The July 7, 2023 amendment to the Law on Spatial Planning and Development introduces significant changes in the responsibilities of municipalities and the possibilities for cooperation between local governments and investors. The purpose of these changes is to simplify the investment process and increase the effectiveness of spatial planning in the implementation of construction projects. I invite you to read the post, in which I will present the key changes resulting from the amendment, from the point of view of the developer and the investor.
">General plan- a new planning instrument
The most significant change included in the amendment is the introduction of a general plan - a new planning instrument that, starting in 2026, will replace the municipality's land use study, which has been known for years. What does the change consist of? First of all, the general plan will have the rank of an act of local law and have the character of a generally applicable law in a given area. Previously, the study of conditions was a strategic document defining the spatial policy of the municipality, but it did not have the status of an act of law and thus did not have a binding character for the entities covered by it, among others, in the process of obtaining a building permit. The main purpose of this amendment is to unify the provisions contained in the municipality's strategy and subordinate regulations and documents: the local spatial development plan and the zoning decision. At this point, it is worth noting that the obligation to enact local plans will pose a significant challenge for smaller municipalities due to limited budgets and the cost of enacting plans reaching up to tens of millions of zlotys. However, the effect of the change will be greater consistency in the planning process, as the findings of the MPZP or DWZ will be more dependent on the guidelines contained in the General Plan.
">IntegratedInvestment Plan (IIP).
From the investors' perspective, the key change resulting from the amendment to the Law on Planning and Spatial Development is the introduction of the Integrated Investment Plan (ZPI)-a new form of local plan, drawn up at the investor's request. ZPI is intended to replace and significantly modify the solutions of the so-called housing speculative law. The key features of ZPI are: the possibility of using it to determine the land use for any investment, not only residential, and allowing the investor to negotiate with the municipality on investment obligations, such as the construction of technical infrastructure (e.g. access roads, networks) or public utilities. Arrangements between the municipality and the investor are agreed in the form of a so-called urban planning agreement - a tool formalizing the investor's obligations to the municipality as part of the implementation of the Integrated Investment Plan.
The introduction of the IPP and urban planning agreement is beneficial to investors for at least two reasons. First, it streamlines the investment process by enabling the enactment of an urban plan for a specific property owned by the investor. Secondly, it sanctions the principles of financing the enactment of the local plan by the investor, making the entire process transparent and facilitated - prior to the amendment in question, the provisions of the Law on Planning and Spatial Development did not provide for the possibility of financing the entire process by the investor.
Summary
The July 7, 2023 amendment to the Law on Spatial Planning and Development introduces a number of significant changes aimed at simplifying the investment process and increasing the efficiency of spatial planning. The introduction of a master plan, an integrated investment plan and an urban planning agreement are key elements to streamline the investment process. From the perspective of spatial planning, it is also important to ensure greater consistency between the provisions of strategic documents (the Study and, consequently, the General Plan) and executive documents (MPZ, DWZ), which should translate into a better quality of urban space.
