter walls; it must also include spaces for sitting.
Non-developable area: That area upon which restrictions for subdivision (fraccionamiento) or urbanization apply, such as: established reserves, hazard zones according to the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response, easements (servidumbres), and alignments established by competent entities.
Previously urbanized area: All those urbanizations whose transfer of public areas has been duly approved and received by the municipality.
Urban area: The territorial scope of development of a population center. It includes the urban quadrant or any other city system developed radially or polygonally. It may be located inside or outside the Greater Metropolitan Area.
Developable area: That area upon which no restrictions apply, suitable for the development of subdivisions (fraccionamientos) and urbanizations. It comprises, depending on its type, areas for roadways, lots, children's playgrounds, parks, and communal facilities.
Areas subject to urban planning control (control urbanístico): Administrative territorial circumscription, the delimitation of which corresponds to the application radius of a regulatory plan. It is the area over which vigilance and supervision are exercised regarding compliance with the set of urban planning limitations established in the regulatory plan.
Total area of the property (Área total del predio): Area indicated on the cadastral map that corresponds to the developable area and the non-developable area.
Forest (Bosque): Native or autochthonous ecosystem, intervened or not, regenerated by natural succession or other forestry techniques, which occupies an area of 2 or more hectares, characterized by the presence of mature trees of different ages, species, and varied sizes, with 1 or more canopies covering more than 70% of that area and where there are more than 60 trees per hectare of 15 or more centimeters in diameter measured at breast height, as established in the Forest Law (Ley Forestal), Law No. 7575 (Ley N°7575), or the regulations that replace it.
Roadway (Calzada): Part of the right-of-way intended for vehicular traffic, comprised between curbs, ditches, or drainage trenches.
Marginal streets or roads (Calles o carreteras marginales): All those roadways adjacent and generally parallel to restricted-access roads, which allow entry to the latter at highway intersections. At the discretion of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) for national roads, or of the Municipality for local streets, any special, national, or regional road may require marginal streets for access to the lots that front it.
Local streets (Calles locales): In accordance with the General Law of Public Roads (Ley General de Caminos Públicos), these are public roads included within the quadrant of an urban area, not classified as urban traverses of the national road network (Red vial nacional).
Local roads (Caminos vecinales): In accordance with the General Law of Public Roads, these are public roads that provide direct access to farms and other economically rural activities; they connect hamlets and towns to the national road network, and are characterized by low traffic volumes and high proportions of short-distance local trips.
Wearing course (Capa de rodamiento): The uppermost layer of the roadway that permits the safe and comfortable traffic of vehicles.
Restricted-access roads (Carreteras de acceso restringido): Those public roads defined as such, on which access to adjacent properties, whether entry or exit of vehicles, is only permitted at intersections or at different sites in the case of exceptions contemplated in the Regulation of Restricted Access Roads (Reglamento de Carreteras de Acceso Restringido), Executive Decree No. 35586-MOPT (Decreto Ejecutivo N° 35586- MOPT) and its amendments or the regulations that replace it. On these roads, access to adjacent properties is permitted via marginal streets or roads.
Population center (Centro de población): Any locality that, by being occupied by a population, has urban growth through the construction of dwellings and public works.
Cadastral Certificate (Certificado Catastral): Document issued by the Real Property Registry (Registro Inmobiliario), by which the information contained in the cadastral map, made official by executive decree, is certified. The information it contains is literal, numerical, and graphic, allowing easy interpretation for the user. (Thus added by Board of Directors Agreement, Ordinary Session No. 6462, Article II, Section 1) of August 27, 2020, published in Scope No. 236 of Gazette No. 224 of September 7, 2020) Land use certificate (Certificado de uso de suelo): Document issued by the municipality that certifies the conformity of the use of a property, through the use of the physical structure settled or incorporated into it, or both cases, regarding class, location, form, intensity, and possibility of its utilization.
Land Conforming Use Certifier (Certificador de Uso Conforme del Suelo): Professional incorporated into the College of Agronomists of Costa Rica (Colegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Costa Rica), authorized and accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) to conduct studies of soil use, management, and conservation established by the Law of Soil Use, Management and Conservation (Ley de Uso, Manejo y Conservación de Suelos), Law No. 7779 (Ley N°7779) or the regulations that replace it.
Coverage (Cobertura): The horizontal projection of a structure or the area of land covered by such a structure.
Residential complex (Conjunto Residencial): The development of urbanizations that includes, in addition to the enabling of properties through the opening of roads and provision of services, the construction of housing units.
