As every month, we devote the first morning of December to the legal changes that occurred in November and December. After a busy legislative year, not much has happened in the last two months, but there have been a few changes and announcements related to the most important change this year: spatial planning reform, which are worth writing about.
Regulation on the form of spatial planning acts
On November 20, 2023, one of the first regulations issued in connection with the spatial planning reform was published in the Journal of Laws. Pursuant to Article 8g, Section 6 of the Spatial Planning and Development Act, the Minister of Development and Technology issued a regulation on the template form for a spatial planning act dated November 13, 2023.
This form is to be used to submit:
- applications for the draft spatial planning act,
- comments in the public consultation procedure,
- applications for the preparation or amendment of a spatial planning act and
- applications and resignations referred to in Article 8f of the Act.
The latter case concerns the rights of stakeholders to submit a request to be informed via e-mail about each time data or information about spatial planning acts, their amendments and subsequent steps in the procedure for their adoption are made available in the Urban Register (the scope of information is specified in Art. 67h of the Spatial Planning and Development Act).
This means that as of November 27, 2023, a single form will be used for all spatial planning documents. The form can be submitted both in paper and electronic form, including via electronic means of communication, particularly email. It's worth remembering this change, especially since many of you will likely be facing intensive work on local plans in the coming months.
Other regulations for spatial planning reform
The remaining regulations that were to be issued in connection with the spatial planning reform—which, as a reminder, entered into force on September 24, 2023—are still at the government legislative center stage. The regulations we are awaiting are:
- Draft regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the method of determining the boundaries of the development supplementation area in the general plan of a commune – the last amendment of 9 November 2023 indicates that the draft has been submitted for public consultation.
- Draft regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the method of determining requirements for new development and land development in the absence of a local development plan – the last amendment of 5 October 2023 indicates that the draft has been submitted for public consultation.
We won't go into details today; we'll wait for the final wording. We'll keep you updated on legislative progress.
Draft proposal to change the deadline for adopting general plans
On November 28, 2023, a parliamentary bill on electricity, gas, and heat prices (form no. 72) was submitted to the Sejm. This bill proposed changes aimed at extending the deadline for municipalities to adopt general plans and thus extending the validity of condition studies by two years.
Article 13 of the aforementioned draft amends the transitional provision, changing the date for the adoption of general plans from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2027. However, as PZFD rightly points out, this amendment is incomplete and requires additional supplementation. The drafters did not propose a change to the provision prohibiting the issuance of development decisions from January 1, 2026, in the absence of a general plan (Article 59, paragraph 3 of the planning reform). This undoubtedly requires supplementation – otherwise, it will not be possible to obtain a development decision for up to two years (until the adoption of the general plan).
Please note that the draft amendments are limited to just the above provision. This means that development decisions that do not become final by December 31, 2025, will only be valid for five years.
The drafters also do not assume any change to the expiry date of the special housing act, which the reform shortened to 1 January 2026 (where it was originally supposed to be in force until 2028).
We will see whether additional changes will be introduced during the legislative process – we will, of course, keep you informed about this.
And next week we will return to the topic of joint ownership and analyze its impact on the procedure for issuing building permits.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of December 4, 2023
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