The Hyatt Regency Azulera, a $300-million luxury beachfront resort under construction in Brasilito, is among more than a dozen developments under investigation for possibly causing environmental damage, said an Environment Ministry administrative court yesterday.

The Environmental Tribunal is in the northwestern province of Guanacaste this week for the latest of its surprise inspections aimed at catching land developments that are violating environmental regulations.

The Tamuz of Tamarindo, also in Brasilito, Punta San Francisco in Tamarindo, Bahía del Sol in Playa Potrero, Mar Serena in Zapotillal de Cabo Velas and El Castillo residences in Zapotal de Carrillo are all projects currently under investigation, according to the tribunal.

In addition, inspectors stopped three construction projects and opened cases against 17 vacation rental homes, some now slated for demolition by the government, that were built inside the borders of the Las Baulas National Park, in Playa Grande. Despite being within a national park, some of the projects had municipal construction permits and approval from the Environment Ministry's Technical Secretariat (SETENA).

“Practically all the Playa Grande area, inside the Las Baulas National Park” was divided into lots and had for sale signs, “put there in their majority by Century 21 real estate agency,” said a tribunal press release.

The Hyatt, a project whose groundbreaking featured speeches by Tourism Minister Ricardo Benavides and Public Works and Transport Minister Karla González, is perhaps the highest profile development to catch the eye of authorities in these sweeps, which have already gone through the Central Pacific area and the Caribbean Limón province.

“We have doubts as to the protection of the riverbed, the logging that was authorized and what was carried out, and the large movements of earth,” José Lino Chaves, the tribunal's president, told The Tico Times.

Court spokeswoman Gabriela Hernández said more than 300 trees were cut down to make way for the site in areas identified on plans as forest. In Costa Rica, forests cannot be logged without special permission.

The inspectors had visited 40 projects by yesterday, and were to continue the sweep for at least two more days, Hernández said. Developers have a chance to present documentation in the coming days, and the tribunal will then proceed to suspend or shut down projects that could be in violation of the law.