The Supreme Court has dismissed the cassation appeal filed by the Aia City Council and the property developers, upholding the order issued a year ago by the Basque Superior Court of Justice: the illegally constructed Amezti farmhouse must be demolished. The house has 11 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, and this decision comes after 11 complaints and an 11-year legal battle.
The Amezti farmhouse is situated on land belonging to the town of Aia, on the hill separating Zarautz and Orio. One of the 11 siblings who own the property, Maite Garrastazu, was the councilor for urban planning and public works for the Zarautz City Council (EAJ) when the permit was obtained and construction began. The farmhouse had been abandoned for years, and in 2010 the family applied to the Aia City Council (EAJ) for a renovation license. Two years later, they requested a second permit to build another structure on the same site, and the council approved both, despite later acknowledging that the project did not comply with municipal urban planning regulations.
The main issue is that the farmhouse is located in a protected natural area. The Basque Government's 2006 law on urban planning and land use permits renovation or, at most, reconstruction of a building if it is in poor condition, but within a 50-meter radius and with similar dimensions. However, the owners exceeded these limits: they built the new structure at least 200 meters from the original site instead of the permitted 50, and more than doubled the original size of the farmhouse, increasing it from 183 to 469 square meters.
The process began in 2015 following complaints filed by the Gipuzkoa Federation of Air Sports and the SOS Talaimendi platform. The federation pointed out that the new building was larger and located elsewhere, and also highlighted that it is situated in a specially protected rural area with an ecological corridor and the presence of a pair of peregrine falcons.
The Supreme Court ruled that citing similar procedures in other municipalities is not sufficient grounds to grant the appeal. The sentence is final, but the judicial process, open since 2015, is not over: the Basque Superior Court of Justice must decide whether to uphold the ruling issued in January of last year. It is likely that a resolution will be issued before the end of the year, which would make the demolition order for the Amezti farmhouse final.
If confirmed, the developers could face fines exceeding two million euros, in addition to bearing the costs of demolition and restoring the area to its previous state. Another lawsuit is also pending to judge the Zarautz City Council's decision to supply water to this property.
