For the purposes of interpretation and application of these Regulations, the following terms have the meaning indicated:
- 1)Vertical openings (Aberturas verticales): Penetration or opening in floors, such as stairs, electric or mechanical stairways or ramps, elevators or lifts, penetrations for cables, cable trays, conduits, pipes, tubes, combustion and ventilation fans, electrical conductors and similar elements to house electrical, mechanical, plumbing and communications systems.
- 2)Access (Acceso): Existing public or private road or roads fronting a property that allow entry to or exit from it. They are normally streets, highways and roads. Exceptionally, they are navigable rivers, easements (servidumbres) of way and private roads registered in the Public Property Registry (Registro Público de la Propiedad).
- 3)Physical accessibility (Accesibilidad física): 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, in conditions of equality, safety, comfort and autonomy.
- 4)Exit access (Acceso a salida): That portion of a means of egress that leads to the exit.
- 5)Sidewalk (Acera): Strip of land within the right-of-way, extending from the property line (línea de propiedad) to the outer line of the curb and gutter, reserved for pedestrian traffic.
- 6)Shoring (Ademado): Method of supporting the ground using steel, wood or concrete structures, placed in such a way that ground failures do not occur and cause subsidence or wall collapses into the excavation.
- 7)Sheeting (Ademe): Set of boards and timber frameworks or other material intended to prevent the collapse of the walls in excavations.
- 8)Aerodrome (Aeródromo): The perfectly delimited area, surface or section of land or water, destined totally or partially for the arrival, departure or movement of aircraft on it.
- 9)Airport (Aeropuerto): Any public or private service aerodrome in which there exist, permanently, facilities and services to attend to air traffic of passengers, cargo, and baggage.
- 10)Wastewater (Aguas residuales): Water that has received a use and whose quality has been modified by the incorporation of contaminating agents.
- 11)Masonry (Albañilería): Art of building with stones, bricks and blocks.
- 12)Alignment (Alineamiento): Minimum physical distance or limit for the placement of a building with respect to public roads, waterways, streams, springs, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, springs (nacientes), maritime-terrestrial zone, railways, high-tension power lines, special zones issued by the competent entity.
- 13)High tension (Alta tensión): Voltage level equal to or greater than 100kV and equal to or less than 230kV.
- 14)Alteration (Alteración): Any removal, addition or modification that affects a building or work.
- 15)Building height (Altura de la edificación): Vertical distance measured from the minimum level of the ground in contact with the building, up to the crown beam of the top level. Basements and semi-basements are not considered as part of this calculation.
- 16)Expansion (Ampliación): Any work that in its transformation increases the built area.
- 17)Scaffold (Andamio): Temporary framework of beams and columns supported together. It serves to stand on top of it and work on the construction, repair of buildings, loading of materials, among others.
- 18)Front setback (Antejardín): Distance between the property lines and construction lines (línea de construcción), the former of cadastral origin and the latter of official definition, granted by the MOPT or the Municipality; as applicable, it implies a restriction to build, without the portion of land thereby losing its condition of private property.
- 19)Antenna (Antena): Radiating system used for the transmission, reception of radio signals or electromagnetic waves, which may be located on support infrastructure for telecommunications networks.
- 20)Bond (Aparejo): Arrangement of the joints of stones, bricks, blocks or the like.
- 21)Apartment (Apartamento): Housing unit in a building for residential use of 1 or more floors, generally constituted by 1 or more rooms, kitchen and bathroom.
- 22)Construction area (Área de construcción): It is 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 (área de piso).
- 23)Dispersion areas (Áreas de dispersión): Physical space within the area occupied by a building, whose function is to allow the recreation and circulation of the persons who inhabit or make use of it.
- 24)Refuge areas (Áreas de refugio): Space located on a path that leads to a public road, which is protected from the effects of fire, either by means of separation with respect to other spaces in the same building or by virtue of its location, thus allowing a delay in the egress path from any level.
- 25)Areas subject to urban control (Áreas sujetas a control urbanístico): Administrative territorial circumscription, whose delimitation corresponds to the radius of application of a regulatory plan.
- 26)Reinforcement (Armadura): In reinforced concrete, the set of steel rods and stirrups tied with wire or welded, which form the reinforcement of the concrete. In metallic or wood constructions, any reticulated element that forms part of the structure.
