Contents of this guide
What a zoning code is
Law 6 of 2006, which regulates territorial planning for urban development and was published in Gaceta Oficial 25478, defines zoning as the territorial division of an urban center or an undeveloped area in order to regulate land uses by homogeneous areas. That definition appears in the glossary of article 5 of the text of the law. Each homogeneous area receives a code, and each code has associated rules: permitted uses, density, minimum lot size, height, setbacks and parking.
That is why the code works as the first filter in a land purchase for development. A lot with the right code allows the planned project. One with another code may force a redesign or a change procedure.
Panamanian nomenclature distinguishes families. The letters RM stand for high-density multifamily residential, in three levels. La Estrella, in a 2014 report on a MIVIOT resolution, describes them as RM-1 with 750 people per hectare, RM-2 with 1,000 and RM-3 with 1,500. The letter C stands for commercial, and SIU is what Green Valley associates with institutional facilities such as schools and hospitals. The figure of 1,500 matches what Green Valley publishes for its RM3 lots.
Green Valley’s codes, one by one
The Green Valley developers page describes its lots by land use code. The table summarizes what that website publishes about each one.
| Code | Use described by the website | Lot from | Height or density |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM3-C2 | High-density housing and commerce: offices or apartments in height | 2,500 m² | 1,500 inhab/ha |
| RM3 | High-density residential: high-rise apartment buildings | 2,500 m² | 1,500 inhab/ha |
| C1 | Shopping plazas: restaurants, supermarkets, boutiques, cafés | 1,000 m² | Ground floor plus one level |
| C2 | Malls, office towers, hotels, department stores, gas stations | Confirmed per lot | Confirmed in the certification |
| SIU2 | Schools and hospitals | 4,500 m² | Confirmed per lot |
Data from the Green Valley developers page. The website does not publish the height of RM3 or C2 lots here; that detail is confirmed with the official certification and the sales team. The availability of each lot is not covered in this article.
RM3 and RM3-C2 lots share, according to the same page, side setbacks of 5 or 7.5 meters depending on the length of the frontage, and landscaping and trees in the setbacks, except at building entrances.
RM3 and RM3-C2: high-rise buildings
For an apartment developer, the combination of high density and lots of 2,500 square meters or more is the core of the offer. Green Valley’s website describes RM3 as land for large apartment projects and RM3-C2 as mixed land, where offices and housing can share one complex. Green Valley’s note on land for multifamily projects adds the argument that building inside a planned community makes it easier to integrate amenities and common areas.
A density of 1,500 inhabitants per hectare does not equal a number of apartments on its own. MIVIOT Resolution 32 of 2019 regulates nationwide the calculation of the number of inhabitants in dwellings and apartment buildings, according to the summary on the regulations page, so the project architect translates density into units with that rule. The ministry publishes the text of Resolution 32 of 2019. Anyone who ends up selling apartments under a condominium regime should also consider Radar’s guide to horizontal property.
C1 and C2: retail and services
The C1 code, according to Green Valley, covers shopping plazas of at most two levels, located facing the lakes and intended for restaurants, supermarkets, boutiques, laundries, bakeries and cafés. The minimum size is 1,000 square meters and the maximum height is ground floor plus one level.
The C2 code is presented as the one with the highest economic value in the project because of its scarcity in Panama City and its variety of uses. The website places it at the entrance of the project and associates it with malls, office towers, hotels, department stores and gas stations. That is the developer’s commercial assessment, and each builder checks with the official certification exactly which uses the code admits on the lot of interest. A related matter is parking: Resolution 684 of 2015, according to the MIVIOT list, changes parking requirements and sets provisions on front setbacks in the Metropolitan Area, and its PDF text is on the ministry’s site.
How to check a lot’s code
Resolution 4-2009 of the Ministry of Housing, published in Gaceta Oficial 26221 of February 11, 2009, regulates the procedure for requesting land use or zoning code certifications. Its text names the Urban Development Directorate as the recipient of the request; which unit handles the procedure today is confirmed on the MIVIOT site. The steps below combine that resolution with a technical review.
