Cala Vadella Dispute: Technician Challenges Sant Josep Council Over Safety Concerns and Blocked Building Licences

10 November 2026

A technical architect who has filed a complaint against Sant Josep mayor Vicent Roig and other municipal officials over the planning situation in Cala Vadella has challenged the council's arguments for refusing to formally receive the area's urbanisation.

Javier Gea Martínez argues that if the municipality considers the area's infrastructure deficiencies serious enough to raise safety and public health concerns, it should take responsibility for resolving them rather than leaving residents and property owners in a prolonged state of uncertainty.

"If the council believes there is a safety problem, it should close the urbanisation," Gea told La Voz de Ibiza.

His comments form part of a wider dispute over the unfinished infrastructure and planning arrangements affecting urban development unit AA 4.3 in Cala Vadella, where certain property owners say they have been unable to obtain building licences since 2007.

The dispute has now reached the Ibiza Public Prosecutor's Office, following a complaint submitted against the mayor and other municipal officials alleging possible administrative prevarication and other irregularities.

Why Has the Council Refused to Receive the Urbanisation?

The latest development follows a decision by Sant Josep's Local Government Board on 16 October 2026 to reject an application for the definitive reception of the urbanisation.

The application had been submitted on 15 July 2025 by technical architect Javier Gea, representing several property owners.

According to the municipal technical and legal reports cited in the decision, the application did not demonstrate that all the requirements for formal reception had been met.

The identified deficiencies include problems with sections of the road network, missing pavements and public lighting in certain areas, and the lack of an adequate wastewater sewerage network.

The reports also identify insufficient technical documentation to verify that certain water supply and electricity installations meet the required standards.

In addition to the physical infrastructure, the municipality points to outstanding urban planning instruments and documentation needed to complete the development process.

The Local Government Board therefore rejected the request unanimously.

Gea Challenges the Council's Position on Safety

Gea questions the council's use of infrastructure and safety deficiencies as grounds for refusing to receive the urbanisation, particularly because houses have been occupied in the area for decades.

He argues that the municipality cannot simply identify problems with pavements, public lighting and sewage infrastructure without taking steps to resolve them.

His proposal is for the council to assume the initiative, prepare a project identifying the outstanding works, put the construction contracts out to tender and subsequently distribute the costs among the property owners through an appropriate legal mechanism.

"If there is a problem with safety, close the urbanisation," he said, challenging the implications of the municipal reports.

The comment is a criticism of what he considers an inconsistent administrative position. It should not be interpreted as an actual decision to close Cala Vadella or as evidence that the municipality has ordered residents to leave their homes.

Proposal to Complete the Infrastructure and Share the Costs

The technician argues that there is no active urbanisation agent responsible for completing the outstanding works and, according to the property owners, no organised owners' association capable of coordinating the process.

He believes the municipality should therefore take the lead rather than requiring individual property owners to resolve infrastructure problems affecting the wider development.

Under his proposal, the council would establish the works required, arrange their execution and then calculate the appropriate contribution from the owners.

Gea says the cost should not fall exclusively on people who still have undeveloped plots. In his view, owners who already built their homes should also contribute to the completion of the infrastructure, subject to the applicable legal arrangements.

He also questions why owners of plots where they cannot currently build continue to pay property tax.

The proposal represents the position of Gea and the owners he represents. It has not been adopted as an agreed municipal solution.

Building Licences Have Been Blocked Since 2007

One of the central complaints concerns the difference between owners who obtained building licences before 2007 and those who have been unable to obtain new permissions since then.

According to Gea, some property owners have been unable to progress with their projects because they are being asked to meet requirements relating to the urbanisation as a whole, rather than matters that can be resolved on an individual plot.

The owners argue that this has created an unequal situation between people who built their homes in earlier decades and those who purchased land but have been unable to develop it.

The planning history of the area dates back to the partial plan approved in 1973 and its subsequent incorporation into Sant Josep's planning regulations.

According to the owners' estimates, approximately 80% of the plots are already built on. They argue that the infrastructure has been in use for decades, while the remaining undeveloped properties continue to face obstacles when applying for building licences.

Gea says that the prolonged restrictions have caused significant financial and personal difficulties for the affected owners.

Complaint Submitted to the Ibiza Public Prosecutor's Office

The dispute escalated in November when Gea submitted a complaint to the Ibiza Public Prosecutor's Office in his own name and on behalf of two property owners, José María Ugal Cuenca and Óscar Crespo Sánchez.

The complaint names mayor Vicent Roig and other municipal officials and alleges possible administrative prevarication and other irregularities in the management of the AA 4.3 planning area.

The complainants argue that municipal representatives have known about the outstanding infrastructure problems but have failed, in their view, to promote an effective solution while maintaining restrictions on new building licences.

They consider that the situation has caused prolonged harm to property owners who have been unable to build.

The complaint is an allegation submitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office. It does not establish that the mayor or any other municipal official has committed an offence, and no conviction has been reported in connection with the allegations.

What Does the Law Say About Urbanisation Works?

The Balearic Islands' Urban Planning Law, Law 12/2017, sets out the basic infrastructure required for urban land.

Article 22 identifies the basic urban services as the road network, water supply, electricity, public lighting and wastewater sanitation.

Article 121 regulates the formal reception of urbanisation works by the municipality. It provides for the inspection of the works and the notification of deficiencies where they are identified. Those deficiencies must be addressed before reception can take place, under the conditions established by the law.

This legal framework is relevant to the disagreement in Cala Vadella. The municipality argues that the requirements for formal reception have not been met, while the owners maintain that the council should take the necessary steps to complete the outstanding works.

The question of who should organise, execute and finance those works remains at the centre of the dispute.

Sant Josep Council Had Not Responded to Questions

La Voz de Ibiza reported that it had contacted Sant Josep Town Hall to ask what measures could resolve the situation, which party should carry out the outstanding works and how they could be financed.

The newspaper also sought the municipality's assessment of the complaint submitted against the mayor and other officials.

At the time of publication, the council had not provided a response.

For the affected property owners, the immediate issue remains the same: how the outstanding infrastructure and planning requirements in Cala Vadella will be resolved, and whether the municipality will take the initiative to move the process forward.

Until a solution is agreed and the necessary works and documentation are completed, the dispute over building licences and the formal reception of the urbanisation remains unresolved.

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