Decision 38 COM 7B.42

Colonial City of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) (C 526)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.95, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Acknowledges the efforts made by the State Party to fund and organise the advisory mission conducted in January 2014 and encourages it to implement the recommendations contained in the mission report;
4. Recognizes the efforts made by national and municipal authorities in implementing recommendations to control concerns for the property such as Subway Number 6, the Programme for the Promotion of Tourism financed by an Inter-American Development Bank project at the Colonial City and the Sansouci Project; as well as the work of neighbours’ associations and private investment groups to promote and take actions contributing to improve the conditions of the Colonial City;
5. Considers that all projects or actions affecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and undertaken by any international, governmental, non-governmental or private entity, including the Inter-American Development Bank project, must involve and be approved by the institution responsible for the protection of the property;
6. Requests the State Party to implement the following and ensure specific and realistic timeframes are applied:
   1. Finalize the process for approval of the buffer zone in East Santo Domingo and its corresponding regulatory measures,
   2. Finalize the approval process for the new Law for the Protection, Safeguarding and Development of Cultural Heritage and ensure that its provisions are integrated into planning tools for the property,
   3. Improve management capacities and secure adequate resources for sustained implementation of conservation, protection and management actions, specially concerning the full functioning of the Steering Committee and the Strategic Plan for the Integral Revitalization of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo,
   4. Identify alternatives to address transportation issues and develop Heritage Impact Assessments for the Subway project and submit them to the World Heritage Centre for review prior to making any commitments for implementation,
   5. Review the occupation-open space ratio of the Sansouci development project and define parameters for the further design of specific projects to ensure that potential negative impacts to the visual qualities of the setting of the property are mitigated,
   6. Ensure that design parameters for architectural projects consider the attributes that convey OUV and the conditions of integrity and authenticity of the property and that, in accordance to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines , the revised development project and specific building designs be submitted for review prior to commencing implementation;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2015, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.