Defending San Miguel de Allende and Atotonilco, to save its natural and cultural patrimony.

To the community of San Miguel de Allende, México and the World.  Defending  San Miguel de Allende and Atotonilco, to save its natural and cultural patrimony.

Our alarm about the megadevelopments and reckless urbanism.

To our municipal authorities, involved functionaries  and members of its paralel technical organizations such as the Municipal Institution for Planning (IMPLAN): We do an urgent calling to not authorize any changes in the use of ground and zonation for any megadevelopments, new cities, new villages, or    housing developments  until you have a Municipal Plan of Sustainable Development in the form, facts and legal frame that corresponds objectively and with accordance to our actual reality and future  challenges.    

Upon the emergency of taking trascending decisions for the citizens and the future of the territory of San Miguel de Allende with the authorization of change in use of ground and zonation for the megadevelopments, new cities (larger than 20,000 people or 4, 878 houses), new villages (larger than 7,000 people or 1,707 houses) and in general any new housing developments, the previous, without having a sustainable plan concerning the development of the Municipality of San Miguel de Allende, without following a regulating process, and in such way risking our natural and cultural patrimony of this region which is unique and irreplaceable with monumental and exceptional value to the Universe; in addition putting the mayor economical activities in danger such as tourism, agriculture and cattle farming without proposing any other source to provide a sustainable economy. 

We invite you to consider the following arguments and questionmarks.

To the citizens of this exceptional place in the world, valued internationaly for its natural, cultural and touristic beauty, we invite you to inform yourselfs and be consistent promoting in the facts: the sustainable development of the Municipality (political, economical and social) and to saveguard and promote this patrimony with creative proposals on how to expand the quality of life in the most visited areas of the municipality of San Miguel de Allende contributing to a more even socio-economical development, without risking our competitive advantages in the region, the country and worldwide. 

I.     Time and space

Before any authorization for changes in use of ground and zonation, one must consider the demographic dynamic evolution of the Municipality in the context of the region, including: 1. demographic structure

2. fertility

3.mortality

4.migration

5.margination 

• Now a days, sites with the international importance such as San Miguel de Allende has, should count with a tool for sistematic planning, integral, holistic and interdisciplinary, that integrates in the evolution of time and space the past 25 years into the coming 25 years the five main factors of human activity in the municipality, within the context of the competence of the diferent sectors of the population and the diferent levels in the government.
• One must count with a Municipal Plan of Population that is updated and that marks the outreach of the sustainable development in its five fields: 1. demographic structure 2. fertility

3.  mortality  4. migration  5.margination.

• One must consider the conclusions of the Aquifer of the Independance (UNAM, Marcos Adrián Ortega Guerrero, 2000), that tells us about the scarcity and limitation of our underground water resource, which we share with five other municipalities, that provides for 90% of our human activities, and of which 11 years ago we were already warned of our more than 50% consumption, getting to levels of fossil waters with concentrations of salt and minerals that overpass the health limits and having wells with “red- light”  due to high concentrations of fluors, plumb, mercury, arsenicum, etc.. adding to that the disappearance of water wells such as the one in “El Chorro” in the city  of San Miguel de Allende.  
• One must consider the big political and historical errors, that have braught the uncontextualized copy and import of failed urban development models in all kinds of  as the new satelite-dormitory cities, unisectorial cities that are isolated without any social connection, the uniform megadevelopments of huge building enterprizes: new cities in housing without any job offers or economical activities with permanency, or any culturalizing of the small communities that are impacted by this fast process of urbanization (Cancún, Querétaro, Silao, Celaya, Michoacán, etc..). By the way, also failed in Europe, Canada and USA, opposed to the tendencies of new urbanism.
• One must avoid reckless urbanism that puts social, economical, political, cultural and ecological interests of a mayority under the particular interests of small groups with economic power that influence the political groups in turn, such as is the case in México City and its suburbs in Mexico State, Monterrey, Acapulco, Puebla, etc.
• There has to be clarifying in the contradictions on the things said by our Municipal President  and the Tecnical Secretary of the IMPLAN, amongst them: the number of houses to be constructed in “Lomas de Atotonilco”, the rebounce area with influence on the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco, Cultural Human Heritage Site and the fossil source of the Galvanes-La Petaca-Atotonilco-Rancho Viejo water shed; the changes in use of ground and zonation to pass from Ecological Fomentation in rural area to an H3 density area, etc.
• There has to be a response to the problem around the lack of a Plan, at least partial, of Urban Development for the affected areas and to respond to the formal statistics or to a serious study on offer and demand on housing, within the complex reality of poverty, inequality, lack in generating economical growth, lack of employment and the difficulty to finance the buying of a new house or better the one had without putting the economical patrimony of the family at risk because of unpayable debts in medium and long term. 