- 27)Competent Authority (Autoridad Competente): Organization, office or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, and is also responsible for approving equipment, materials, an installation or a procedure.
- 28)Reviewing Authority (Autoridad Revisora): Any entity with competence established by law that intervenes in the consultation and validation of the construction plans of a building, or in the supervision of the construction process, pursuant to the regulations in force.
- 29)Base (Base): Layer of material constituted by hard and durable particles duly stabilized, which is immediately below the surface layer or the intermediate layer and which complies with current regulations. It forms part of the resistant structure of a roadway, path, highway or floor.
- 30)Firewall barrier (Barrera cortafuego): Constructive element with suitable materials and elements, necessary to prevent the passage of fire.
- 31)Smoke barrier (Barrera cortahumo): Membrane, whether wall, floor or ceiling, continuous or with discontinuities created by protected openings. It is designed and constructed with the aim of limiting the dispersion and movement of smoke.
- 32)Temporary barrier (Barrera provisional): Fence, gate, board, chain or other similar obstacle with which a passage is closed or a place is fenced off temporarily.
- 33)Digital logbook (Bitácora digital): Digital tool that controls and records the progress of the construction work.
- 34)Sanitary Cabin (Cabina Sanitaria): Portable installation containing a toilet and sink. It is used temporarily either in mass gathering activities, constructions or the like.
- 35)Roadway (Calzada): Part of the street destined for vehicular traffic, comprised between curbs, ditches (cunetas) or drainage channels.
- 36)Medians (Camellones): Central zones, on avenues with multiple lanes, that divide vehicular traffic. Generally with a curb, like a sidewalk. It can be pedestrian with hard flooring, or with vegetation.
- 37)Camp (Campamento): Temporary installation, in open terrain, of persons who are en route or who gather for a special purpose.
- 38)Work camp (Campamento de trabajo): Provisional installation destined to house construction workers. Every work camp must be provided with basic sanitation elements to protect the health and well-being of the workers, and to prevent sources of infection or environmental contamination.
- 39)Locative Capacity (Capacidad Locativa): Use ratio that allows measuring the capacity of a place or space, for the implementation of specific activities or functions in the building.
- 40)Installed locative capacity (Capacidad locativa instalada): Available capacity for use of the physical space of a building in a period of time.
- 41)Required locative capacity (Capacidad locativa requerida): Necessary capacity for use of the physical space in a period of time, determined by the academic offering approved for the institution by the competent bodies of the MEP.
- 42)Load (Carga): Force acting on a structure.
- 43)Wind load (Carga de viento): Force due to the action of the wind.
- 44)Seismic load (Carga sísmica): Force due to seismic phenomena.
- 45)Temporary load (Carga temporal): Variable and transitory load throughout the life of a structure.
- 46)Tent (Carpa): Large awning that covers any ample enclosure. Used for holding circuses, parties or the like.
- 47)Certificate of land use (Certificado de uso del suelo): Specific legal act by which the local Administration certifies the conformity or non-conformity of the land use.
- 48)Third-party certification (Certificación de tercera parte): Product certification system, in which there must be a verification process involving the participation of a certification body considered an independent third party; this latter must be accredited under the parameters of ISO standards or any other equivalent standards, endorsed by an international certification system, to attest that production is carried out under the organic production regulations officially recognized by a country or a region.
- 49)Coverage (Cobertura): It is the horizontal projection of a structure or the area of land covered by such a structure.
- 50)Use coefficient (Coeficiente de uso): Factor affecting seismic forces according to the use for which a building is destined.
- 51)Compaction (Compactación): It is the act of compressing a given volume of material into a smaller volume.
- 52)Co-location (Colocalización): Use of the same tower or support structure to locate antennas of various operators, thereby avoiding the installation of several towers together, reducing the urban impact.
- 53)Exterior visual communication (Comunicación visual exterior): communication elements, also known as exterior advertising, that are located in public places or visible from the public road. Included within this concept is advertising that is installed on all components of structures or supports, as well as urban furniture on which signs, advertisements, billboards, screens, unipoles, equipment and any other similar element are installed, placed or inserted.
