This decision by the TSJC upholds the previous ruling from the administrative contentious court number 1 of Girona, which had already annulled the special contributions the council intended to charge residents. Palamós City Council, represented by lawyer Sebastià Martínez de Trincheria, had appealed the decision, arguing that the project was "essential" for the La Fosca sector and aimed at a comprehensive improvement of spaces and services.
The conflict arose from the municipal intention to finance the works, budgeted at 3.8 million euros, by having a significant portion of residents cover 90% of the cost. The council defended this percentage based on the premise that property owners would be the primary beneficiaries of the action, a model previously applied in the first phase in 2003.
The TSJC supports the Girona court's criterion and concludes that the City Council did not sufficiently justify either this cost distribution or the supposed special benefit for the affected property owners.
However, the TSJC found that the City Council did not adequately justify either the cost distribution or the special benefit for property owners. The ruling emphasizes that the works benefit not only the residents of the area but also the municipality as a whole, thereby rejecting the proposed financing system. Furthermore, the court questioned the inclusion of part of the expropriation costs in the calculation and ordered the City Council to pay the procedural costs, with a limit of 2,000 euros.
The project for the second phase of the works was approved in the summer of 2022, with an expected start the following year, but the procedures have been halted. The intervention affects the area delimited by the La Fosca road, the Sant Joan cemetery path, the old La Fosca path, and Església street. The first-instance ruling was announced in August of last year, following an appeal by three residents who had hoped for negotiations with the council, which did not materialize.