Demand on popular housing 2012 (CONAVI)

Houses for betterment and construction in San Miguel de Allende: 6,913

Houses for betterment:  3,052 = 55.85%

Houses for construction: 3,861 = 44.15%

  Houses in rural area:      3, 414 = 49. 39 %

Houses in urban area:     3,499 = 50.61%

Offer in popular housing 2012

Zirándaro:                        3,000          Authorized

West Pole (Álvarez)        2,000        Authorized

Banterra Lomas de Atotonilco 8,000   in process of authorization

North of Ventanas                    2,000       Projected

Corralejo (Los González)        3,000       Projected

ADDITION:                            18,000

Over- offer:                           14,948        ALMOST FIVE TIMES THE DEMAND (4.89)

Potential of demographic growth to 4.1 persons per house = 61,287 people, almost dubble the amount of actual population.

II.  Political- juridic factors to be considered

• How to authorize change in use of ground and zonation,in the case of “Lomas de Atotonilco”- 8,000 houses in 7 years, according to the IMPLAN, when the process of authorization in change of use of ground and posterior change of authorization in the construction of 8,000 houses under the model of DUIS, counteracts, at least: the Organic Municipal Law, the Law of Urban Development for the State of Guanajuato, the Rule on Zonation and Use of Ground in San Miguel de Allende.
• How to authorize, when there exists no legal ordainment linked to the sustainable planning in the Municipality in any of the legal instruments constituted as the Municipal Plan, that justifies such an unmeasured proyect of construction in popular housing within the Municipal territory. 
• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when part of the municipal government makes particular projects its own, with at least the suspicion of some sectoral political benefit, on behalf of social interest of the majorities. 
• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation,  when the study of urban compatibility presented to justify this mega development, amongst other bad inconsistencies, points out:

1.     There is no inconvenience , nor any argument, to pass from area of ecological preservation to a use of ground H3.

2.     There is no argument that justifies this new urban center ( city) under any development plan.

3.     There is no mention of the Atotonilco site and its re-bounce area that is the same of the hydraulic water shed of Rancho Viejo, of which we know is a Human Heritage Site. 

• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when in the actual process there exist inconsistencies between the conditioned dictate of the IMPLAN and the Organic Municipal Law, the Law on Urban Development for the State of Guanajuato, the Rules on Zonation and Use of Ground of San Miguel de Allende Municipality, the General Law of Water, amongst others.

Economy

1. How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when there have been studies on the minimal economic possibilities – financiers of these projects in their internalizing and externalizing their processes of preparation, construction and abandonment.  Previous, taking in account that just the project mentioned represents a minimal investment of Two Thousand Million Pesos (8000 houses X $250,000.- = $2,000'000,000 pesos)

Social

·      How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when there hasn't been established the real capacity to hold the disadvantaged communities and future pressure due to the growth in population within them, since there is a lack of capacity for them in urban development due to complex migratory  issues – housing speculation, as is the case in Rancho Viejo, Atotonilco, San Miguelito, Los Ricos de Abajo, La Petaca, La Cuadrilla, Los Barrón,  Puerto de
Nieto, Corralejo, Corral  de Piedras, Alcocer, Calderón, San Miguel Viejo, La Cieneguita, etc
. And in urban area neighborhoods such as: San Antonio, Las Cuevitas, San Rafael, Guadalupe, San José del Obraje, Valle del Maíz, Ojo de Agua, and irregular communities such as Palmita de Landeta, Ex/Ejido de Tirado, Nuevo Pantoja, La Esperanza, etc.

