The Los Cabos city council voted unanimously on April 6 to approve the Master Plan for the Punta Nayu integrated tourism development, locking in a legally binding guarantee of free public access to San Cristóbal Beach on the Pacific coast.
San Cristóbal Beach, located near the Diamante development area off Highway 19 between Cabo Falso and Punta San Cristóbal, has faced years of access disputes. Private landholdings surrounding the beach made it difficult for residents and visitors to reach the shoreline. The new plan directly addresses that problem.
Developer Must Build Public Road and Beach Facilities
Under the approved plan, the developer behind Punta Nayu is required to build an 18-meter-wide paved road connecting the project to the federal coastal zone (ZOFEMAT). The developer must also construct a public beach facility with parking, restrooms, showers, palapas, and recreational areas. All of these must be completed during the project’s first phase of construction.
The Punta Nayu development itself plans roughly 1,500 homes and nearly 2,900 hotel rooms in a low-density, sustainable tourism format. The city council’s Urban Development, Planning, Ecology, and Environment Commission presented the proposal, which the full council then approved without opposition.
Land Use Only: More Permits Required
The approval covers land use only. The developer must still obtain permits from multiple federal and state agencies before breaking ground. Those include environmental impact authorizations from SEMARNAT (Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) and construction permits from local authorities.
The vote comes just days after the Los Cabos municipal government launched a broader program called “Census, Delimitation, and Beach Access.” That initiative, coordinated with SEMARNAT, aims to map and protect public access routes across all Los Cabos coastlines. The state Congress of Baja California Sur also recently approved a resolution urging stronger enforcement of beach access laws statewide.
What Mexican Law Says About Beaches
Under Mexican federal law, all beaches are public. The ZOFEMAT designates a 20-meter strip of sand inland from the high tide line as federal property open to everyone. In practice, private resorts and developments often control the land leading to that strip, making access difficult or impossible without designated public corridors.
The San Cristóbal ruling creates exactly that kind of corridor. By requiring the developer to build and maintain a public road and beach facility as a condition of the project, the city council has ensured the coastline cannot be walled off as the mega-development takes shape.
First reported by BCS Noticias.