New law paves way for planning amnesty

Planning minister will have the right to request the new Malta Planning Authority to regularise illegal developments

The proposed new Development Planning Act, whose second reading was approved on Monday, will effectively pave the way for a widespread planning amnesty because it gives the minister responsible for planning – in this case the Prime Minister or his parliamentary secretary – the ultimate power to issue new rules to regularise illegal developments.

The law still has to be discussed at committee stage, and the government has committed itself to consider amendments presented by environmental NGOs.

But the controversial clause in the new law states that “any person who is served with an enforcement notice” in respect of development which may be regularised “by virtue of regulations made by the Minister”, shall have the right to request the new Malta Planning Authority (MPA) to regularise the development.

Currently, a partial amnesty only applies to minor developments mentioned in Schedule 8 of the present law. Such persons are not granted a full permit, which enables them to sell their illegal properties, but are merely exempted from pending enforcement procedures.

But while those illegalities that can be exempted from enforcement are laid down in the law, the new law will give the minister responsible for the MPA blanket powers to define both the illegalities which can be sanctioned, and the fines which would be applicable. This will be done through a legal notice issued by the Minister.

Moreover the proposed law also states that whenever an application for regularising past abuse is turned down, enforcement provisions will only apply from the date such from when such a request is turned down.  

This means that fines on irregularities some of which took place years ago, will only apply as from the date when the application to sanction is turned down.

At present, properties in a state of illegality and which lack a permit, cannot be sold, modified or redeveloped.

This renders such buildings uninhabitable while also diminishing their commercial value.

But a planning amnesty through which owners can pay a fine to become legal, will allow them to put these properties back on the market.  

In February, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority confirmed that it was considering a procedure through which owners of illegal developments carried out before January 2013 within development zones, and before 1994 in outside development zones (ODZ), could get a full permit after paying a hefty fine. 

MaltaToday was informed that a range of fines would apply to different categories of illegal developments, each of which will be subject to a different fine.

Interviewed by MaltaToday in December 2014, planning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon had already hinted that the government was considering a system allowing the regularisation of some but not all illegalities. 

Existing legislation only allows owners to request MEPA to refrain from executing an enforcement notice on a number of minor illegalities already defined in the law. In the past three years, MEPA approved 4,006 requests to stop planning enforcements against minor illegalities, such as those being in breach of sanitary regulations due to discrepancies in the size of internal yards or back yards.

Owners must apply through existing procedures to get a permit after removing the illegality, to regularise the development.

But the proposed amnesty will also open a window of opportunity for developments made in outside development zones before 1994. 

The MEPA spokesperson confirmed that all owners of all ODZ developments carried out before 1994 will benefit from the proposed amnesty even if this does not mean that all applications will be accepted.

Existing legislation, namely Article 70 of the law, excludes the sanctioning of any illegalities on scheduled areas like Natura 2000 sites, irrespective of when these were made. But no reference is found in the new law to the protected sites included in the present law’s Sixth Schedule.

Controversial developments carried out partly or entirely without a permit before 1994 have included additions to the Grotta discothèque in Gozo, the Paradise Bay lido and the various accretions added to Popeye village in Anchor Bay over the years.

They also include a large number of agricultural and rural structures.   

A number of ODZ villas and dwellings constructed before 1994 – which currently cannot be sold or redeveloped – may also be eligible for regularisation through the new scheme.

In its electoral manifesto the Labour Party promised that it “will continue to implement and facilitate schemes for regularisation for those who have minor pending issues with planning and sanitary compliance”.