The Xabia General Town Plan - some definitions - Part 2
Reclasificación del suelo Reclassification of an area: The reclassification of an area, either to permit its urbanisation, or to consolidate it within an urban nucleus, or else to remove its authority for urbanisation, or to protect it by means of some legal measure.
In view of recent conservation attitudes towards the environment and for the sake of sustainability, it seems likely that in the writing of the PGOU of Xàbia the second type of reclassification will be much more probable. Nevertheless at the time of reclassification, it is necessary to recognise that not everything is possible. For example, to reclassify consolidated urban ground would be too expensive, and almost impossible, since it would be necessary to compensate the proprietors. Also, to reclassify consolidated urbanisable land to non-urbanisable is difficult because of the loss of income to the muncipality.
Nevertheless, in the case of unconsolidated urban or urbanisable land (i.e. not yet urbanised or not built upon), it is possible to reclassify without compensation (in accordance with repeated legal judgements).
Parcela Mínima Minimum Parcel: According to the current PGOU of Xàbia, it depends on the type of land, but generally:
In Urban Ground, the minimum plot varies between 1000 and 1500 square meters, but most common are the zones where the minimum parcel is of 1000m2 (although there are small zones where the minimum parcel is of 500 to 700 square meters).
In Urbanisable Land the minimum plot also varies between 1000 and 1500 square meters.
In Common Urbaniseable Ground, by law, the minimum plot size is 10.000m2, the minimum plot needed to construct a private house.
Edificabilidad Building Limit: The parameter that defines the number of buildings permitted on a site, usually defined by area. Can be determined by the General Plan.
Reparcelar Redistribution: Redistribution is grouping or integration of the properties included in a Polygon or Unit of Activity to be re-divided according to the Plan, awarding the resulting plots to the proprietors of the original property, in proportion to their respective rights, and to the competent Administration (usually the Municipality) according to the Law and to the Plan.
The Redistribution has as objectives:
A fair distribution between the interests of the beneficiaries and the costs to the town plan.
Organisation of the property to adapt its configuration (especially geometric) to the requirements of the Plan.
The situation regarding certain plots and in zones suitable for construction of benefits established by the Plan.
The location regarding certain plots and in zones suitable for construction of benefits to the operating Administration.
Urbanizar Urbanisation:
To create infrastructures and services in a zone, area or Unit of Activity, that is to say: pavements, avenues or upgrades of the existing ones, paved or asphalted roads, public lighting system, water supply and drainage and provision of electricity, telephone and other wiring, green points, etc.
Cesión de terreno para urbanizar Cession of Land for urbanisation:
The LRAU forces a determined proportion of the land to be given up for the infrastructures and services of the urbanisation (sidewalks, sewage system, illumination, etc.), that will be the responsibility of the proprietor. This percentage is about 30% in urban land, and 40-50% in urbanisable land.
If the zone already has been urbanised, that is to say, it already has the forementioned infrastructure and services, it is not necessary to cede territory or to pay urbanisation costs. Nevertheless, if there is a plot in an urban or urbanisable zone that has not been urbanised, and even though the adjacent houses do not have infrastructures or services from the urbanisation, the proprietor of the land, if he wishes to build, will have to yield between 30% and 50% of his land.
This fact has been considered an abuse by the detractors of the LRAU. Not only that, but if after the cession, the resulting residual plot does not have the minimum area for construction, the proprietor of the land will have to pay the city council for permission to build.
Las Leyes The Laws
* Land Law 1976 : Still largely relevant state law because it is a basic law.
* Land Law 1992: Almost obsolete state law due to an opinion of the Constitutional Court. Although the state Land Law serves as its basis, specific questions on land and urbanism are decided by each independent community. In fact, the Spanish Constitution (1978), articles 148-149, specifies that urbanism and the planning of the territory fall under autonomic competency. This is used to justifiy the Statute of the Valencian Community that insists that the exclusive competence in the matter of urbanism, house, the coast and planning of the territory, is the Community's.
* LRAU: Regulating law of the town planning activity. At the moment a law subject to controversy, and submitted to the scrutiny of the European Community which does not look kindly on the abuses committed in its name. It was originally designed to enable orderly expansion with infrastructures of urban nuclei, and to avoid speculation with urban land. Unfortunately, once the law was passed, the trap was easily seen. Hence the creation of the figure of the "urbanising agent" along with easily influenced mayors. This has resulted in a riotous urbanism that has harmed many people and overwhelmed the patience of most citizens.
* LOT: Law of Arrangement of the Territory
* Law of non-Urbanisable Land (2004)
* Law of Arrangement of the Territory and Protection of Landscape (2004)
* LUV: Valencian town planning law, or rather first draft of this law. It tries to improve the LRAU, but the first indications are not very favourable. For this reason, and so as to avoid changing the law whenever there is a change of government, the two largest parties in the Generalitat are trying to achieve a consensus with the LUV. Consequently, instead of six months, it it estimated that this law will take at least two years to be approved.
Suspension of licenses :
The suspension of licenses when initiating the writing of a PGOU is not obligatory, but is recommended in those zones susceptible of reclassification, that is to say, not consolidated: urbanisable land not yet programmed and non-urbanisable land. Suspension of licenses in urban and urbanisable land is also possible, although it is less attractive because the proprietors of the land have more acquired rights. The suspension of licenses can include the licenses of plots, construction and demolition, as well as the authorization of PAI and PAAIS.
What is the object of a PGOU?
A PGOU has for its objective the town planning of all the land within the municipality. In addition, the PGOU is the result of the revision of previous plans. Another objective is the classification of land i.e. the determination of the percentage of Urban Ground, Urbaniseable, Common non-Urbaniseable and Protected non-Urbaniseable. Other elements defined in a General Plan are:
Type of constructions
Height of the constructions, boundaries, geometric configuration of the plots.
Units of Activity, conditions of urbanisation.
Specifying buildings or elements protected in the municipal area. Two levels of classification of the protected patrimony/heritage are defined, based on their degree of individual or generic conservation : catalogued and non-catalogued patrimony.
All the foregoing will have to be developed through town planning Decrees and through the corresponding Plans that in detail comprise the town planning for a whole municipal area.