Road continuity (Continuidad vial): Geometric design process by which the road proposal for an urbanization or residential complex integrates continuously with the existing road network.
Urban planning control (Control urbanístico): Vigilance and supervision regarding compliance with the set of urban planning limitations established in the current regulations.
Urban quadrant (Cuadrante urbano): The urban area or territorial scope of development of a population center, where the majority of goods and services, the road structure, and its immediate area of influence are found; urban quadrants are located within urban districts. For the purposes of applying article 40 of the Urban Planning Law (Ley de Planificación Urbana), the quadrant is considered the city within the urban quadrant.
Density (Densidad): The ratio of the number of inhabitants per hectare on a surface area intended for residential use.
Right-of-way (Derecho de vía): That area or surface of land owned by the State, intended for the use of a road, which includes the roadway, green areas, and sidewalks, with adjacent areas used for all complementary installations and works. This area is delimited on both sides by the boundaries of the adjacent properties at their property line.
Geometric design (Disen~o Geométrico): Consists of locating the layout of a highway or street on a property.
Site design (Diseño de sitio): Basic information about an urbanization or residential complex project included in a sheet, which contains the distribution of lots, indication of accesses, public areas, contour lines at every meter, name and type of project, location, adjacent properties, frontage and depth of lots, building line, ramps, encumbrances on the property, road widening, details of sidewalks, pavements, typical curve, cross-sections of streets, noting the protection areas defined in the Forest Law, Law No. 7575, its amendments, or the regulations that replace it; it also contains numbered lots, streets with numbers or names, and other elements. It also includes the area table according to the project type, and a table with the requirements of the current regulatory plan.
Availability of water supply service (Disponibilidad de servicio para abastecimiento de agua): Real and current existence, not future or potential, of the necessary works and infrastructure and water supply capacity to meet the service needs of a specific population.
Urban District (Distrito Urbano): The administrative territorial circumscription whose delimitation corresponds to the application radius of the Regulatory Plan.
Subdivision exception for residential use (Excepción de fraccionamiento para uso residencial): A subdivision (fraccionamiento) by which it is impossible to divide a property into lots with direct access to the public road, so access is achieved through an exceptional access for residential use.
Community facilities (Facilidades comunales): Areas for public use within a subdivision for urban development purposes (fraccionamiento con fines urbanísticos), an urbanization, or a residential complex, intended for the construction of community infrastructure for education, health, recreation, charity, or other activities for public use, as determined by the Municipal Council (Concejo Municipal).
Farm/finca (Finca): The real estate registered in the Real Property Registry as a legal unit, according to the Regulation to the National Cadastre Law (Reglamento a la Ley de Catastro Nacional), Executive Decree No. 34331-J (Decreto Ejecutivo N°34331-J), and its amendments or the regulations that replace it.
Subdivider (Fraccionador): Owner of a property where a subdivision is carried out.
Subdivision (Fraccionamiento): The division of any property for the purpose of selling, transferring, negotiating, distributing, exploiting, or using the resulting parcels separately; it includes both partitions by judicial or extrajudicial adjudication, localizations of undivided rights, and mere segregations under the same owner, as well as those located in urbanizations or new constructions that are of interest to the control of the formation and urban use of real estate.
Subdivision for urban development purposes (Fraccionamiento con fines urbanísticos): Any subdivision carried out facing an existing public street, located outside an urban quadrant or a previously urbanized area. All subdivisions consisting of 8 lots or more, and whose total area is equal to or greater than 900 square meters, shall be approved by INVU and the municipality, in that order respectively. Subdivisions of fewer than 8 lots shall be approved only by the Municipality. The minimum areas of the lots must respect what is indicated in article 9 of this regulation.
Subdivision of parcels for agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed purposes (Fraccionamiento de parcelas con fines agrícolas, pecuarios, forestales o mixto): Any subdivision that has access through an agricultural, livestock, or forestry easement (servidumbre).
Simple subdivision (Fraccionamiento simple): Any subdivision carried out facing an existing public street, located within an urban quadrant or a previously urbanized area.
Access strip (Franja de acceso): Any strip that serves to access the interior lot resulting from a subdivision with frontage less than the standard; its area forms part of the interior property.
Green strip (Franja verde): A grassed and wooded area located in the right-of-way. It may be located between the roadway and the sidewalk or between the sidewalk and the property line.