- 54)Condominium (Condominio): Property susceptible to independent use by different owners, with common elements of an indivisible character, whose distinct modalities are defined in the Law Regulating Condominium Property, Ley Reguladora de la Propiedad en Condominio, Law N°7933, its Regulation Executive Decree N°32303-MIVAH-MEIC-TUR, its amendments or the regulation that replaces it.
- 55)Corridor (Corredor): Circulation space that allows movement towards the back and the side, because it lacks elements that restrict transversal movement.
- 56)Construction logbook (Cuaderno de bitácora en obras): Official document, authorized by the Executive Director of the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica, duly bound and foliated, where the professional responsible for the construction, their specialists and all authorized persons, must record in writing their professional performance.
- 57)Ditch (Cuneta): Lateral channel, parallel to the axis of the highway or the road, constructed between the shoulder and the toe of the slope, to receive and conduct rainwater.
- 58)Densification by simple consolidation (Densificación por simple consolidación): that obtained by the static application of loads continuously and over a prolonged time.
- 59)Right-of-way (Derecho de vía): That area or surface of land, owned the State, destined for the use of a public road, which includes the roadway, green zones and sidewalks, with adjacent zones 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 (línea de propiedad).
- 60)Exit discharge (Descarga de la salida): That portion of a means of egress between the termination of an exit and the public road.
- 61)Technical documentation (Documentación técnica): Any document or certification issued by the competent entities and professionals responsible for the work, with the aim of approving and accrediting compliance with the regulations in force in the matter concerning these Regulations.
- 62)Drainage (Drenaje): Structure that is placed or constructed to dispose of and evacuate surface water.
- 63)Vertical duct (Ducto vertical): Confined space that extends through 1 or more floors successively, and connects vertically openings in 2 or more floors, or to the roof of a building.
- 64)Building (Edificación): Construction destined for any activity, whether dwelling, work, storage or protection of belongings, among others.
- 65)Lodging buildings (Edificaciones para hospedaje): Are all those in which persons are lodged as guests, whatever the time and condition of their stay, whether or not meals are provided in them.
- 66)Mixed-use buildings (Edificaciones de uso mixto): all those destined, in addition to residential use, for commercial use, services, both or other uses that are compatible with the zoning.
- 67)Residential-use buildings (Edificaciones de uso residencial): all those dwellings, housing units or apartments destined for residential use, whether in single-family (unifamiliar), two-family (bifamiliar) or multifamily (multifamiliar) modality. They may be constructed in a horizontal or vertical manner on 1 or more floors.
- 68)Buildings for educational use (Edificaciones para uso educativo): Are all those public and private buildings that contemplate carrying out activities that academically prepare students at the academic levels of Preschool, General Basic Education that includes Primary in First and Second Cycle and Secondary in Third Cycle, Diversified Education, Technical Education, Para-university Education and University Higher Education.
- 69)Parking buildings (Edificaciones para estacionamientos): Are the private or public buildings destined to store vehicles, which are not of a remunerative nature; includes bus terminals and garages for taxis. Private garages of dwellings are excluded.
- 70)Formwork (Encofrado): System of molds destined to support and shape concrete elements while it acquires its own strength.
- 71)Scale (Escala): The scale of a plan or map expresses the relationship of length between the drawn characteristics and the real ones on the earth's surface. That is to say, it is the relationship between the graphic and real dimensions, generally expressed as a ratio or fraction. The term scale is also used as a spatial appreciation of the scope of action of certain events, for example, regional scale, urban scale, and as the relationship of the human being with the elements of space: human scale.
- 72)Collection area for solid waste (Espacio de acopio para residuos sólidos): Area whose function is to temporarily store recoverable solid waste. In this space, its classification and separation is carried out according to the nature of its material.
- 73)Technical specifications (Especificaciones técnicas): Graphic and written information essential for the correct execution of the work. In addition, it must indicate the quality, resistance of the materials used, the minimum requirements for labor and for the equipment to be used.
- 74)Industrial and storage establishments (Establecimientos industriales y de almacenamiento): are those premises, covered or uncovered, destined for the manipulation, transformation or utilization of natural or artificial products, through physical, chemical or biological treatment, either by manual means or by application of machinery or instruments. Also included under this denomination are the sites destined to receive or store work tools and the materials that must be treated or that are in the process of elaboration, or their products; in addition, all the annexes of the factories or workshops and the warehouses.
