The administrative contentious chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has declared null and void, with retroactive effect, the newly established Ordinance of Mobility and Road Safety for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which was sanctioned on January 17, 2024 and became effective on February 9 of the same year. The judgement criticises the Capital City Council concerning costs and supports the complaint presented by the neighbourhood association Urban Centro El Perenquén.
The TSJC asserts that the challenged ordinance is completely void and “therefore our ruling has ex tunc effects, meaning it shall be treated for all intents and purposes as if it never existed, having never been valid nor effective, since it did not come into legal existence, being merely a façade of legality that is now definitively annulled. Any general provision of this nature and therefore any legal defect is absolutely null.”
The High Court further explains that the reason for absolute nullity, which affects the entirety of the ordinance, “is the lack of a regulatory impact analysis report, as we cannot regard the one that is part of the administrative file as such, but solely in name. In fact, out of its thirty-eight pages, none is allocated to the market analysis of the ordinance text, article by article. The terms cited in the alleged report would apply to any mobility ordinance one aimed to adopt.”
Moreover, the TSJC clarifies that “there is a requirement for establishing normative alternatives, defining rights and obligations and adequately aligning its content with higher regulations.” It adds that “the specific non-regulatory alternatives are not described, nor is there an analysis of what is known as the ‘zero alternative’, meaning failing to take any action; what would be the consequences for the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife if a new ordinance were not approved and the previous one remained in effect? This is not clarified and needs to be, according to Article 2 of the Royal Decree 931/2017 of October 27, which governs the regulatory impact analysis report.”
This decision, which is not final, allows the City Council the opportunity to lodge an appeal, to which the opposing party cannot contest but may challenge its admission when presented to the Supreme Court, provided this is done within the set deadline.
Through this ordinance, the Chicharrero Consistory aimed to implement a new mobility model prioritising pedestrians, encouraging the use of bicycles and scooters, as well as regulating personal mobility vehicles (VMP). Additionally, the plan included introducing regulated and paid parking in green and blue zones, along with designating low emission areas to restrict traffic in favour of pedestrians.
