General plan of the municipality

On 24 September 2023, an amendment to the Act of 27 March 2003 on spatial planning and development entered into force, based on which municipal general plans were introduced into the legal order in place of the municipal study, i.e. the study of conditions and directions for spatial development of the municipality. In accordance with the legislator’s assumptions, the municipality’s general plan took the form of a local normative act and therefore has the same status as the local spatial development plan. This is the opposite solution to the one in force until now, as the legislator did not give the municipal study the power of universally binding. The study was only an internally binding act that should be obligatorily taken into account during the drafting of the local spatial development plan. Like the study, the general plan is adopted for the territory of the entire municipality.

Content of the master plan

Pursuant to Article 13a (4) of the Act of 27 March 2003 on planning and spatial development in the general plan:
1) it is defined:

a) planning zones,

b) municipal urban planning standards;

2) can be defined:

a) areas of housing completions,

b) inner city development areas.

According to Article 13c (1) of the Act of 27 March 2003 on planning and spatial development, the area covered by the general plan is divided into planning zones in a separable manner.
However, pursuant to Article 13c (2) of the Act of 27 March 2003 on planning and spatial development, as a result of the subdivision referred to in paragraph 1, the following planning zones may be designated:
1) multi-functional zone with multi-family residential development;
2) multi-functional zone with single-family residential development;
3) multi-functional zone with homestead development;
4) service zone;
5) large-format retail zone;
6) economic zone;
7) agricultural production zone;
8) infrastructure zone;
9) green and recreation zone;
10) cemetery zone;
11) mining zone;
12) open zone;
13) traffic zone.

Effects of adopting or amending the general plan

The master plan to the extent referred to in:
(1) paragraph 4(1) (planning zones and municipal planning standards) and (2)(b) (downtown development areas), shall be taken into account in the preparation of the local spatial development plan and shall constitute the legal basis for the zoning and land use decision;
(2) Paragraph 4(2)(a) (areas of infill development), provides the legal basis for a planning decision.
The adoption or amendment of a general plan may therefore directly affect the scope of the property owner’s rights. The designation of a specific planning zone may make it impossible to obtain a zoning decision. The effect of adopting certain provisions in the municipality’s general plan may therefore be to indirectly introduce restrictions on the development of the property.
In contrast to the local plan, the legislator does not grant the owner or perpetual usufructuary of the real property any rights to claim compensation for damage resulting from the enactment or amendment of the general plan. The exclusion of liability for damages in this situation raises far-reaching doubts from the point of view of compliance with the Basic Law.
Legal status as at 7.08.2024