·      How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when there hasn't been established the capacity for ecological footprints and water demand, energy, food, soil and refunded occupations for the citizens of disadvantaged communities and the future pressure due to the growth in population within them. 

Cultural

• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when the Human Heritage Site of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco is put on risk, not integrating its protection to the programs of general and particular planning (on the contrary, in the POET it is isolated as an “Independent” UGA).
• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when the architectural and urbanizing coherence of the Atotonilco site is put in concrete danger, putting at risk its label as a Cultural Human Heritage Site, as part of the UNESCO.
• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when the conservation of the Universallyy Valued and Exceptional Water Shed of Rancho Viejo-Galvanes-Petaca-Atotonilco is put in danger, one of the most important in North America to explain evolution in animals in more than 80 million years since the trilobites till the big mammals 13,000 years ago, today extinct, like primitive horses, camels,aquaticcrhinoceross,mammothss, sable teeth, etc., by not integrating this protection area the particular and general planning programs.
• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when it puts at risk antique historical roads such as the secondary Royal Roads of mercury between the Sierra Gorda, Mineral de Pozos and the Royal Mines of Guanajuato, from the declared itinerary for Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO, the so called “Camino Real de Tierra Adentro”. The previous without giving notice to the SEP, the INHA or the UNESCO.

Ecology

•  How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when the Environmental Impact Manifestation is incomplete and insufficient, where, amongst other things:

1.     there is no mention of the cultural patrimony in archeology, paleontologyntangible area of Rancho Viejo- Palo Colorado- Galvanes- Atotonilco, that belong to the same water shed where “Lomas de Atotonilco” is projected one of the most important of North America and maybe of the Continent.

2.     The UNESCO- ICOMOS and INHA haven't gotten any notice.

3.     There is no mention of the impact it has on the shared water aquifer by San Miguel de Allende and other 5 Municipalities (Aquifer of the Independence, Adrián Ortega Guerrero, UNAM, 2000) with the high pressure of over use with a remarkable lack in an area dependent in more than 95% from the water of that aquifer.

4.       Less than 15% of the factors crossed of the matrix of sensibility of Leopold Luna, gives legitimation and approves the dictate for a new city or urban center of more than 20,000 inhabitants.

5.     THE DICTATION OF THIS MANIFEST OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SOULD HAVE BEEN DISCARDED AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY THE DIRECTION OF ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY AND NOT ONLY PUTTING CONDITIONS TO THE INCONDITIONAL.

• How to authorize  change in use of ground and zonation, when it puts at risk the famed, multi mentioneddd and fragile migratory road of the Monarch Butterflies (natural phenomenon declared as Human Heritage by the UNESCO) from the Great Lakes in the border Canada /USA till the Oyamel Forests in Michoacán an Mexico State. The previous without giving any notice to the Commission for Environmental cooperation for North America (chapter in the Free Commerce Treaty signed by Canada- USA- Mexico), SEMARNAT, the UNESCO and CONABIO.

With alarm and citizens' active request for the value, preservation, promotion and sustainable management of our natural and cultural patrimony in the municipalityof San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, the citizens:

Attentively:

Roxana Cházaro.
Luis Ferro de la Sota.
Hugo Granados
Paulina Hawkins Masip.
Diana Hoogesteger Van Dijk.
Arturo Morales Tirado.
Daniel Ortíz
Francisco Peyret
Armando Rivera
Pablo Rodríguez
Lizette Marie Romo Goff.
Mercedes San Martín.
Rodrigo Traviño Lozano
Tomás Valadez

 Please come to "EL SINDICATO" Recreo #4 on tuesday August 30th, at 5:00 PM to give your approval to the letter above and learn more about the Mega-housing developments in the authorization process with the city. This is not a political movement, but an effort to preserve San Miguel.