- 75)Parking space (Espacio de estacionamiento): Any physical space with specific dimensions destined to store vehicles for a defined time.
- 76)Mechanized or robotic parking (Estacionamientos mecanizados o robotizados): Are those that operate totally or partially with electro-hydraulic mechanical lifting and transport systems. For the movement and storage of vehicles, the direct intervention of persons inside them is not required, from the reception zone to the delivery zone. They can be constructed in towers or by means of parking duplicator platforms.
- 77)Parking duplicators (Estacionamientos duplicadores): System that allows raising a vehicle placed in a horizontal position, and creates the possibility of using the space underneath the already loaded platform as additional parking. As its name indicates, it is ideal for duplicating existing parking spaces.
- 78)Public parking lots of a remunerative nature (Estacionamientos públicos de carácter remunerativo): Those places, dedicated to the provision of guarding and custody services for motor vehicles, which are identified as public parking lots, and in where the remunerative nature constitutes the essential aspect of the activity.
- 79)Service station (Estación de servicio): Land facilities for the storage and supply of fuels, whether liquid, gas or both, destined for the final consumer, as well as the sale of miscellaneous items and other authorized complementary services, whose operation requires prior concession of public service provision from MINAE.
- 80)Structure (Estructura): System of elements resistant to the effects of external forces of all types, which forms the skeleton of a building or civil work. It receives and transmits loads and stresses to the firm ground.
- 81)Structure for extreme sports activity (Estructura para actividad de deporte extremo): Temporary installation of platforms, ramps, stairs, uneven surfaces and others, to practice extreme sports. They are used for the practice of motocross, BMX, among others.
- 82)Structure for bullfighting and equestrian activities (Estructura para actividades taurinas y ecuestres): Installation built either for a bullring or for equestrian activities.
- 83)Self-supporting monopost or monopole structures (Estructuras auto soportantes tipo monoposte o monopolo): Self-supporting towers of a single support.
- 84)Temporary structure for lighting and audiovisuals (Estructura temporal para iluminación y audiovisuales): Is any structure used to place spotlights, audio and video elements on a provisional basis.
- 85)Temporary structure for public gatherings (Estructura temporal para reunión pública): any provisional installation that contains columns, beams, stands, floors, with the aim of supporting walls, ceilings, electrical installations, lighting and audiovisual systems. It is normally used for mega bar events, concerts or fairgrounds.
- 86)Facade (Fachada): It is the elevation or orthographic drawing of a building. It can be frontal, lateral or posterior. In the case of internal courtyards, it can be interior.
- 87)Supervision (Fiscalización): Action carried out by the Reviewing Authorities (Autoridades Revisoras) to verify on-site compliance with what is established in the approved construction plans, in accordance with the protocols established by the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos.
- 88)Subdivision (Fraccionamiento): Division of any property for the purpose of selling, transferring, negotiating, distributing, exploiting or using in a separate manner, the resulting parcels; it includes both partition by judicial or extrajudicial adjudication, locations of undivided rights and mere segregations in the name of 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.
- 89)Temporary grandstand (Gradería temporal): Set of stands for spectators. It is for provisional use and can be portable or built on site.
- 90)Habitable (Habitable): Building that meets the minimum conditions of safety, hygiene and comfort.
- 91)Room (Habitación): Space consisting of a single chamber.
- 92)Hospitalization (Hospitalización): Admission of an injured or sick person into a building for health service, for their respective attention by medical personnel, for a period exceeding 24 hours.
- 93)Construction index (Índice de construcción): It is the quotient resulting from dividing the total meters of construction by the surface area of the property. In this calculation, basements and rooftops are excluded.
- 94)Telecommunications Infrastructure (Infraestructura de Telecomunicaciones): Elements destined to support one or more active elements of the telecommunications network, such as antennas and other equipment that may include other associated elements such as land, rooms or shelters, electrical supply, air conditioners, among others.
- 95)Inspection (Inspección): Monitoring or attention that the professional responsible or group of professionals provides during the execution process of a work, so that it is carried out in accordance with the best labor standards, the construction plans, the technical specifications and other documents that form part of the contract.
- 96)Installation (Instalación): In a building, any system destined for services such as potable water, drains, electrical energy, air conditioning, data and voice.
