Alanya zoning plan controversy: Why did the municipality re-open a hotel it had closed?

Alanya Municipality has denied allegations that Sunset Beach Hotel operated without a permit. However, legal experts have raised serious concerns about irregularities in the parcel's formation and construction process, calling on the municipality to provide transparent public clarification.

In a recent statement, Alanya Municipality asserted that the hotel in Kestel Neighborhood had completed all legal permit procedures in accordance with the regulations. It acknowledged that in the past, the hotel's licenses had been revoked by court order due to zoning violations, and that the owner restarted the licensing process from scratch. According to the statement, a new zoning certificate was obtained on July 11, 2024, the building permit was issued on May 14, 2025, the occupancy permit on July 7, 2025, and the business operation license on July 18, 2025.

“JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT IS BEING ERODED”

However, this statement did not satisfy the legal community or the public. Mehmet Fatih Önsöz, President of the Legal Thought Association, emphasized that there are serious legal concerns about parcel no. 876 block 1, where the hotel is located.

He stated that this parcel may have been unlawfully derived from a beach zone with no road frontage, and included in a so-called “partial development decision” without legal justification. Based on the original parent parcels, such a development density should not have been allowed. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism had also issued formal opinions opposing such partial development rights.

Despite this, extraordinary building rights were granted to Sunset Beach Hotel, violating urban planning principles and public interest. A prior municipal administration had initiated a lawsuit to cancel the zoning plan, but the new administration quietly withdrew the case without explanation. This raised strong suspicion that the zoning plan was intentionally shielded from judicial review, deeply offending public conscience.

The April 1, 2024 ruling by the 2nd Administrative Chamber of the Konya Regional Court (2023/1675 E., 2024/576 K.) and other decisions have documented irregularities in the parcel’s creation and construction rights. Even the municipality’s own press statements referenced these issues during lawsuits to annul permits and occupancy rights.