Another significant change in construction law that we would like to present to you is the new definition of the area of impact of a facility, which is to enter into force on September 19, 2020.
Let us recall that until recently, the area of influence of a facility was to be understood as the area designated in the vicinity of the building on the basis of separate provisions introducing restrictions on the development of this area, including building development, related to this facility .
The amendment changes this definition and now the area of influence of a structure is considered to be the area designated in the vicinity of the structure on the basis of separate provisions introducing restrictions on the development of this area .
This is of significant practical importance , as defining the impact area directly impacts the scope of parties in the building permit procedure. Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Construction Law explicitly states that, in addition to the investor, the parties to the procedure include among others, owners of properties located within the impact area of the facility .
By obtaining party status, an entity acquires full rights to participate in the proceedings, including filing appeals and complaints regarding the planned development "nearby." To limit the participants in the building permit process, the legislator introduced a specific definition of the facility's impact area into the Act.
In practice, however, it turned out that development restrictions were often understood as subjective feelings of owners of neighbouring properties, e.g. increased traffic, noise, or other restrictions on the use of neighbouring properties.
Meanwhile, the amendment further narrowed the scope of parties , removing the wording of development restrictions from the definition, leaving only the issue of building restrictions. Therefore, after the new regulations come into force, only circumstances related to, among other things, screening or required distances between buildings, which are regulated by relevant building law, will be examined.
As regards the reference to separate provisions included in the definition, this should be understood primarily as provisions specifying the technical conditions that buildings and their location should meet.
The new definition of a facility's impact area should be viewed very positively, with the hope that it will ultimately contribute to expediting building permit procedures. It's worth noting that the amended provision will only apply to proceedings initiated after its entry into force.
We encourage you to continue following our series, "Tuesday Mornings for Construction Professionals." Last week, we wrote about significant deviations from approved construction plans , and in the next article, we will discuss new regulations regarding deviations from approved construction plans.
On our website you will find a comparison of the wording of the provisions of construction law according to the applicable legal status and the amended content.
Download the table containing the changes
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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