- 97)Electrical installation (Instalación eléctrica): Set of electrical equipment and materials used to produce, convert, transform, transmit, distribute or utilize electrical energy.
- 98)Portable installations of electromechanical systems (Instalaciones portátiles de sistemas electromecánicos): Are all those designed for the provision of potable and wastewater or for the placement of electrical systems on a temporary basis.
- 99)Island (Isla): Space on paths, highways or streets with multiple lanes, dividing vehicular traffic.
Generally with a curb, like a sidewalk. It can be pedestrian with hard flooring, or with vegetation.
100) Mechanical ride (Juego mecánico): Structure of electromechanical components for recreational use.
101) Sanitary junction (Junta sanitaria): Rounded joint between wall and floor used to prevent the accumulation of dust and moisture.
102) Construction line (Línea de construcción): A line generally parallel to the front property line, indicating the distance of the front setback or front setback (antejardín) required. It demarcates the building limit allowed within the property.
103) Property line (Línea de propiedad): That which demarcates the limits of the property or particular land.
104) Skylight (Linternilla): Opening in a wall of a room that allows ventilation and illumination, located at a minimum height of 1.80 m above the internal finished floor level, preventing visibility.
105) Parking lots (Lotes para estacionamientos): Private or public properties destined to store vehicles, which are not of a remunerative nature; includes bus terminals and garages for taxis. Private garages of dwellings are excluded.
106) Stone masonry (Mampostería): Masonry work constructed with stones, bricks or blocks and mortar to join them.
107) Official Map (Mapa Oficial): The plan or set of plans, previously approved by the competent entities, where the exact position of the traces of public roads and areas to reserve for community uses and services in an urbanization or residential complex is indicated. The official map is also known as General Cadastral Plan (Plano General de Catastro).
108) Means of egress (Medio de egreso): Continuous and unobstructed path from any point, in a building or structure to a public road. It consists of 3 separate and distinct parts, the exit access (acceso a salida), the exit (salida) and the exit discharge (descarga de salida).
109) Modification (Modificación): Any new work that increases or decreases the built area is considered a modification project, and mandatory participation of professionals in engineering or in architecture is required. When there are modifications to the original design, these must be processed as a modification project, both at the CFIA and at the municipality. In any work modification, the Land Use defined by the Municipality, the coverage and setbacks must be respected.
110) Municipality (Municipalidad): State legal entity with its own patrimony and personality, and full legal capacity to execute all types of acts and contracts necessary to fulfill its purposes.
It is responsible for the administration of local services and interests, in order to promote the integral development of the cantons in harmony with national development.
111) Civil works (Obra civil): Work designed and constructed through applied sciences and technology belonging to civil engineering.
112) Public works (Obra pública): Refers to that project or work that is executed by the State or contracted by the Administration and whose owner is the Costa Rican State.
113) Aerial works in rights-of-way (Obras aéreas en derechos de vía): Laying of electrical energy, lighting and telecommunications lines in rights-of-way, including their supports and anchors such as towers, poles, guy wires, props or the like.
114) Provisional work during the construction process (Obra provisional durante el proceso de construcción): Work of a temporary nature that must be constructed or installed as a means of transient services to aid the construction of a definitive work.
115) 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 allow the use of urban land. The foregoing considering aspects such as road systems, the service of electrical energy, potable water, gas, sanitary sewer network, telecommunications, stormwater sanitation, solid waste disposal, among others.
116) Minor Work (Obra Menor): Any work of repair, remodeling or expansion with a construction area (área de construcción) equal to or less than 30.00 m², whose cost does not exceed the equivalent of 10 base salaries, calculated according to what is established in the Law Creating the Concept of Base Salary for Special Crimes of the Penal Code, Law N°7337, and its amendments or the regulation that replaces it. In the case of walls, fences and walls, these must not exceed 20.00 linear meters.
117) Temporary work (Obra temporal): Structure or installation to house more than 50 persons, which is projected to remain in place for a period between 3 and 180 consecutive days.
118) Occupancy (Ocupación): Purpose for which a building, other structure, or part thereof is used or intended to be used.
119) Multiple occupancy (Ocupación múltiple): Building or structure in which two or more classes of occupancies exist.
120) Mixed multiple occupancy (Ocupación múltiple mixta): Multiple occupancy where the occupancies are intermixed.
