The Council Initiates the Participatory Process to Draft a New Urban Planning Law

The Department of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory has opened the citizen participation process prior to drafting the preliminary reform project of the Law on Territorial Planning, Urban Development, and Landscape of the Valencian Community to simplify procedures, eliminate administrative burdens, overcome inconsistencies, and improve its drafting.

As highlighted by the Director General of Urban Planning, Landscape, and Environmental Assessment, Miguel Ángel Ivorra, "the process is established from a global perspective, after serious reflection, and with quality criteria." He added that "at the same time, it is important not to leave without necessary legal protection a series of values and general interests that deserve to be preserved, such as legal security."

In this line, the Department initiates the preliminary consultation process "to reflect on aspects of the law that can be modified and invites all interested individuals and groups to contribute their opinions and suggestions," assured the Director General of Urban Planning.

Once this phase of citizen participation is completed, the contributions received will be studied. Subsequently, the Department will draft a preliminary urban reform law project, which will also be subjected to a public information process before its approval and submission to Les Corts. "Thus, the exact scope of the new urban planning law will be defined after completing the consultation process, taking into account the suggestions received," explained Ivorra.

Some specific issues that could be studied and possibly incorporated into the preliminary project include clearer regulation of private initiative participation in formulating proposals in this area in terms of planning. Also, new regulation for the approval procedure of urban plans, flexibility in planning, or specific regulation for issuing sectoral reports in this matter.

On the other hand, regarding urban development, indirect management of Integrated Action Programs could be favored without justifying the non-applicability of direct management. Additionally, possible new modalities for planning execution systems like expropriation by concessionaire could be studied. Furthermore, speeding up the processing of building permit grants.

Similarly, concerning non-developable land, reconsideration of current regulations for Declarations of Community Interest will be studied along with measures to expedite procedures. Measures to promote tertiary and recreational activities on non-developable land will also be analyzed.

Finally, processes for regularizing illegal constructions could be reviewed by studying the possibility of implementing certain cases through construction projects with a potential reassessment of current regulations. Measures favoring municipalities at risk of depopulation characterized generally by being more vulnerable could also be implemented.