Ingrid Colberg Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) in the San Juan Municipal Legislature, received a reply to a letter she sent last July to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking him to intervene in a proposal to grant rights over part of El Escambrón in San Juan for 60 years. Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo intends for a multi-level parking structure, among other structures, to be built there.
Donald Leadbetter, acting associate director of the National Park Service, responded and confirmed that no formal request to change the use of El Escambrón has been received. In a letter dated September 22, the agency told Colberg Rodríguez that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act prohibits putting properties developed with those funds to other uses without approval from the Secretary of the Interior, and that any petition must be submitted in writing by the State Liaison Officer.
The councilwoman shared the letter on her Facebook account. El Escambrón is protected by that law, particularly Section 6(f)(3), which imposes federal restrictions on recreational properties that have received assistance under the program. Ordinance Project 55 would grant the company Smart Parking System a surface right of up to 60 years to develop a multi-level garage, increasing vehicle spaces from 250 to 950.