The means of egress facilities, the type of construction, the protection and other protection means of the building must comply with the most restrictive fire safety and human safety requirements of the occupancies involved.
121) Separated multiple occupancy (Ocupación múltiple separada): Multiple occupancy where the occupancies are separated by assemblies with fire resistance rating and have independent exits.
122) Telecommunications operator (Operador de telecomunicaciones): Natural or legal person, public or private, that operates telecommunications networks with the due concession or authorization, which may or may not provide telecommunications services available to the general public.
123) Face (Paramento): Any of the sides of a wall.
124) Partition (Pared): Synonym for a non-structural wall, a constructive element for closing spaces.
125) Party wall (Pared medianera): That which serves as separation between buildings, courtyards or gardens, but belongs to both adjoining owners.
126) Hallway (Pasillo): Circulation space that only allows movement parallel to its edges or limits.
127) Pedestals (Peañas): Support or base to place on top a figure or other road nomenclature element.
128) Structural profile (Perfil estructural): Piece of metal of various cross-sections, used for the construction of metallic structures.
129) Construction permit (Permiso de construcción): Authorization granted prior to the start of works, as a guarantee of compliance with all the technical and legal requirements, it is perfected with the payment of the corresponding fee established by the Municipality, this being a mandatory requirement for it to take effect.
130) Habitable rooms (Piezas habitables): Those destined for living rooms, offices, studies, dining rooms and bedrooms.
131) Non-habitable rooms (Piezas no habitables): Those destined for kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, storage rooms, garages and hallways.
132) Swimming pool (Piscina): Artificial construction and annexed facilities that contain a specific volume of water, destined for recreational bathing, swimming and other aquatic exercises or sports.
133) Floor (Piso): In a building, a level platform that serves as the floor and to support furniture. The floor at ground level is called the first floor (primer piso); a single-story building is one with only one level (una sola planta). The set of rooms bounded by horizontal planes determined in a multi-story building is known as a floor.
134) Regulating Plan (Plan regulador): A cantonal-level planning and management instrument, in which urban development policy and plans for population distribution, land uses (usos del suelo), circulation routes, public services, community facilities, construction, and urban renewal are defined in a set of plans, maps, regulations, and any other graphic document or supplement, duly approved by the INVU.
135) Telecommunications poles (Postes de telecomunicaciones): A long, frustoconical element, fixed in the ground, placed vertically to serve as support for antennas or other telecommunications elements, which may be located on public domain lands.
136) Property (Predio): This is understood as land, property, lot, farm, estate, or parcel, whether or not registered in the Public Registry.
137) Sustainability principles (Principios de sostenibilidad): Practices that seek the reduction of environmental impact in the construction of buildings, and to extend their useful life. These include the efficient use of space, considering the geographical conditions of the property (predio), as well as taking advantage of local construction materials; maximizing energy savings, reducing water consumption, and harnessing renewable energy sources.
138) Responsible professional (Profesional responsable): Those authorized and incorporated into the CFIA are considered responsible professionals in engineering and architecture, and they possess the powers and responsibilities set forth in the Construction Law No. 833, the Organic Law of the Federated College of Engineers and Architects No. 3663 and its amendments or the regulations that supersede it, as well as other regulations determined by the respective Professional Association.
139) Owner (Propietario): A natural or legal person who exercises ownership over real estate through a public deed.
140) Telecommunications provider (Proveedor de telecomunicaciones): A natural or legal person, public or private, that provides publicly available telecommunications services over a telecommunications network with the appropriate concession or authorization, as applicable.
141) Bridge (Puente): A structure, including all its spans and supports, that facilitates passage over a depression, channel, railway line, road, or other work that constitutes an obstruction.
142) Grade line (Rasante): A line that represents, in elevation, the surface of a road, bridge, or work in general, and which normally coincides with its longitudinal axis.
143) Telecommunications network (Red de telecomunicaciones): Transmission systems and other resources that allow the transmission of signals between defined termination points via cables, radio waves, optical means, or other radioelectric means, including satellite networks, fixed terrestrial networks (circuit-switched or packet-switched, including the Internet) and mobile networks, power line systems used for signal transmission, networks used for sound and television broadcasting, and cable television networks, regardless of the type of information transported.