Municipal Government (Gobierno Municipal): Deliberative body called Council (Concejo) and composed of the aldermen determined by law, in addition to a mayor and their respective substitute, all popularly elected.
Infiltration (Infiltración): Disposal of wastewater into the subsoil.
Agricultural infrastructure (Infraestructura agropecuaria): Any structure or installation placed on agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed parcels, such as warehouses, stables, agricultural workers' dwellings, greenhouses, wastewater treatment plants, biodigesters, ponds, water reservoirs, corrals, dairies, milking parlors, stabling facilities, pigsties, poultry farms, farms dedicated to other minor livestock species, silos, drinking troughs, fences, irrigation and drainage works, areas for receiving, classifying, cleaning, dry or refrigerated storage, and packing of primary agricultural products; internal roads and livestock walkways; which serves the purpose of sustaining and facilitating agricultural activity. Stated as such in article 8 of Executive Decree 37911-MAG (Decreto Ejecutivo 37911-MAG) of August 19, 2013, and its amendments.
Real estate (Inmueble): The physical unit, registered or not in the Real Property Registry, according to the Regulation to the National Cadastre Law, Executive Decree No. 34331-J, and its amendments or the regulations that replace it.
Inspection (Inspección): Vigilance or oversight that the responsible professional or group of professionals provides during the execution process of a work, to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with the best work standards, construction plans, technical specifications, and other documents that form part of the contract.
Island (Isla): Space on roads, highways, or streets with multiple lanes that divides vehicular traffic. Generally, it is built with a curb, like a sidewalk. It can be pedestrianized with a concrete finish, or with vegetation.
Children's playgrounds (Juegos infantiles): Areas for public use within a subdivision for urban development purposes, an urbanization, or a residential complex, containing equipment specifically intended for children's play.
Building line (Línea de construcción): A line, generally parallel to the property frontage line, that indicates the distance of the frontal setback of the building or required front garden. This demarcates the permitted building limit within the property.
Property line (Línea de propiedad): The line that demarcates the boundaries of the property or specific land; also known as the boundary.
Lot (Lote): The part into which a whole is divided for its distribution.
Exterior lot (Lote exterior): Property resulting from a subdivision of lots with frontage less than the standard, which must be located facing the public road and comply with the minimum lot dimensions established in this Regulation.
Interior lot (Lote interior): Property resulting from a subdivision of lots with frontage less than the standard, which must be located in the interior part of the parent farm (finca madre) and which contains an access strip with frontage less than the standard. Also known as a flag lot (lote bandera).
Official map of urbanization or residential complex (Mapa oficial de urbanización o conjunto residencial): The plan or set of plans accurately indicating the position of the layouts of public roads and areas to reserve for community uses and services in an urbanization or residential complex. It must have the approval of the competent entities in the matter.
Municipality (Municipalidad): State legal entity, with its own assets and full legal personality and capacity to execute all types of acts and contracts necessary to fulfill its purposes.
Children's play area core (Núcleo de juegos infantiles): Children's playground equipment that includes attractions for each age range.
Urban infrastructure works (Obras de infraestructura urbana): Those that provide support to the development of activities and the functioning of cities, in such a way that they permit the use of urban land. This includes aspects such as road systems, electricity service, potable water, gas, sanitary sewerage network, telecommunications, stormwater sanitation, solid waste evacuation, among others.
Parcel with forest cover (Parcela con cobertura boscosa): Cadastral unit represented by a minimum portion of land covered with forest (bosque), as established in the Forest Law, Law No. 7575.
Agricultural, livestock, or forestry parcel (Parcela agrícola, pecuaria o forestal): Complete physical unit represented by a minimum portion of land, where a primary agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed activity is carried out, consisting of land arranged for obtaining plant or animal products and including areas dedicated to fallow and protection zones for rivers and streams, resulting from a planned process of agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed subdivision from a parent farm.
Park (Parque): Wooded and grassed areas for public use within a subdivision for urban development purposes, an urbanization, or a residential complex, intended for recreation, rest, and ornamentation purposes for the community.
Urban Planning (Planificación Urbana): The continuous and comprehensive process of analysis and formulation of plans and regulations on urban development, aimed at ensuring the safety, health, comfort, and well-being of the community.
Survey plan (Plano de agrimensura): The physical plan or plan in electronic format, representing a real estate in graphic and mathematical form, which complies with the standards established by the Regulation to the National Cadastre Law, Executive Decree No. 34331-J, and its amendments or the regulations that replace it.
