15 organisations are calling on the public to immediately object to the Planning Authority's (PA) decision to "give an early Christmas gift to law-breaking developers, a legal amendment that will wipe out Outside Development Zone (ODZ) boundaries and regularise more illegal development."
"The public consultation sham, amounting to a ridiculous 14-day period, will close on 21 November, meaning that the public's objection to this atrocious scheme is as urgent as it can possibly be. Representations are to be sent to [email protected]," the organisations said in a statement.
The NGOs said that with the PA's proposed amendments to the 2016 Regularisation of Existing Development Regulations, a scheme which was supposed to last only two years but was extended indefinitely, developers who built on sites which are "partially" in ODZ will now also be able to pay a fine to legalise their irregularities.
While the original 2016 regularisation scheme only accepted sites within development boundaries, the new scheme refers to sites which encroach on ODZ and will also include illegal development which goes against policies, the NGOs said.
"Policies which are supposed to prevent such development from being allowed will now be overruled by developers seeking to regularise their illegal developments in exchange for a paltry fine," the organisations said.
"This allows developers to put their previously illegal properties on the market since banks would then be in a position to finance agreements when they otherwise would not do so," the NGOs added.
The new ODZ scheme even allows for properties that were served with enforcement notices predating 2016 as long as the developer has a pre-2016 permit in hand. "Different to other planning applications, regularisation requests are not published, people cannot send their objections during a representation period, and the decisions of the Planning Commission on these applications cannot be appealed," the NGOs said, although the PA argues that such requests are published and the public can submit an objection.
Rather than closing down the 2016 regularisation scheme as was originally promised, the government has instead decided to further widen its already contested scope. While its lenient readings of its own policies and its failure to enforce rules have already weakened ODZ boundaries over the years, the PA is now going to fuel more ODZ development if the amendment becomes law, the NGOs said.
The PA states that the widening of the scope of the scheme is intended to accommodate "certain property owners" who "are not able to place on the market, or acquire a bank loan for their property, due to an irregularity which is non sanctionable, and took place before 2016.," the NGOs added.
"While it's ridiculous that we even have to say this out loud, we must point out that the PA's function isn't to enable business in the property market but to commit to its planning policies and ensure developers fall in line with policies meant to safeguard the environment," the NGOs said.
"What is even more shameful is that the Labour Party, headed by former PA lawyer and current prime minister Robert Abela, had promised stricter controls on ODZ development during this year's general election," they added.
Should this amendment be approved, the scheme will do the exact opposite and allow developers who have repeatedly ignored ODZ boundaries to get legal approval for the daylight robbery of non-developed spaces, the NGOs continued.
According to a report published by the Times of Malta, more than 19,500 regularisation applications were filed since the original scheme was launched in 2016.
"With this amendment, we are set to see legal approval for thousands of additional illegal developments. Our ODZ boundaries must be protected, and we insist that this amendment must not be allowed to go through," the organisations said.
The organisations who signed the statement were: ACT Malta, Azzjoni: Tuna Artna Lura, BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), Friends of the Earth Malta, Għaqda għall-Ġustizzja, Ugwaljanza u Paċi, Għawdix, Malta Youth in Agriculture (MaYA), Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust - FEE Malta, Ramblers' Association Malta, Rota, The Archaeological Society Malta, and Wirt Għawdex.
PA says sites completely located outside the development zone boundary shall not be eligible for regularisation
In response, the Planning Authority "would like to clarify that the proposed amendments are only being widened to include pre-August 2016 developments which have their site perimeter partially beyond the development boundaries as well developments located entirely within a Category 1 Rural Settlement or included in the 2006 Local Plans."
"The category of development which are partially located outside the development zone boundary can only be regularised if these were originally covered with a development permit. Therefore, the regulations as proposed only seek the regularisation for deviations from the original permit, and no such regularisation applies for developments for which no permit exists on the site," the PA said in a statement.
Additionally, the PA said, "sites completely located outside the development zone boundary shall not be eligible for regularisation. The introduction of these regulations did not accommodate 'big developers' as claimed by the eNGOs but were clearly targeted to address relatively minor, non-conformant issues that households are facing when coming to sell, or use their property as a guarantee for finance. In fact, since the introduction of these regulations in 2016, the Authority received over 19,500 applications. The Authority refutes the claim that 'Regularisation requests are not published, unlike planning applications, and the public cannot make objections during a representation period.' All regularisation applications are published weekly and the public can submit an objection. Additionally, same as with PA applications, a site notice is affixed to the site of any property seeking to be regularised."