144) Cantonal road network (Red vial cantonal): The set of cantonal public roads determined by the MOPT based on respective technical studies, administered by the municipalities. It is subdivided into: Local roads (Caminos vecinales): Public roads that provide direct access to farms and other rural economic 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. Local streets (Calles locales): Public roads within an urban area not classified as urban crossings of the National Road Network. Unclassified roads (Caminos no clasificados): Public roads not classified within the categories described above, such as roads providing access to very few users, who are responsible for maintenance and improvement costs. Their administration corresponds to the municipalities.
145) National road network (Red vial nacional): The set of national public roads determined by the National Road Council based on respective technical studies. This network is administered by the MOPT. It is subdivided into: Primary roads (Carreteras primarias): A network of trunk roads, to serve corridors, characterized by relatively high traffic volumes and a high proportion of international, interprovincial, or long-distance trips. Secondary roads (Carreteras secundarias): Roads that connect important cantonal capitals not served by primary roads, as well as other population, production, or tourism centers that generate a considerable number of interregional or intercantonal trips. Tertiary roads (Carreteras terciarias): Roads that serve as traffic collectors for primary and secondary roads, and that constitute the main roads for trips within a region or between important districts. Their administration corresponds to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which shall define them according to the requirements determined for this purpose by the Executive Branch, by way of agreement.
146) 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.
147) Remodeling (Remodelación): This is the development of new designs in a building. It includes the survey of existing elements, the review of mechanical, electrical, and structural systems, to determine if the remodeling implies a change in these.
148) Repair (Reparación): Renewal of any part of a work, to leave it in conditions equal to or better than the original ones.
149) Plastering (Repello): Coating a wall with cement, lime, or similar material mortar to improve its surface for aesthetic or protective purposes.
150) Solid waste (Residuos sólidos): Any object or material that is discarded after fulfilling its function, or after having served for a specific task. They are classified as recoverable and non-recoverable; the former are distinguished from the latter in that they can be recovered for valorization.
151) Setbacks (Retiros): These are the unbuilt open spaces between a structure and the boundaries of the respective property (predio).
152) Front setback (Retiro frontal): Term equivalent to front yard.
153) Side setback (Retiro lateral): Unbuildable open space between the side boundary of the property and the nearest part of the building.
154) Rear setback (Retiro posterior): Unbuildable open space between the rear boundary of the property and the nearest part of the building.
155) Risk (Riesgo): Contingency or probability of an accident, damage, or harm.
156) Exit (Salida): That portion of a means of egress separated from all other spaces of a building or structure by construction or equipment as required to provide a protected path to the exit discharge.
157) Public services (Servicios públicos): Those services that meet the needs of the population, such as lighting, drinking water, cleaning, health, telephone, and transportation, administered by the State or by private companies.
158) Semi-basement (Semisótano): A space in a building where at least one of its walls is buried and two are semi-buried. It can be ventilated and illuminated directly and naturally.
159) Health services (Servicios de la salud): Services in which professionals or technicians duly authorized by the respective professional association perform general or specialized activities of health promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery or rehabilitation of illness, or palliative care. Care may be offered on an outpatient or inpatient basis. Also included within these services are aesthetic procedures performed by health professionals.
160) Easement (Servidumbre): A restriction on the ownership of a property (predio), established for the benefit of one or several estates.
161) System (Sistema): A set of parts that interact with each other directly or indirectly, in such a way that a change in any of these parts affects the others. The interaction may be of a causal or logical nature, depending on whether the system is material or conceptual.
162) Self-consumption fuel storage system (Sistema de almacenamiento para autoconsumo de combustibles): An installation dedicated exclusively to the storage and use of fuels for the development of the acquirer's business or institutional activity only, without any distribution to the public or related third parties. This concept may include the use of fuels by equipment and systems within projects and public works that do not belong to the company holding the public works concession, only when they belong to entities or persons formally subcontracted for work within the same mentioned project or work.
163) Public assembly site (Sitio de reunión pública): A space used to assemble a group of people at one time for deliberation, worship, entertainment, eating, drinking, amusement, waiting for transportation, or similar uses. For the calculation of the occupancy of these buildings, the provisions established by the Fire Department must be met.
164) Overload (Sobrecarga): Load above that assumed for design purposes.