Cadastral plan (Plano catastrado): The survey plan, physical or in electronic format, which has been registered with the National Cadastre (Catastro Nacional) and its effects are defined in the Regulation to the National Cadastre Law, Executive Decree No. 34331-J, and its amendments or the regulations that replace it.
Regulatory Plan (Plan Regulador): The local planning instrument that defines, in a set of plans, maps, regulations, and any other graphic document or supplement, the development policy and plans for population distribution, land uses (usos de la tierra), circulation routes, public services, community facilities, and construction, conservation, and rehabilitation of urban areas.
Wastewater treatment plant (Planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales): Set of infrastructure, equipment, and other elements necessary to execute the wastewater treatment processes, including ordinary type, special type, and contributions by infiltration; includes special or non-conventional treatments required to meet the discharge quality of the wastewater. Also includes the correct disposal of waste generated from each treatment unit, according to national legislation and applicable technical regulations.
Property/predio (Predio): Portion formed by one or several contiguous parcels, interdependent with each other, and which, located in a single province, belongs to one or several owners or possessors.
Budget (Presupuesto): Detail of the calculation that the responsible professional performs to determine the value of a work at market price. This calculation must include the breakdown of the different work units and their corresponding direct costs, as well as indirect ones.
Responsible professional (Profesional responsable): Those considered responsible professionals in engineering and architecture are those who are enabled and incorporated into the Federated College of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica (Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica, CFIA) and possess the faculties and responsibilities established in the Construction Law No. 833 (Ley de Construcciones Nº. 833), the Organic Law of CFIA No. 3663 (Ley Orgánica del CFIA Nº. 3663) and its amendments or the regulations that replace it, as well as other regulations determined by the respective Professional College.
Owner (Propietario): Natural or legal person who exercises dominion over real estate through public deed.
Infiltration test (Prueba de infiltración): Procedure to evaluate the amount of water that penetrates the soil in a given time interval, and thus define the permeability of the soil and the transit of contaminants from the surface to the aquifers.
Gradient (Rasante): Line representing, in elevation, the surface of a road, bridge, or work in general, and which normally coincides with its longitudinal axis.
Cantonal Road Network (Red Vial Cantonal): Its administration corresponds to the municipalities. It shall be constituted by the following roads, not included by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport within the National Road Network (Red Vial Nacional): a. Local roads (Caminos vecinales): Public roads that provide direct access to farms and other economically rural activities; they connect hamlets and towns to the National Road Network and are characterized by low traffic volumes and high proportions of short-distance local trips. b. Local streets (Calles locales): Public roads included within the quadrant of an urban area, not classified as urban traverses of the National Road Network. c. Unclassified roads (Caminos no clasificados): Public roads not classified within the categories described above, such as bridle paths, paths, trails, providing access to very few users, who defray the maintenance and improvement costs.
National Road Network (Red Vial Nacional): Its administration corresponds to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which shall define it according to the requirements determined for such purpose by the Executive Branch, by way of agreement. This network shall be constituted by the following classes of public roads: a. Primary roads (Carreteras primarias): Network of trunk routes, intended to serve as corridors, characterized by relatively high traffic volumes and a high proportion of international, interprovincial, or long-distance trips. b. Secondary roads (Carreteras secundarias): Routes that connect important canton capitals—not served by primary roads—as well as other population, production, or tourism centers, generating a considerable number of interregional or inter-cantonal trips. c. Tertiary roads (Carreteras terciarias): Routes that serve as traffic collectors for primary and secondary roads, and which constitute the main roads for trips within a region, or between important districts.
Regularity of the lot (Regularidad del lote): Refers to the shape of the perimeter of a lot, property (predio), or farm (finca), with respect to a regular geometric figure formed by the smallest circumscribed rectangle.
Fill (Relleno): The material used to replace, or the act of replacing material removed during construction. Material placed, or the act of placing material adjacent to structures.
Urban Renewal (Renovación Urbana): The improvement process aimed at eradicating slum areas and rehabilitating urban areas in decay or in a defective state, and the conservation of urban areas and prevention of their deterioration.
Repair (Reparación): Renewal of any part of a work, to leave it in conditions equal to or better than the original ones.
Setbacks (Retiros): The unbuilt open spaces comprised between a structure and the boundaries of the respective property (predio).
Frontal setback (Retiro frontal): Term equivalent to front garden.
Lateral setback (Retiro lateral): Unbuildable open space, comprised between the lateral boundary of the real estate (inmueble) and the closest part of the building.
