This Tuesday morning, we'd like to highlight the issues surrounding the interpretation of local development plans ("MPZP" or "local plan"). From our experience, we know that this is an issue that often causes difficulties not only for clients but also for administrative bodies, leading to the misapplication of local plan provisions.
The most common moment for interpreting local spatial development plan provisions is during the building permit process. According to Article 35, Section 1, Item 1 of the Building Law, before issuing a building permit, the architectural and construction administration authority must, among other things, verify the compliance of the building design with the provisions of the local spatial development plan. Generally speaking, in this process, the authority verifies whether the investor's intention complies with generally applicable law and local law, i.e., the applicable local development plan.
As we mentioned in the previous article ( #33 ), pursuant to Article 87, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, a local spatial development plan is an act of local law that is a source of generally applicable law within a given municipality. This fact is of significant importance for the remainder of this article and for the interpretation of the content of local spatial development plans.
As a source of law, a local plan, in accordance with the principles of proper legislation, should be comprehensive, precise, and adhere to the principle of proportionality, which is particularly important in spatial development. It should be emphasized that the municipality has the so-called planning authority, through which the development of a given area is shaped. When adopting a local plan, the municipality should balance the public interest with the private interest, specifically the right of ownership (more precisely, its exercise by an individual). According to Article 64, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, ownership is a protected right and may be limited only by statute and only to the extent that it does not violate the essence of the right of ownership. Violating the principle of proportionality would lead to an unjustified restriction of the development potential of a given plot.
However, it often happens that the administrative body issuing a building permit encounters difficulties in correctly interpreting the provisions of the local spatial development plan, due to the inconsistency of the local spatial development plan with other legal acts, or due to the incompleteness or imprecision of the content of the local spatial development plan.
This is the moment when the principles of correct interpretation of the local spatial development plan are particularly important.
First and foremost, given the local plan's position in the hierarchy of legal acts, it should be emphasized that its content should be interpreted in accordance with higher-level provisions, namely statutes, and above all, the Constitution . Therefore, administrative bodies, often relying on the content of outdated plans, cannot question generally applicable legal provisions. This is where so-called conflict of laws rules apply, meaning a higher-level norm overrides a lower-level norm. Furthermore, a local plan cannot regulate matters reserved for higher-level regulations.
Another important principle is the prohibition of broad interpretations , which stems from the pro-constitutional application of local spatial development plan provisions, i.e., the protection of property rights. Because local spatial development plan provisions contain various prohibitions and prohibitions regarding development of a given area, they cannot be interpreted broadly. The administrative body cannot introduce additional restrictions beyond those stipulated in the local spatial development plan. The literature refers to the "golden mean principle," meaning that interpretation of local spatial development plans should be consistent with the local spatial development plan, so as not to exceed the necessary limits of ownership rights . One could also add the principle that when local spatial development plan provisions are unclear and imprecise, they should be interpreted to the investor's advantage .
Given the above, another principle can be derived: the principle of freedom of development . Limitations on this right can only result from applicable legal provisions, and an administrative body issuing a building permit cannot require more than what is directly required by law.
Furthermore, to properly interpret the provisions of the plan, using the above principles as a guide, one must also properly apply the relevant rules of legal interpretation . In the case of local plans, the most important is the so-called linguistic interpretation , which involves decoding the meaning of specific provisions of the act based on the meaning of words and phrases, taking into account the rules of grammar, linguistic syntax, and logic.
systemic interpretation is also crucial in the process of interpreting local plan provisions . This involves interpreting the meaning of the local spatial development plan provisions based on the local spatial development plan's position within the legal system.
The last element, but also an important one, in the process of correct interpretation is the reference to the content of studies that were prepared at the stage of adopting the local plan , e.g. ecophysiographic studies.
From the discussed point of view, it may also be important to carefully study the submitted comments that were not taken into account by the commune in the process of adopting the plan, and these comments, together with the plan itself, are published in the official journal of the voivodeship.
Both the studies and the content of the comments will often allow us to read the intention of a given municipality constituting a local plan, or to understand the justification for a given provision of the MPZP.
The above considerations may seem overly theoretical, but they have a real impact on how the provisions of the local zoning plan are interpreted. Therefore, understanding them is key to the proper application of the law. Consequently, it is crucial to the lawful exercise of ownership rights to real estate covered by the local zoning plan.
Today we are talking about theory, but next week we will return to practice – we will prepare for you some interesting examples of practical problems in the application of MPZP, which we have encountered while advising our clients.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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