165) Basement (Sótano): A space in a building that is below ground level and cannot receive direct and natural lighting and ventilation.
166) Subbase (Subbase): Part of the resistant structure of a street, road, or highway, generally composed of one or several layers of granular, compacted material, placed on the subgrade (subrasante) or selected material to support the base or surface of a pavement.
167) Subgrade (Subrasante): Of the terrain, whether in cut or embankment, on which the different layers of material constituting the pavement of a highway or road are placed.
168) Soil (Suelo): Any unconsolidated material composed of different solid particles, with included gases or liquids. In construction, the word is normally applied to the bearing ground for works.
169) Partition wall (Tabique): A thin, non-load-bearing vertical element that serves as an interior division or exterior enclosure for the rooms of a building.
170) Tank (Tanque): An elevated or underground deposit for storing a liquid, other than flammable, corrosive materials, or other types of hazardous goods.
171) Septic tank (Tanque séptico): A unit that receives ordinary or special wastewater to provide primary treatment consisting of phase separation.
172) Platform (Tarima): A temporary structure also known as a platform. It is built at a height above the ground. When built as a narrow corridor, it is called a walkway.
173) Telecommunications (Telecomunicaciones): Any transmission, emission, and/or reception of signs, signals, writings, data, images, sounds, or information of any nature by wire, conductors, radio waves, optical means, or other electromagnetic systems.
174) Canopy (Toldo): A portable structure that has a cover made of fabric, canvas, or similar material. It is used for shelter from rain, wind, and sun.
175) Telecommunications tower (Torre de telecomunicaciones): A vertical supporting structure that serves to meet the installation requirements for antennas and cable support for other required equipment, for the operation of public telecommunications networks. The support for antennas or telecommunications equipment can be of the guyed, self-supporting, and monopole type.
176) Guyed tower (Torre Arriostrada): A vertical structure of variable height that requires additional supports to remain upright, which are anchored to the ground according to its design parameters.
177) Self-supporting lattice tower (Torre de celosía auto soportada): A vertical structure with angular or tubular elements with autonomous supports of 3 or 4 legs, which require foundations according to the characteristics of the subsoil, weight of the finished structure, and wind speed in the area.
178) Monopole tower (Torre de monopolo): A self-supporting tower with a single support. It has a lighter weight and requires less space. Also known as a monopole.
179) Housing unit (Unidad habitacional): Any building intended for a dwelling.
180) Urbanization (Urbanización): Subdivision (Fraccionamiento) and development of land for urban purposes, through the opening of streets and provision of services.
181) Telecommunications sharing (Uso compartido de telecomunicaciones): Use of the infrastructures that support telecommunications networks under shared conditions under fair, equitable, transparent, objective, non-discriminatory technical, legal, and economic parameters that promote competition.
182) Land use (Uso de suelo): Utilization of land, the physical structure settled on or incorporated into it, or both cases, in terms of class, location, form, intensity, and possibility of its exploitation, issued by the municipal government.
183) Window (Ventana): An opening in a wall of a room that allows ventilation, lighting, and view.
184) Vestibule (Vestíbulo): A space located at the access of a building, which serves as a transition to the internal spaces that comprise it.
185) Public road (Vía pública): This is all land of public domain and common use, inalienable and imprescriptible, which by provision of the administrative authority is destined for free transit in accordance with planning laws and regulations; it includes sidewalks, curbs, gutters, roadways, green strips, as well as that land which is in fact already destined for such public use. Furthermore, they are destined for the installation of any duct, artifact, apparatus, or accessory belonging to a public work or destined for a public service. In accordance with the Public Roads Law, they are classified into the national road network (red vial nacional) and cantonal road network (red vial cantonal).
186) Dwelling (Vivienda): This is any fixed or mobile premises or enclosure, constructed, converted, or arranged, that is used for the purpose of housing persons, permanently or temporarily.
187) Multifamily dwelling (Vivienda multifamiliar): A building conceived as an architectural unit with independent habitable areas, suitable for sheltering two or more families.
188) Single-family dwelling (Vivienda unifamiliar): A building provided with habitable areas intended to shelter a single family.
189) Cantilever (Voladizo): A part without support that protrudes from a wall.
190) Green zones (Zonas verdes): Grassed or wooded free areas, for communal public use, intended for recreation.