The Baja California Sur state Congress approved a motion on April 22 calling for the temporary suspension of the Urban Development Plan (PDU) covering the Las Playitas area of Todos Santos and El Pescadero. Legislators also demanded that federal authorities disclose the criteria behind orca-watching permits granted off the coast near La Ventana and El Sargento.
Both measures passed with bipartisan support from MORENA and PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) lawmakers. The motions are not legally binding on their own but represent formal legislative calls to action directed at municipal and federal agencies.
PDU Suspension Could Slow Development in Las Playitas
The PDU in question governs land use and construction approvals in Las Playitas, a coastal area between Todos Santos and El Pescadero, about an hour north of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19. Todos Santos, a town of roughly 7,185 residents according to Mexico’s 2020 census, has faced mounting pressure from rapid population growth and new development. The town’s Wikipedia entry notes that overdevelopment has been a longstanding concern, “possibly exacerbated by a controversial Urban Development Plan.”
PAN legislator Lupita Saldaña backed the initiative, stating that both the urban planning and environmental issues share a central problem: the lack of prior consultation with affected communities. If the municipal government acts on the Congress’s request, development approvals in the Las Playitas zone could be frozen or delayed while the plan undergoes community review. Property owners and developers with pending projects in the area should watch for follow-up action from the La Paz municipal government, which administers the Todos Santos zone.
Orca Permit Review Targets Outside Operators
The second part of the motion calls on SEMARNAT (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales), Mexico’s federal environmental agency, to explain how it granted permits for orca-watching tours in the waters off Agua Amarga, La Ventana, and El Sargento. These communities sit on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula, east of La Paz, in an area popular with kitesurfers and sport fishers.
Legislators want SEMARNAT to consider revoking permits held by companies based outside those communities. The dispute reflects growing friction between outside tourism operators and local fishing cooperatives along the BCS coast. Orca sightings in the Sea of Cortez have drawn increasing commercial interest in recent years, and residents argue that outside companies profit while local communities bear the environmental impact.
During the debate, legislators stressed the need to balance economic growth with environmental protection. While neither motion compels immediate government action, the bipartisan support adds political pressure that could accelerate regulatory changes in both the Todos Santos corridor and the East Cape region.
This story was first reported by BCS Noticias.