- a)Sidewalk (Acera): Roadway exclusively for pedestrian traffic, arranged from the property line towards the public road.
- b)Pedestrian Mall (Alameda): roadway exclusively for pedestrian traffic.
- c)Storm Sewer (Alcantarillado pluvial): set of installations arranged for the collection, conveyance, and evacuation of stormwater.
- d)Sanitary Sewer (Alcantarillado sanitario): set of installations arranged for the collection, conveyance, and evacuation of wastewater (aguas residuales).
- e)Alignment (Alineamiento): Line established by application by the Municipality of Desamparados or the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or CONAVI. It indicates the limit or maximum proximity for locating construction with respect to the public road.
- f)Building Height (Altura de edificación): Vertical distance on the building line, between the finished floor level and the average level of the roof of the top floor.
- g)Extension (Ampliación): Increase in the area or dimensions of an existing property.
- h)Front Setback (Antejardín): the space between the property line and the building line.
- i)Preliminary Project (Anteproyecto): Preliminary consultation procedure in which the proposed design plan is evaluated, and which precedes the submission of the project's construction plans. The proposal plan is subject to modifications or adjustments; it describes the general characteristics of the work to be carried out and its feasibility, and therefore does not authorize the developer to execute works or proceed with the sale of lots.
- j)Approval (Aprobación): Any written and conforming resolution issued by the Municipality of Desamparados to authorize the applications made by the owner of a property.
- k)Urban Area (Area urbana): That which is developable. Territorial area of development of a population center.
- l)Communal Areas (Areas comunales): space intended for public use, apart from streets and roads, for educational, health, worship, recreation, charitable, and similar purposes.
- m)ARESEP: Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos.
- n)Public Street (Calle pública): roadway in the public domain and of common use, which by administrative provision shall be destined for free transit in accordance with the respective laws and regulations in force.
- o)Marginal Streets (Calles marginales): Secondary streets, parallel to highways. At the discretion of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or CONAVI.
- p)Roadway (Calzada): the space arranged for vehicle traffic, limited by curbs, ditches, or drainage trenches.
- q)Neighborhood Roads (Caminos vecinales): Those public roads not classified by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or CONAVI as highways nor by the Municipality as urban streets. The standards for primary roads shall apply to them.
- r)National Highways (Carreteras nacionales): All public roads included as part of the National Highway Network established by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or CONAVI, for meeting any of the following requirements: a) connects Costa Rica with a neighboring country; b) connects two or more provinces; c) connects two cities that in the last census appear with a minimum population of five thousand inhabitants; d) connects a city of five thousand inhabitants or more with another national highway, air or sea port, or with a railway network, or when the competent authority so determines.
- s)Regional Highways (Carreteras regionales): All public roads included as part of the Highway Network established by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport or CONAVI, for serving exclusively a region and meeting any of the following requirements: a) connects two cities that, according to the last census, have a minimum population of two thousand inhabitants; b) connects a city of two thousand inhabitants or more with a national or regional highway, air or sea port, or with a railway; c) has a daily traffic volume of no less than 200 vehicles, or when the competent authority so determines.
- t)CFIA: Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos.
- u)City of Desamparados (Ciudad de Desamparados): Geographical area of the canton of Desamparados comprised within the Urban Containment Limit of the GAM and which covers approximately 1,653.76 ha² (1.65 km²), with a population greater than 200,000 inhabitants.
- v)CNFL: Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz.
- w)Coverage (Cobertura): the horizontal projection of a structure or the ground area covered by such structure. Projection of the spaces under roof or cover.
- x)Adjacency (Colindancia): property limit or boundary.
- y)CONAVI: Concejo Nacional de Vialidad.
- z)Condominium (Condominio): Property built in a horizontal, vertical, or mixed form, susceptible to independent use by different owners, with common elements of an indivisible nature.
aa) Construction (Construcción): any structure that is fixed or incorporated into a land (terreno); includes any work of building, reconstruction, alteration, or extension that implies permanence.
- b)DDUR: Dirección de Desarrollo Urbano y Rural of the Municipality of Desamparados.
