The plenary session modifies the Mobility Ordinance to advance the implementation of the Low Emission Zone

The plenary session of Benidorm City Council approved this Thursday by a large majority the approval of Municipal Ordinance number 1 on Mobility to update and adapt said regulations to the numerous planning and management instruments for mobility that have been promoted in the municipality in recent years, especially about the Low Emission Zone (LEZ). This modification, therefore, will allow progress in the full implementation and all its extension of the Low Emission Zone, already developed in some areas and whose measures will now be fully reflected in this ordinance. It has been approved with 23 votes in favour of the PP and PSOE and with the vote against the only Vox councillor.

The councillor for the department, Francis Muñoz, explained that “for the city of Benidorm, mobility is a vital element” and that this modification aims to “favour the resident” and lay the foundations that “guarantee good coexistence between neighbours, tourists and visitors, as well as correct management of the population's movements with access to public spaces, all under the prism of sustainable and functional mobility, thus facilitating the consolidation of the inclusive and sustainable tourism model” of Benidorm.

Muñoz has highlighted that the main modification introduced in this text is the “adaptation of Ordinance number 1 to the national regulations that regulate the implementation in cities of low-emission zones”, which in Benidorm will cover an area of ​​75 hectares separated into three urban areas – Center, West and East – in which it is planned, among others, to favour pedestrian traffic and limit the access of more polluting vehicles as stated in the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition.

The councillor also recalled that all the modifications introduced in the Mobility Ordinance have the objective of “adapting its content to national regulations to improve traffic management and sustainability”. Among the articles that will change, as he explained, there are articles that “have the mission of continuing with the commitment that we have been adopting to promote the use of public transport and non-motorised vehicles, such as bicycles and electric scooters, through the expansion of bicycle lanes, as well as the improvement of the pedestrian infrastructure”, which “reflects Benidorm’s commitment to more sustainable and efficient mobility, anticipating new urban and environmental needs, with modifications that, in some cases, are even ahead of the future Sustainable Mobility Law that is in parliamentary process”.

Among these measures, the redefinition of the term ‘motorcycles’ and the regulation of these vehicles in their parking areas stand out; the form and method of action about the parking areas for electric vehicles are defined and indicated, for which Benidorm currently has 36 charging devices in the urban area, of which 32 are municipally owned; and some articles related to personal mobility vehicles (PMV) are modified to adapt them to the Manual of Characteristics of the General Directorate of Traffic and to be able to continue with the control policies for them about insurance and helmets, “which have been pioneering at a national level and are a model and object of study by other” cities, as Francis Muñoz has highlighted.

Likewise, in the plenary session, all the groups of the Corporation unanimously approved the initiation of a contractual liquidation file with the company Aparcamientos Concertados SA, now FCC Medio Ambiente SAU, about the contract for the continuity of the concession service of the l’Aigüera parking lot during the period between June 1, 2021, and February 1, 2023. The spokesperson for the local government, Lourdes Caselles, has recalled that the initiation of this file is a consequence of the plenary agreement of May 27, where the nullity of the extension of this concession contract was approved, after the ex officio review initiated by municipal technicians at the request of Mayor Toni Pérez, and following the recommendations of the AVAF.

During her appearance, Caselles pointed out that this liquidation proposal will allow the City Council to recover 644,591.63 euros as a refund of the income that the contracting company would have obtained improperly during the contract period that was declared void, an amount that has been calculated taking into account concepts such as the total income obtained by the company during this period, expenses, the fee paid and the industrial profit, which was set at 6%. Likewise, the government spokesperson recalled that this extension of the contract, approved in a plenary session in May 2021, was carried out "as its liquidation is now agreed, following at all times the indications of the municipal technicians, by the law and in defence of the general interest", after which she pointed out that the controversy raised by the AVAF had to do "with the type of contract that was approved, whether it was a contract for work and service or only a service contract" and "not with it being illegal or not being able to be approved".

Other matters approved at the plenary session

Another of the points agreed in the plenary session was the Mayor's proposal for the 5/2024 budget modification worth 683,169 euros, which is derived from a final judgment establishing that the City Council must reimburse this amount to the company Prometosa Construcciones SL, in its former capacity as urbanizing agent of PAU 1 Murtal. The Councilor for Finance, Aida García Mayor, has pointed out that this reimbursement must be made from the municipal land assets, which is why this budget modification must be made to provide it with the necessary amount to be able to make the payment. The motion was approved with the vote of 16 councillors from the PP and VOX, compared to the abstention of the eight councillors from the PSOE.

In terms of Contracting, the plenary session has agreed with the unanimous support of the three groups to revise the rates that will be applied in the car parks of the Municipal Market, Calle Tomás Ortuño and Avenida de l’Ametlla de Mar for the year 2024, as established in article 41 of the Clauses governing the contract for the concession of works for these car parks, integrated into the “Benidorm Futura 2000 Parking Plan”. Thus, the price per minute of parking is set at 0.0359 euros, with a daily maximum for 24 hours of 21.54 euros, to which are added other rates outlined by the municipal Engineering technicians.

The Councillor for Contracting, Aida García Mayor, has recalled that this revision of rates is taking place after the request made last May by the concessionaire company and has indicated that, using these prices as a base, the successful bidder may increase them in the summer season – between June 21 and September 22 – by 20%, being obliged, in this case, to reduce them for the rest of the season by 20%, as stated since 2010 in the Regulations for the Operation of these car parks.

In economic matters, the extrajudicial recognition of credit to proceed with the payment of 564,461.63 euros of invoices “for basic ordinary expenses and others that have been presented outside the current year and must be paid now” has also been approved by a majority, indicated the councillor Aida García Mayor. All of them, she said, “have the approval of the corresponding departments”. The councillor also stressed that the government “is working to ensure that fewer and fewer invoices are approved in this way”.

The Minister of Finance insisted that all invoices “have a budget allocation” and that is why they are brought to the plenary session for approval. “We cannot stop paying companies that have provided their services and it is a mechanism contemplated by law. We are not going to stop paying suppliers or stop providing services” she added.

The plenary session also unanimously agreed to initiate the procedure for granting distinctions and decorations by the Generalitat Valenciana to the Benidorm Local Police officers, Jesús López Moreno and Ramón Agüero Veitch, with the Cross of Police Merit with a blue badge “for standing out with notoriety and perseverance in the fulfilment of their duties, having exemplary conduct and having carried out at least ten years of active service as Local Police in the Valencian Community and having two public congratulations” indicated the Councillor for Citizen Security, Jesús Carrobles. “A feat accomplished by both officers” he added.

Finally, in today's session, the political groups were informed of the presentation of the written preparation of the appeal to the Supreme Court against judgment 343/2024 of the First Section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the TSJ of the Valencian Community, which sentenced the City Council to pay 283 million euros plus legal interest for the urban development agreement of compensation for the urban development of the land included in the APR-7 sector. This judgment revoked a previous one that was ruled in favor of the City Council.