In two zones, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is categorizing plots of land in settlements of less than 2,000 inhabitants, updating the regulation that it had put on the table months ago with the adoption of the Presidential Decree at the request of the Council of State.

The new intervention, which was also reportedly the subject of a consultation with the supreme cancellation court, was submitted late last night in an amendment to parliament.

Under it, plots located in settlements of up to 700 inhabitants, citing demographics and decentralization, retain the existing framework that allows building on the current edges of the settlement (the so-called zone C) after special documentation.

In order to implement the new rules, which also give the final guidelines to planners for the urban planning that is in full swing, the tool of the Settlement Development Zone (SDZ) will be used.

For settlements that are from 701 to 2000 inhabitants, the Ministry of Environment is reviving the regulations for derogations by utilizing the Special Use Area (SUEA). These settlements are given the possibility during their delimitation to define as SUEA the area that extends beyond the boundaries of the b1 Zone and reaches the settlement boundaries (Zone C).

The disputed zone had been rejected by the State Council during the pre-trial review of the PD, on the grounds that it was formed by undocumented decisions of prefects without scientific background.

The new regulation as the Prime Minister himself announced yesterday affects the majority of people (from 90%) since it allows the adoption of the limits that were practically drawn several decades ago, being the apple of discord between the political and judicial powers. Mitsotakis said that the state also provides for those who have plots in settlements of 701 to 2000 inhabitants for whom a flexible tool is provided that will allow them to build within the current zone C with more favorable conditions than is currently the case for building on off-plan plots.

The terms of the regulation

In particular, for settlements of up to 700 inhabitants, the government is converting the zone formed years ago by prefectural decisions into a Residential Development Zone. In it, plots from 500 sq m to 2,000 sq m will be complete and buildable as long as they have a 10 m long face to a public road. The amendment provides that the area of integrity and the minimum face length on a public road shall be specified by the Presidential Decree delimiting each settlement, “taking into account the sizes considered most representative of the character and the landscaped situation in the zone in question, and the building shall be placed at least 5 meters from the axis of the aforementioned road.”

With regard to plots located in settlements of 701 inhabitants up to 2,000, the minimum area for building is set from 2,000 m2 to 4,000 m2, provided that they have a face of at least 15 metres in length on a public road. The regulation refers to the reintroduction of exceptions to off-plan building as it paves the way for building on plots of 2 to 4 hectares. Without this provision these plots would be considered off-plan and therefore would require a 4 acre parcel to be built on.

The tropology provides that those plots that were legally created by prior regulations or based on the designated sizes in a prior zoning deed of settlement are considered complete and buildable if they have the minimum face to a public street and the relevant building is located at least 5 metres from the axis of that street.

A presidential decree issued upon the proposal of the Minister of Environment and Energy may further specify the above provisions concerning the ZAO, as well as the general or special conditions and restrictions on building and land use within it, and determine any other element necessary for the protection of the physiognomy and sustainable development of settlements.