The new Andalusian Land Law unifies current urban regulations by updating them and making the approval procedures for urban instruments more flexible. The simplification of procedures and reduction of the processes to approve the urban plans, which were demanded by the municipalities, in addition to establishing a new classification of land between urban and rustic, are the most highlighted points by the Executive of the coalition PP and C's of Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla.
The new Andalusian Land Law aims to unblock urban planning in the region, which in many places has been paralyzed for more than 10 years. According to estimates by the Andalusian Government, three out of every five Andalusian municipalities do not have a general plan and about 60 are working on a new planning. Now he hopes that the writing of new urban plans will multiply by three.
The Parliament of Andalusia has finally approved Law 7/2021 on the Promotion of Sustainability for the Territory of Andalusia, which will enter into force on December 23, 2021.
This new law is extensive and very technical. However, the main novelties can be summarized in 10 key ideas:
1. Law 7/2021 will be known as the LISTA and it was born with an ambitious objective: to update and combine in a single normative text the Andalusian regulation referring to spatial planning and urban planning. In addition, it aims to solve the problems derived from the judicial annulment of general plans in a large number of Andalusian municipalities.
2. The concepts of developable land or consolidated or unconsolidated urban land disappear. In line with the State Land Law, the classification becomes simpler: urban land and rustic land. Thus, the soils that:
or they have been urbanized and the urbanization works have been received;
or they are urbanistically transformed and have road access by urban road, and connection to basic supply services; Y
or they are built in at least two-thirds of the space suitable for it.
On the contrary, rustic land is made up of land with special protection in accordance with sectoral legislation or preserved, as well as the rest of land not expressly classified as urban land.
3. To speed up territorial planning, the LISTA defines new planning instruments with a more precise content that would avoid excessive planning from the general plan itself. This is how it is distinguished between:
to. The general municipal management plan (PGOM), as a general model for the management of the municipality that seeks, in general, to delimit the urban land of the
rustic soil (and its different categories), the determination of structuring elements and establish the criteria and guidelines for new developments.
b. The urban planning plan (POU) that can cover the entire urban land of the municipality or only some areas, so the approval of various POUs in the same municipality is feasible.
4. Likewise, the LISTA seeks to reduce procedures and deadlines for the approval of urban instruments. However, it is noteworthy that, although the explanatory memorandum of the LISTA provides that after three years from the initial approval they can be understood as approved by positive silence, the articles (i.e. article 79) establishes the opposite: the expiration of the procedure. And it is the text of the articles that prevails.
In addition, the fifth final provision modifies Law 7/2007 of July 9, on Integrated Environmental Quality Management, specifying the environmental assessment necessary for the approval of each instrument.
5. In relation to renewable energy activities, so on the rise in recent years, the LISTA includes uses related to renewable energy as ordinary uses on rustic land. This inclusion is of great relevance since it implies that for the implementation of this activity it is only required to obtain the municipal urban planning license and not an exceptional authorization as provided by Law 7/2002, of December 17, on Urban Planning of Andalusia (LOUA). Likewise, this inclusion eliminates the need to pay a compensatory benefit.
6. Regarding the building activity, the LISTA distinguishes between the acts subject to urban planning license, responsible declaration or prior communication. However, the acts subject to license are not listed, if not, only those that require a responsible declaration or prior communication. Therefore, the urban license would have a more residual nature, applicable to those acts that, requiring administrative intervention, are not susceptible to a responsible declaration or prior communication.
7. For the purposes of the deadlines for the execution of the works and their expiration, the LISTA distinguishes between the works covered by the license and those authorized by means of a responsible declaration. Thus, in the event that the works of a responsible declaration are not executed on time, the Administration could declare their expiration (and the consequent stoppage of the works) without hearing the interested party.
8. Regarding the sanctioning regime, infractions in the area of spatial planning have been included, with the autonomous community being the competent body for the imposition of sanctions in this matter. Likewise, in relation to the amount of the penalties, the maximum amount of the serious penalties has been updated to 29,999 euros (the LOUA provided only 5,999 euros), except for exceptions in which said amount may be increased to 75% of the value of the damage caused.
It also includes the reduction of penalties of a pecuniary nature for recognition of responsibility or compliance with the notified resolution, in accordance with Law 39/2015, of October 31, on the Common Administrative Procedure
of the Public Administrations. However, an additional reduction of up to 50% is foreseen when, in addition to the sanctioning procedure, a procedure to restore urban legality has been initiated against the same person and he / she recognizes his responsibility and executes the restoration within the deadlines required by the Management. This additional reduction would only be 25% if, even if the restoration is carried out voluntarily, it is carried out outside the aforementioned deadlines.
9. The requirements previously established by the LOUA for new construction declarations are updated, including the responsible declaration as an enabling title.
10. The LISTA was created with a vocation for immediacy and will be applied to procedures already initiated, including the approval of planning instruments and the necessary enabling titles for the building activity.
Thus, the norm foresees the approval in mid-2022 of one or more development regulations, as well as the imminent modification of the Andalusian Territory Planning Plan. It remains to be seen if this calendar is fulfilled and how the municipalities with canceled planning adapt their regulations to the LISTA.