Legal Challenge Halts Santa Cruz Parking Project Over Tree Protection Concerns

The debate over urban development in Santa Cruz de Tenerife has moved to the courtroom. The environmental group "Los Árboles Hablan" and the neighborhood association "La Salud Verde" are challenging a municipal project to build 80 parking spaces in the La Salud neighborhood.

The €1.9 million project involves demolishing the old San Gerardo church and redesigning the José Carlos Schwartz square. Opponents argue that this plan threatens about twenty trees, some of which are protected by regional law.

Represented by lawyer Felipe Campos, the groups have requested an immediate suspension of the work. They argue that the city failed to provide the necessary health and structural studies required to justify removing trees that are over 20 years old.

An environmental report commissioned by the groups highlights the potential impact: losing these trees would reduce carbon dioxide absorption by 600 kilograms and oxygen production by 2,360 kilograms annually. The study also warns that removing the vegetation would increase local temperatures, raise energy demand by 400 kilowatts per year, and eliminate a natural filter for air pollution.

Residents have proposed an alternative, suggesting that the parking lot could be built on five underutilized plots nearby—specifically on Cornisa, Guañañime, and José Luis Miranda streets, or near the Molino ravine—without destroying the existing urban greenery.

Javier Rivero, the Councilor for Works, defends the project, stating that the final design follows two years of discussions with the local San Gerardo neighborhood association. The court will now decide whether the city has violated the Canary Islands Law for the Protection of Urban Trees, which requires public works projects to prove that preserving existing trees is impossible before removing them.