340475, 340476, and 340477, located in the Mata Redonda District of the central canton of the province of San José, property of the State, legal ID No. 2-000-045522, under the administration of the Instituto Costarricense del Deporte y la Recreación.
4. For the lake of the Parque Metropolitano La Sabana, specific technical studies exist that indicate among its main problems: almost total loss of the lake's water mass, high sedimentation, water contamination from point and non-point sources (the lake exceeds, on average, more than 12 times the established limit for the presence of total coliforms), invasion of invasive species in the water surface, and loss of biodiversity. Additionally, the surrounding areas of the lake are devoid of plants that would permit the rehabilitation of the space.
5. Decreto 36416-MP-MD, of 14 February 2011, declared of Public Interest the "Proyecto de Recuperación del Parque Metropolitano La Sabana", which consists of the rehabilitation of its safety, sanitation, and ecological functionality through inter-institutional and gradual intervention with sanitation, tree-planting, maintenance, communication, monitoring, and evaluation actions; for which the necessary collaboration is required from institutions that can provide the resources, installed capacities, and knowledge necessary for such purposes; among these, the Municipalidad de San José, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes, the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud, and all other public institutions that can contribute elements for the ideal realization of the project. A norm that was supplemented by Decreto 38320-MINAE, of 13 February 2014, which declared the national convenience of the activities of said project related to sanitation and tree-planting, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation, as indicated in Article 1 of Decreto No. 38320-MINAE.
6. The implementation of that project has focused on the tree-planting of the Parque Metropolitano La Sabana, but has not included the actions necessary for the restoration of the lake and its surroundings, as well as those spaces for the practice of sport and recreation, which entails a crucial aspect, which is the safety of the park, one of its priority elements being the total lighting of the area; due to the well-known danger that arises during nighttime hours, as it is worth highlighting the benefits of having a public space where sport can be practiced at night, after the workday, which will undoubtedly impact the health and well-being indices of society.
7. The repopulation of the surroundings of the Parque Metropolitano La Sabana promoted by the Municipalidad de San José (among other actors), has generated great interest in the restoration of the La Sabana lake and the entire park in general, in ecological, economic, cultural, social, sporting, recreational, public health, beautification, and many other aspects; insofar as, with its comprehensive renovation, the surrounding area will be of greater interest for investment and will consolidate as a hub of great economic, social, and cultural importance for the Canton of San José. While for its part, the Parque La Paz lacks interested actors for its restoration and reactivation. However, its environmental, social, and recreational value is also very high; therefore, there is equally an interest in undertaking a project similar to the one already described with said park.
8. The maintenance of the parks, and the lakes specifically, has been compromised for various reasons, mainly budgetary, making immediate intervention necessary to restore their ecological, recreational, cultural, and social functionality; and for such purposes, the intervention, support, and contribution are required, both from the Municipalidad de San José, as the entity directly benefited by the renovation of said spaces, insofar as they are located within its geographical jurisdiction and constitute a clear direct public interest of that municipal government, and from the other public institutions whose purposes and powers are related to the objectives pursued by the project; as well as from the private sector.
All within the context of the mandatory coordination that must exist between the municipality and the other public institutions, and among the latter, given the already described concurrence or coincidence of interests around the public interest, both local and national, entailed by the refurbishment of the aforementioned capital-city areas, converting the project into a comprehensive public plan.
9. Preliminary studies suggest that the costs to rehabilitate both lakes and their surroundings in all aspects that would provide visiting persons a space with ideal conditions for carrying out sporting and recreational activities while maintaining the ecological functionality of the space, amount to five million dollars.
10. ICODER is the Administrator of both parks, but achieving that objective requires the articulated work of public institutions and the private sector; for in the present matter, a coexistence of local interests and services with national or state public interests and services is clearly denoted, which obliges the concert of all actors, for the sake of a common good.
11. Subsection e) of Article 4 of the Organic Environmental Law, Law 7554, establishes that for the fulfillment of its purposes, cooperation and coordination mechanisms must be implemented among the institutions involved in the conservation and protection of the environment, seeking greater efficiency and effectiveness of the actions undertaken.
12. Article 83 of the Organic Environmental Law, Law 7554, establishes that the Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía is the maximum deconcentrated body in environmental matters; and to carry out all those activities necessary for conservation, improvement, and replacement, total or partial, of wetlands and existing facilities, for the attention and convenience of the public, as well as the installation of lighting systems, construction and/or rehabilitation of courts and other sporting or recreational facilities, in the Parque Metropolitano La Sabana and the Parque La Paz, their protection areas, their surroundings, and connected areas, it issued binding criteria under official communication SETENA-SG-1409-2024, dated 26 November 2024, and indicated that the different activities must comply with an environmental impact assessment (Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental), depending on the design and/or rehabilitation improvements.
13. The metropolitan parks La Sabana and La Paz are highly frequented parks and provide multiple urban and ecosystem services to the inhabitants of the GAM. Furthermore, these spaces are highly valued by the country's people and are vital for the sporting, recreational, and commercial activities of San José.
14. According to commitments 37 and 67 of the New Urban Agenda, issued by the Ministerio de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos and the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, the country committed to promoting the creation and maintenance of well- connected and distributed networks of quality public spaces that are open, safe, inclusive, accessible, green, and designated for multiple purposes; which are, on one hand, spaces for social interaction and inclusion, human health and well-being, economic exchange, and cultural expression, but also aimed at increasing the resilience of cities to climate change and disasters, reducing noise, and promoting cities and urban landscapes that are attractive and livable, and giving priority to the conservation of endemic species.
15. According to strategic actions 17.3 and 23.1 of the National Habitat Policy, Decreto Ejecutivo 43467 MP-MIVAH-MINAE-PLAN-MOPT, of 4 April 2022, the activity of the State must be oriented toward the "Promotion of the interconnectivity and biological diversity of the green network, through the consolidation of current CBIs" and "Improvement of green and recreational areas, through sustainable designs, with universal access and a gender perspective." 16. The rehabilitation of the Parque Metropolitano La Sabana and the Parque La Paz is an action that will improve the condition and dynamics of both parks, providing an ecologically safe and diverse space for recreation and entertainment, simultaneously benefiting urban biodiversity, in compliance with national legislation, as well as the political, national, and international commitments undertaken by the country.
Therefore; THEY DECREE:
DECLARATION OF PUBLIC INTEREST TO CARRY OUT ALL THOSE ACTIVITIES NECESSARY FOR CONSERVATION, IMPROVEMENT, AND REPLACEMENT, TOTAL OR PARTIAL, OF THE EXISTING FACILITIES, IN THE PARQUE METROPOLITANO LA SABANA AND THE PARQUE LA PAZ, THEIR SURROUNDINGS, AND CONNECTED AREAS.