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THE city council is heading for “a major scandal, worthy of being investigated by the prosecuting attorney” if it goes ahead with plans to modify the PGOU (general development for Palma) to enable car hire companies which are illegally parking on rustic land to regulate their situation. The claim came from AEVAB, the Balearic Association of Car Hire Firms, which has more than 200 member companies in the sector.
It was referring to an announcement made yesterday by city council representatives after a meeting with rival association Transcar.
Transcar has eight member companies, most of which use rustic land to park their fleet of cars, and they have been engaged in talks with the city council with a view to reclassifying the land as urban. The council had closed down three of the sites earlier this month. AEVAB chairman, Ramon Reus, said yesterday that if the council goes ahead with its scheme “we will see a major scandal, as it will be a decision taken to benefit the interests of a few, who are not representative of the sector.” He added that the only way ahead is to follow the law, which has ordered the closing of the firms. He added if the council does reclassify the land, “it will be penalising firms which have stuck to the law and rewarding those who have broken the rules since day one.” He went on to say that it was a pity that the council's negligence over the years should have led to this situation.
Manuel Pomar, Aevab's legal adviser, said that he did not think that the council would go ahead with its proposals because of the scandal it would cause. He maintained that it would be “impossible to legalise the illegal use of land in Son Fangos alleging general interest, via modifications to the PGOU, without the democratic system being corrupted.” The city council, which has also banned car hire firms from parking its fleet in the city streets, has been trying to solve the problem for years.
Earlier this month, Transcar accused the council of dealing with its members unfairly, and the meeting this week was called to discuss this.