- c)Guarantee Deposit (Depósito de garantía): Sum in cash or accredited asset previously in favor of the Municipality of Desamparados to cover works of an urban development project.
- d)Right-of-Way (Derecho de vía): the total width of the highway, street, path, easement (servidumbre), its distance measured between property lines, and which includes, as applicable, roadway, green strips, and sidewalks.
- e)Stormwater Discharge (Descarga de aguas pluviales): Application for approval for the drainage of stormwater from any building, urbanization, or condominium towards a river, stream, irrigation ditch, or existing urban system.
- f)Building (Edificación): Construction intended for any activity, whether habitation, work, storage, or protection of belongings, etc.
- g)Environmental Impact Study (Estudio de impacto ambiental): Document graphically and textually technically prepared by responsible and competent professionals, in which the diagnosis, prognosis, and proposal for the causes and effects that any urban development project, condominium, or building generates or would generate on its natural environment are recorded: hydrography, topography, relief, geology, geomorphology, aquifers, environmental pollution, etc.
- h)Urban and Road Impact Study (Estudio de impacto urbano y vialidad): Document technically prepared by responsible and competent professionals and which contains the diagnosis, prognosis, and proposal for the impact on the urban context of any project located in the area delimited by the Urban Containment ring of the GAM; it shall contemplate matters related to the impact of the building, urbanization, or condominium project on education, health, and municipal services; as well as on road infrastructure: alteration in vehicle flows, public transport, supporting capacity and resistance of adjacent streets or public roads for access and circulation of the project, and other aspects that the Municipality of Desamparados determines through a technical opinion (dictamen técnico).
- i)Subdivision (Fraccionamiento): All those resulting areas or properties obtained from the division of any parcel (predio) for the purposes of sale, transfer, negotiation, distribution, exploitation, or segregated use, being complementary to urbanization in its habilitation for the purpose of selling. It is the division of any parcel carried out for the purposes of sale, transfer, business, distribution, or extrajudicial adjudication, locations of undivided rights, and mere segregations owned by the same owner, as well as those located in urbanizations or new constructions that are of interest for the control of the formation and urban use of real estate.
- j)Green Strip (Franja verde): space provided between the sidewalk and the roadway for the placement of grass or shrubs, whose dimension shall be in accordance with the right-of-way, but which in no case shall be less than 50 centimeters.
- k)GAM: Gran Area Metropolitana l) Performance Guarantee (Garantía de cumplimiento): Deposit that covers the cost of the unfinished works of an urban development project, when there is an application to authorize the segregation of lots or properties, and which shall be available under the payment conditions that the Municipal Treasury establishes for this purpose.
- m)ICAA: Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados.
- n)ICE: Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.
- o)Interested Party (Interesado): Natural or legal person responsible for the application or procedure before the administration.
- p)INVU: Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo.
- q)Building Line (Línea de construcción): the line that indicates the permissible building limit within the property.
- r)Property Line (Línea de propiedad): that which demarcates the permitted building limit within the property.
- s)MINAE: Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía.
- t)MOPT: Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes.
- u)Earthworks (Movimiento de tierra): Any activity or work that modifies the existing conditions of the land (terreno) or its original topography, and that is carried out using manual or mechanical techniques.
- v)Municipality (Municipalidad): State legal entity with territorial jurisdiction over a canton. The head town of the canton is the seat of the Municipal government. It is responsible for the administration of local services and interests, with the purpose of promoting the integral development of the cantons in harmony with national development.
- w)Wall (Muro): load-bearing structure arranged to support or resist horizontal forces from ground or floor level. Used to confine slopes or cuts.
- x)Temporary Work (Obra provisional): Construction for service and temporary utility, prior to the construction of a permanent work.
- y)Infrastructure Works (Obras de infraestructura): Set of installations that enable the operation of public services such as: water supply, sewer system, drainage, electricity, in addition to public roads.