- Gather the property data. The resolution asks for the property number, volume, folio, lot number, surface area, owner and location. The registry entry is searched at the Public Registry, as the guide to searching the Public Registry explains.
- Draft the request note. It is addressed to the urban development authority and signed by the owner, the architect or the interested party.
- Attach the regional location. Three copies are requested, taken from the Zoning Graphic Document or, failing that, a referenced location within a radius of at least 500 meters, at a scale of 1:5,000.
- Wait for the certification. The resolution’s procedure provides for evaluation of the request, office research and, if needed, a field inspection, and ends with the certification through the relevant legal instrument.
- Read the code’s rules. With the code in hand, the architect reviews density, height, setbacks and parking in the rules in force.
- Cross-check with the seller’s offer. What the developer says about a lot is compared with the certification, and any difference is clarified in writing before signing.
Road easements and building lines are certified separately, according to the same resolution. A lot with a good code can still have a building line that reduces the buildable area.
What if the code does not fit
The resolution also regulates requests to assign, add or change a land use or zoning code, and states that this kind of request requires public participation. Law 6 of 2006, in its original text (Law 14 of 2015 amended it, so the current version should be checked), asked in its article 26 that change requests include technical studies of the project and that a public consultation be held. In practice, a code change is a long procedure with an uncertain outcome, so a developer is usually better off choosing a lot whose code already admits the project.
Rules can also move. The La Estrella report cited above stated in 2014 that MIVIOT provisionally suspended eight zoning changes in Altos del Golf and Villa Lilla under Resolution 486 of 2014, after complaints from residents. It is an example that a zoning approval can be reviewed and of why the current status of the code should be checked before buying. For the wider market context, Radar’s reflection Who does Panama build for? helps read demand.
Green Valley details on its developers page the land uses of its lots (RM3, RM3-C2, C1, C2 and SIU2), the minimum surface areas and the plans by phase. The sales team confirms the current information for each lot.
Frequently asked questions
What does RM3 mean in Panama zoning?
RM3 is a high-density multifamily residential code; Green Valley describes it for high-rise apartment buildings with a density of 1,500 inhabitants per hectare and lots from 2,500 square meters.
What can be built on a C1 lot?
According to Green Valley, shopping plazas of at most two levels, with restaurants, supermarkets, boutiques, laundries, bakeries and cafés, on lots from 1,000 square meters.
What is the difference between C1 and C2?
On Green Valley’s website, C1 means ground-floor-plus-one shopping plazas facing the lakes, and C2 means entrance lots for malls, office towers, hotels, department stores and gas stations.
How is a plot’s zoning code verified?
A land use or zoning code certification is requested from MIVIOT, with the property data and a location from the Zoning Graphic Document, according to Resolution 4-2009.
Can a lot’s zoning code be changed?
There is a procedure to request assignments or changes of zoning code, which under Resolution 4-2009 requires public participation and technical justification, and whose outcome is not guaranteed.
This content is informational and does not replace advice from an architect, an urban planner or a lawyer for a specific lot.
Related articles
- Horizontal property in Panama: how a PH works
- How to search the Public Registry of Panama online
- Best residential projects in Panama for foreign investors: five developments compared
- Who does Panama build for?
Sources
- Green Valley, developers: codes, surface areas, density and setbacks of the lots.
- Green Valley, land for multifamily projects.
- Law 6 of February 1, 2006, Gaceta Oficial 25478: article 5, definition of zoning.
- MIVIOT, Resolution 4-2009 (Gaceta Oficial 26221): land use certifications and code changes.
- MIVIOT, regulations, with resolutions 684 of 2015 and 32 of 2019.
- La Estrella de Panamá, Miviot suspende ocho cambios de zonificación: densities of RM-1, RM-2 and RM-3 and Resolution 486 of 2014.
- Radar Panamá, Public Registry and horizontal property.
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