Costa Maya Newsletter
> Archived
Newsletters > December 2004
Newsletters:
of primary interest to property owners on the Costa Maya, - Rio Indio
- Placer - Uvero - Punta Herrera - Xcalak and other points along the
coast
This newsletter includes:
- Mail Delivery
- Paying property taxes in Mahahual
- Federal Zone Concession update !!!!
(please read)
- Steps to acquiring your federal zone
concession
- Recycling Drop-off Center update
Hi neighbors, I
hope you all had a great Thanksgiving in the U.S. and elsewhere
around the world. We barbecued a turkey here at the beach
and had most of the trappings (we missed the fresh cranberry sauce
however!). We are all thankful for living in such a beautiful
yet fragile part of the world and being able to contact our neighbors
via email. Archives of this and previous newsletters can be
viewed at http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_Newsletter.html.
MAIL DELIVERY:
We are currently testing the mail delivery thanks to Gabe Zarnotti,
one of your neighbors in Placer. He is sending a snail mail
to Mahahual to see how long it takes, and we'll let you know.
If you do need to send mail, you will need to include the zip
code and the state of Quintana Roo. The Zip code is: 77940.
I received my first mail today with the arrival of my bank statement
-- an exciting step for me!
PAYING PROPERTY TAXES IN MAHAHUAL
This December you will be able to pay your property taxes in Mahahual
without having to go into Chetumal. The computers for paying
the taxes are set up at the Aricife restaurant, so you can pay taxes
and eat lunch all in the same visit. If you are not yet aware,
there is a discount for paying your property taxes during the month
of December. I believe the computers will remain in Mahahual
through January, which is the normal month for paying taxes, but
we will try and provide an update next month.
FEDERAL ZONE CONCESSION:
There are some new laws that are going into force that will impact
everyone who has purchased property in the Costa Maya. The
new laws make it easier for someone to purchase the concession
for your federal zone. Under the new law, you will not have
to be informed about it in advance. We have been told that
only a handful of owners north of Mahahual have purchased the
concession for the federal zone at this point. We recommend
filing a request for the concessions for your federal zone in
the next two months. This sounds quick, but at the beginning
of the year, the municipalities will start actively soliciting
the purchase of the federal zone in order to raise funds.
Concessions are one of the few ways that municipalities have to
raise funds and the vast area north of Mahahual is in need of
funds (as previous newsletters have mentioned). The
concession must be done correctly and filed in Chetumal because
the concessions are handled at the municipal level.
Now many of us have been told
that you only needed to purchase the concession to the federal zone
if you were in a area like Mahahual where someone might set up a
palapa on the beach and start a business. However, the zoning
is going to change in some areas making it easier to build on the
federal zone. Imagine this scenario: Someone purchases a small
piece of land in order to get beach access and then purchases
the concession for the federal zone for the 20 surrounding lots.
He then builds palapas up and down the federal zone and advertises
private beachfront -- in front of your home. With 12 boats
a week coming into the dock this year, more and more entrepreneurs
will be looking at ways to take advantage of people looking to spend
some time on a "private" beach. Another scenario is that
your neighbor purchases your concession and builds a dock for his
boat on your beach so that he has an un-obscured view. By
purchasing the concession they will be able to do this. You want
to make sure they are not purchasing your federal zone.
STEPS to ACQUIRING THE FEDERAL ZONE
CONCESSION:
1) submit an application.
- certified copies of your title of your property
- Copies of the cadastral identification, property ID number
form
2) Topographical survey with coordinates
3) Pictures of your property
4) Copies of the payment of the property taxes
If filed with the proper paperwork,
it is a first come first serve basis and your concession will
be secured. Final approval takes about 8 months.
Taxes and fees will be assessed upon approval. It
will be more expensive if you want to also submit a request
to build on your federal zone at the same time you file as that
will also require an environmental impact study of the federal
zone.
Please contact your legal representative
immediately. We had originally recommended Miguel Sosa Chable but no longer believe he is a good resource. sosachable@hotmail.com
for more information on how to proceed on getting your federal
zone concession secured quickly.
RECYCLING CENTER UPDATE
We still have not secured final approval for the property that has
been selected. However, we are approaching this group of neighbors
with a new idea for the use of the funds that have been collected. Before
spending any money on this new proposal, I would like everyone's
feedback.
The proposal is to spend the money
improving the current recycling center in Mahahual which is currently
at the highschool. This would be a more permanent solution
than developing a center in Placer which would have to
drop off the recyclables in Mahahual anyway. The current
drop-off center is one big bin and doesn't provide for the separation
of the recyclables. Students at the school are separating
the recyclables. People dropping off items can only drop off bags
in a big pile as there are currently no facilities that provide
for self-separating. Currently the highschool appears
unsightly and more like a garbage dump than a recycling center.
The proposal would be to:
1) Provide self-separating bins
for the four recyclable types (glass, plastic, aluminum, cardboard)
2) Provide gauge wire mesh on the
existing bin for plastic (the recyclable that has the most volume).
The current one has such a large mesh that 20 oz bottles fall
out the sides.
3) provide signs that explain the
rules for self-sorting and credit the contributors from the
community (all of you who have contributed)
4) Enlarge the composting bins which
are about full.
5) purchase large bags for putting
recycled material in so that it can be easily transferred to
trucks.
If you all agree, we will turn the
money over to the committee in Mahahual which is sponsored by the
Amigo De Sian Ka'an and the university of Quintana Roo, who
have also been sponsoring our efforts to establish a recycling
center. They are currently teaching the children at the school
about the environment, recycling and composting, so this is more
than just a place to reduce the impact to the environment, but a
learning experience for the school as well. All funds will
be accounted for and reported here.
New donations received since the last
newsletter:
John Lyons
$50 USD
Kerry a& Shawn Kelly $100
USD (correction - I had originally posted them as having paid
$50)
Neils and Wendy -- pledged $1000 pesos but still struggling
to get funds to us!
Total collected at this point is
$900 -- very impressive by Mexican standards. Please
let me know if you approve this new plan. I will try and
post a picture of the Current recycling center in Mahahual in
the archives and you can see why we feel this is important.
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Newsletter Archives
Updated:
19-Apr-2008
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