- z)Pedestrian (Peatonal): Any person, with or without a disability, who travels on a public road.
aaa) Construction Permit (Permiso de construcción): Written approval that the Municipality of Desamparados grants to any property owner to carry out building or urbanization works, provided that they have fulfilled the requirements of the respective application. That which municipalities (and other competent bodies: Ministry of Health, INVU) grant for the execution of works, whether permanent or temporary in nature. Generally, the permit is recorded on a plan, which is called "approved plan" (plano aprobado).
- b)Cadastral Plan (Plano catastrado): Official plan of a land (terreno), duly registered with the National Cadastre Directorate, which establishes the shape, area, boundaries, and orientation.
- c)Construction Plan (Plano constructivo): Technical document (graphic and written) that is prepared for the purpose of describing and detailing a work to be built on a land (terreno).
- d)Responsible Professional (Profesional responsable): Active member of the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos empowered to ensure the supervision and fulfillment of the technical specifications of any urban approval and construction permit application.
- e)Owner (Propietario): Natural or legal person who exercises ownership over real estate through a deed and certification from the property registry.
- f)Project (Proyecto): Final, corrected, and adjusted design of the construction plans for the urban development works to be carried out on a property.
- g)Repair (Reparación): Renewal of any part of a work, to leave it in conditions equal to or better than the original ones.
- h)Front Setback (Retiro frontal): Term equivalent to antejardín.
- i)Side Setback (Retiro lateral): Non-buildable open space, whose distance is comprised between the side boundary of the property (lot) and the closest part of the physical structure construction.
- j)Rear Setback (Retiro posterior): Non-buildable open space, whose distance is comprised between the rear boundary of the property (lot) and the closest part of the physical structure (construction).
- k)Setbacks (Retiros): the non-built open spaces comprised between a structure and the boundaries of the respective parcel or area.
- l)National Route (Ruta nacional): see national highway (carretera nacional).
- m)Easement (Servidumbre): common right-of-way that serves no more than 6 (six) properties or lots, but affected by a private property right.
- n)SETENA: Secretaria Técnica Nacional del Ambiente.
- o)Application (Solicitud): Written form from the interested party to carry out an urban development or construction procedure, in which the necessary information of the owner and the property is recorded for its resolution, registration, and control.
- p)Solid Fence (Tapia): structure arranged on the level of the land (terreno) or floor, to close or delimit a boundary or parcel.
- q)Urbanization (Urbanización): The subdivision and habilitation of any land (terreno) carried out for urban purposes through the opening of streets and provision of services.
- r)Conditional Use (Uso condicional): All those activities that may occur in a zone subject to approval, in accordance with fulfillment of the special requirements established by the Municipality, additional to those stipulated for conforming uses.
- s)Conforming or Permitted Use (Uso conforme o permitido): Any activity authorized through urban approval to be developed on a property, upon prior application by the interested party.
- t)Land Use (Uso de la tierra): The utilization of a land (terreno), of the physical structure settled or incorporated on it, or both, in terms of class, form, or intensity of its exploitation.
- u)Land Use (Uso del suelo): Current or planned activity of a property or lot.
- v)Non-Conforming Use (Uso no conforme): Activities that do not comply with the land use provisions and requirements of the zone, but that existed prior to the promulgation of these.
- w)Non-Permitted Use (Uso no permitido): All those activities or land uses that are not in accordance with the requirements and guidelines of the zone, either because they do not correspond to the established use in it or because the lot does not meet the minimum physical requirements demanded therein.
- x)Open Fence (Verja): light and permeable structure, arranged for the enclosure or delimitation of a space or boundary.
- y)Approval (Visado): Written resolution to establish the use of a property.
- z)Dwelling (Vivienda): Any property arranged as a room or enclosure, fixed or mobile, that is used for the purpose of housing people, permanently or temporarily.
- a)Base Wall (Zócalo). Solid structure arranged for the enclosure or delimitation of a space or boundary at a height above the ground or floor level not exceeding 90 centimeters.
- b)Protection Zone (Zona de protección): Delimited non-buildable area, arranged to protect rivers, streams, irrigation ditches, forest, flora, or fauna.
- c)Zoning (Zonificación): The division of a territorial circumscription into use zones, for the purpose of its rational development.