In today's Morning for Budowlanka, we're briefly departing from our series on decisions on environmental conditions for project approvals, as the Chancellery of the Prime Minister recently completed work on amendments to the Spatial Planning and Development Act. As we wrote in the March Tuesday Morning for Budowlanka alert (for more, see article #95 ), we feel compelled to share the latest changes to the amended act.
According to the report on public consultations and opinions, the most important changes concern (i) planning rent, (ii) decisions on development conditions, (iii) planning procedure, (iv) renewable energy sources, (v) integrated investment plan and (vi) corrections to statutory definitions.
First, we want to reassure you that the legislature has abandoned the new method of calculating planning fees. We would like to remind you that, according to the draft, the planning fee was intended to be more universal. The property value increase fee was to apply to all properties covered by the general plan (provided their value increased as a result of the plan's adoption) and to those for which a decision on development conditions was issued (regardless of the date of sale of such property – a change from the previous regulations). The draft also assumed the establishment of a single fee, which would be 30% of the increase in property value. For properties for which a decision on development conditions was issued, the fee was to be imposed after the issuance of a building permit (construction notification), based on such a decision. We emphasize that the current regulations regarding the planning fee will continue to apply.
Another piece of good news is that the legislator has abandoned the validity period (5 years) of the decision on development conditions (which was to be counted from the date the decision became final and binding, and after that date the decision expires).
Regarding the planning procedure itself, a far-reaching change is the creation of a separate procedure that can be applied in the event of changes to investments with a significant environmental impact. It should be emphasized that in such a situation, the Ministry has introduced regulations that allow for repeated public consultations. However, we note that the Ministry failed to consider the community's comments, and consequently, this procedure is clearly lacking when introducing changes to the draft planning act during the planning procedure. An equally interesting change is the removal of Article 27b, section 1, from the existing draft act. In practice, this means that a resolution adopting or amending a local plan will not be able to amend the general plan.
The latest changes also introduce a number of improvements regarding renewable energy sources (hereinafter referred to as "RES" ). Considering recent price increases, the Ministry's amendments should be considered successful. First and foremost, the scope of the simplified procedure has been expanded to cover all types of renewable energy installations, regardless of their installed capacity and whether they significantly impact the environment. The simplified procedure can also be used to lift the ban on locating micro-installations and photovoltaic installations on buildings. The Ministry also addressed the demands of the groups that the location of renewable energy sources based on the zoning decision would be valid until the general plan comes into effect.
The changes also apply to the provisions regarding the integrated investment plan. Following consultations, the investor's obligation to implement a supplementary investment has been added to the mandatory scope of the urban planning agreement. The investor will be able to optionally agree on other obligations with the municipality.
Regarding the definition, the Ministry has revised the definition of plot frontage, stating that the plot frontage also includes the portion of the building plot boundary that adjoins the boundary of the plot encumbered by a road easement, which serves as the main access point to the plot. This change will allow for obtaining a development permit for plots that do not have direct access to a public road and that are accessed through a right-of-way.
We remind you that the amendments to the Spatial Planning and Development Act are part of a major overhaul of investment and construction regulations, which are related to the National Reconstruction Plan. The extent to which the new regulations will contribute to maintaining and upholding spatial order remains to be seen.
Next week we return to further discuss issues related to environmental decisions.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of October 25, 2022
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