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Forestal León Leaves Coelemu After Dispute with Municipality Over License Renewal: Relocates to Quirihue

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Forestal León left the commune of Coelemu after canceling its commercial license at the Municipality of Quirihue and relocating its headquarters. The drastic decision, which would involve paying up to 100 million pesos in taxes, was made amid a conflict with Coelemu's municipal corporation.

Just days after this dispute between Forestal León and the local municipality became known, the company's owner, Antonio Viñuela, followed through on his warning due to the municipal corporation's refusal to renew its commercial license.

After a meeting with Quirihue's mayor, Eduardo Redlich, the businessman confirmed the relocation of the headquarters and the payment of the commercial license in that commune, emphasizing that the administrative offices and industrial plant would remain in Coelemu.

The businessman confirmed that the industrial plant has a pending environmental issue, assuring that it is in process and will be resolved this year.

Coelemu Municipality Requested Environmental Permits

It was precisely the industrial plant's environmental permits that the Coelemu Municipality required to renew Forestal León's commercial license. However, Antonio Viñuela was categorical in pointing to the municipality's legal ignorance as the trigger for the conflict that led to his decision to move to Quirihue.

Coelemu's mayor, Alejandro Pedreros, insisted on the impossibility of renewing the license, though he had offered the businessman—he said—to evaluate a new deadline for obtaining the environmental approval and extend the validity of the provisional permit expiring today during that period.

The mayor assured that because of this situation, the forestry company's jobs are not at risk, as its license contributed around 100 million pesos annually to the Coelemu Municipality.

Source:BiobioChile