Yesterday, the Urban Planning Commission of the Valencia City Council approved continuing with the processing of the Benimaclet PAI following the proposal that the Urban Planning Department (in the hands of the PSPV) commissioned from the prestigious architect José María Ezquiaga.
The approval was possible thanks to the votes of PP, Vox and PSPV; Compromís (who led the local government during the previous legislature) chose to abstain. The two Rialto partners showed during the previous mandate their two different bets for the neighborhood.
Yesterday's vote in the commission represents the first major agreement between PP and PSPV in the city. All in all, it cannot be considered a surprise since the new government team's commitment is to ask Metrovacesa to take into account the proposal that Ezquiaga designed at the request of the PSPV for the Benimaclet PAI. “We do not want to waste any more time, and we have to face the problems that the previous municipal corporation left pending on the table,” said the Urban Planning Councilor, Juan Giner.
The mayor pointed out that the roadmap of the executive led by María José Catalá is committed to sitting down "with the different associations and actors involved to listen to their ideas and proposals."
For her part, after the commission was held, the spokesperson for the socialist municipal group, Sandra Gómez, highlighted that the PP has agreed to transfer to Metrovacesa the work developed by Ezquiaga for the Benimaclet Special Plan and that it takes it into account in the proposal being processed. Gómez understands that the architect's alternatives manage to respond to the needs of the neighborhood, with more services, facilities, green areas and housing. “The agreement reached is progress, but we are going to be vigilant to really take this work into account,” she warned.
For her part, the deputy spokesperson for Compromís in the Valencia City Council, Papi Robles, explained her group's abstention by understanding that "there is progress towards a PAI model that is closer to the needs of the neighborhood, (we better consider the Ezquiaga's proposal than that of Metrovacesa); but there are still fundamental issues that are not being respected and that have always been raised by the neighbors" such as the drop in buildability or the garden-city transition.
However, with the votes yesterday and these days it has become clear that the PP is in a minority in the City Council (with 13 of the 33 councilors) and needs to obtain specific support from the rest of the parties to carry out its proposals. The so-called "preferred partner" (Vox, with four councilors) is beginning to show its demands - it forced the PP to opt for the RACV regulations to change the toponym of València and has warned that it has no intention of approving anything with the owner of Valencia CF, Peter Lim -, so the popular ones may be forced to seek support beyond the extreme right.
In fact, yesterday, Vox voted against asking for the support and backing of Les Corts Valencianes so that 'València, European Green Capital 2024' is a “national reference” event, and to request the Government of the Nation for its consideration as “ “Exceptional Event of Public Interest.” This recognition, municipal sources explained, would encourage the participation of the private sector in this commemoration since it would provide tax benefits to companies that were involved in the celebration. PSPV and Compromís did support the proposal.