Posterior setback (Retiro posterior): Unbuildable open space comprised between the posterior boundary of the real estate and the closest part of the building.
Public services (Servicios públicos): Those services that permit solving the needs of the population, such as lighting, potable water, cleaning, health, telephone, and transportation, administered by the State or by private companies.
Indispensable public services (Servicios públicos indispensables): Those that provide potable water availability and electrical service.
Traditional basic telephone service (Servicio telefónico básico tradicional): That which has as its object the communication of users, through circuit-switched exchanges for voice and data, in a predominantly wireline network, with generalized access to the population; value-added services associated with it are excluded.
Potable water supply system (Sistema de abastecimiento de agua potable): The set of water resource sources and the infrastructure and equipment for its catchment, potabilization, and distribution, which includes: potabilization plants, storage tanks, adduction and conduction lines, pumping stations, wells, distribution networks, hydrants, water meters, and other elements necessary for supplying potable water to a population nucleus.
Wastewater treatment system (Sistema de tratamiento de aguas residuales): Set of physical, chemical, and biological processes whose purpose is to improve the quality of wastewater. It can be carried out by means of the treatment systems established in the Regulation for the Approval of Wastewater Treatment Systems (Reglamento de Aprobación de Sistemas de Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales), Executive Decree No. 39887-S-MINAE (Decreto Ejecutivo N°39887-S-MINAE), its amendments, or the regulations that replace it.
Stormwater system (Sistema pluvial): Set of pipe lines or conduits, open or closed, and accessory works that convey water from precipitation to natural disposal sites. Known as the storm sewer system.
Soil (Suelo): Any unconsolidated material composed of different solid particles, with gases or liquids included. In construction, the word is normally applied to the ground supporting the works.
Repair shops (Talleres de reparación): Any shop intended for the repair of electrical appliances, footwear, clothing, and bicycles. Cabinetry shops, carpentry shops, or automotive mechanics shops are not considered within this category.
Tank (Tanque): Elevated or underground deposit for storing a liquid, other than flammable, corrosive materials, or other types of hazardous goods.
Septic tank (Tanque séptico): Unit that receives ordinary or special wastewater to provide primary treatment consisting of phase separation.
Housing unit (Unidad habitacional): Any building intended for a dwelling.
Urbanization (Urbanización): The subdivision and enabling of land for urban purposes, through the opening of streets and provision of services.
Commercial use urbanization (Urbanización de uso comercial): Any urbanization where all the resulting lots are intended for commercial activities of goods and services.
Industrial use urbanization (Urbanización de uso industrial): Any urbanization where all the resulting lots are intended for material operations carried out for obtaining, transforming, or transporting one or more industrial products.
Residential use urbanization (Urbanización de uso residencial): Any urbanization where the resulting lots are intended for housing; in addition, a number of commercial and private service lots are designated to satisfy the need for this type of service in the urbanization.
Mixed-use urbanization (Urbanización de uso mixto): Any urbanization where the resulting lots simultaneously include residential, commercial, or industrial areas.
Land use (Uso de suelo): The utilization of a land, the physical structure settled or incorporated into it, or both cases, regarding class, form, or intensity of its exploitation.
Mixed use (Uso mixto): Utilization of a property (predio), or the physical structure settled or incorporated into it, which is intended, in addition to residential use, for commercial or industrial use; the uses must be compatible with the zoning (zonificación). In the case of parcels for agricultural, livestock, or forestry purposes, it is the utilization of a property with more than one of these uses.
V:H: Relationship between the Vertical and Horizontal distance, understood as the slope that gives rise to an inclined surface.
Public Road (Vía Publica): Any land of public domain and common use, which by provision of the administrative authority is intended for free transit in accordance with planning laws and regulations and which is indeed already intended for that public use. According to their class, public roads shall also be intended to ensure the conditions of aeration and illumination of the buildings that border them; to facilitate access to adjacent properties (predios); for the installation of any channeling, artifact, apparatus, or accessory belonging to a public work or intended for a public use.
Approval (Visado): Action of recognizing or examining an instrument, document, or certification to grant it approval.
Dwelling (Vivienda): Any locale or enclosure, fixed or mobile, built, converted, or arranged, used for the purposes of accommodating people, permanently or temporarily.
Single-family dwelling (Vivienda unifamiliar): Building provided with habitable areas intended to shelter a single family.
Zoning (Zonificación): The division of a territorial circumscription into use zones, for the purpose of its rational development.