No public consultation was launched on the planning reform bills that were tabled in Parliament in order to prevent land speculation, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri and Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg told journalists on Monday afternoon.

The government came under fire after it tabled two bills on Parliament's agenda, which aim to amend the Development Planning Act and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal Act.

Amongst the many changes, the proposed laws aim to suspend development permits once a formal appeal has been lodged. But various aspects of the bills have been heavily criticised, with groups arguing for instance that the Courts would no longer be allowed to outright revoke a permit during an appeal, and that it would weaken existing safeguards in the planning process. ENGOs had said that should the Government persist in enforcing these laws, "it would spell disaster for Malta and for the future of its children."

One of the main criticisms about the controversial bills has been that no public consultation was opened prior to these bills being put on Parliament's agenda.

When asked why no public consultation was launched, the CEO of the Planning Authority (PA) said that this was done to avoid land speculation.

These details were provided during a press briefing at the Ministry for Gozo and Planning. Addressing journalists were Planning Minister Clint Camilleri and the CEO of the Planning Authority, Johann Buttigieg.

Buttigieg, with the Minister of Gozo and Planning by his side, said that whenever the PA goes public about something, it attracts massive land speculation. He added that it is for this reason that citizens' access to the PA's documents is very restricted and why these documents were sent straight to Parliament for discussion amongst elected MPs.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Gozo and Planning stated that while no public consultation was heeded, government will be assessing feedback published by civil society and citizens as parliamentary debates go on.

Minister Camilleri stated that the government is in no rush to enact these bills, stressing that “if we see that we need more time for discussion, we will keep discussing it.” He added that while he cannot speak on behalf of the Government’s Whip, he affirmed that there exists no priority for these changes to be introduced by any particular date in the near future.

He told journalists that before presenting these bills on Parliament’s agenda, these proposed laws were discussed with the Malta Development Association (MDA), the Chamber of Architects (KTP), and other individual consultants.

The Minister continued that these proposed laws are encompassed by three main principles: promoting discipline, clarity, and certainty.

While discussing the bills, Minister Camilleri declared that through them, the government shall be taking the "bull by its horns" as it addresses existent challenges in the sphere of planning and development.

"I believe that we cannot stay with a planning system designed years ago that does not address certain situations - we cannot keep sweeping such situations under the rug," the Minister said.

He commented that over the years and in different administrations, some mistakes were made in this sector, resulting in development anomalies and difficulties in enforcement. He said that the time has come for the government to control past irregularities, avoid future illegalities, and "strengthen citizens' rights."

Developments to be barred from proceeding with construction till objection is cleared

One of the amendments presented is to automatically suspend a permit once a formal appeal has been lodged to contest its legality. Minister Camilleri said that once enacted, gone will be the days where a contested development continues to be constructed whilst an appeal is before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) or the Court of Appeal.

He noted that in some past cases, contested developments with approved permits were completed by the time a court ruled that its permit had actually been granted illegally and subsequently revoked it. The Minister described this as "the worst thing that can happen," and said that through these proposed changes, "this will not be allowed to happen again."

He added that the Court of Appeal will be able to annul a permit or a tribunal decision. Doing so will restart the appeal process, sending it back to the EPRT for consultation, he said. The Minister assured that once sent back, the EPRT must reexamine the appeal according to the legal parameters established by the Court. This will essentially force the applicant to either abide by the Court's ruling and amend the proposed development or revoke it in its entirety, he said.

Camilleri believes that these bills are fair to applicants and objectors alike, saying that this is balanced by making these processes speedier.

The EPRT must reach a decision within five months. The Court of Appeal must make its own decision within a timeframe of four months. Both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal will have the option to apply for a month-long extension for "extraordinary" cases where this is absolutely necessary, journalists were told.

An appealed project's automatic suspension is to be upheld throughout this entire process. If this process is restarted, this suspension will be extended till a final decision is made to terminate it; for the tribunal stage, this refers to a five-month period. The PA CEO remarked that in some instances, some cases have returned to the Court of Appeal three times under present laws.

In the case that the Court of Appeal fails to reach a decision by the specified timeframe, then the objection will fall through and the development will be considered to have been granted a legal permit, they said.

Additionally, Minister Camilleri reiterated what the Prime Minister said on Sunday, that reducing the window in which objectors may file an appeal from 30 days to 20 days will not make much of a difference and still provides objectors with a fairly long window to submit their complaints.

€50 daily fines on illegal developments to increase to up to €2,000 at Minister's discretion

To better enforce against illegalities within this sector, the bills propose increasing the sum of daily fines received, €50, to a maximum of €2,000 daily.

The final say on the quantity of this deterrent lies in the hands of the Planning Minister. He will be advised through a formal recommendation by the Ombudsman.

It was described, and previously referenced by Prime Minister Robert Abela, that many of the developers/applicants committing these illegalities opted to pay the daily €50 fine instead of actually addressing their non-compliance with local laws.

Minister to be given power to reinstate expired permits or permit periods

The Minister for planning will be given the power to reinstate expired permits or extend permit periods. This power is not applicable for permits revoked by the Court of Appeal.

This change is motivated by circumstances that arose through the Covid-19 pandemic, where the government felt the need to extend certain permits by three years and lacuna became apparent where some permits could not be extended. Minister Camilleri said that this lacuna was brought up by the Chamber of Architects (KTP) to the government as an "injustice".

Camilleri added that the parameters within this clause are not set in stone, however, should similar situations arise, it is hoped for the Minister to be able to revive such permits and avoid this "injustice" from being repeated.

He said that this power will not be used outside of extraordinary circumstances.

PA's most recently published policies to take precedence over past ones in cases of conflict

During this press briefing, it was established that should the PA announce a new policy tomorrow, that law will take precedence over legal documents published in the past. This allows new policies to effectively override local plans and the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED).

Journalists were told that over the decades in which planning laws were put forward and formalised, laws built on previous frameworks. However, in some cases, certain conflicts arose between past laws and newly enacted legally enforceable documents.

This action is intended to provide further clarity within the sector between all parties, whether they are project applicants or not.

In this regard, he said when it comes to planning decisions, it is good to have uniformity and plans, though it is also beneficial to have mechanisms that do not constrict everyone involved. He added that through this change, architects will be empowered to better express their creativity and submit designs that do not conform with what is considered as the status quo.

PA CEO Buttigieg stated that three quarters of project applicants are first-time applicants, thus establishing that in most cases, applicants are not professional developers.

While addressing several proposals in these bills, Buttigieg said that the proposed laws will protect owners of sites who have not carried out any illegality and have done their utmost to prevent the illegality committed. At present, these people are made to pay the price, though through these reforms, the law might not punish the owner if they are attempting to stop the marked illegality.

Buttigieg added that citizens living within a block may unite and be given the right to change that area's zoning and its height limitation should at least 75% of them consent to making the same changes. This will be followed by an assessment in which the PA's executive council will listen to their case, as well as objectors' opinions. Such an amendment must also be approved by the Minister before any changes are formalised.

It was clarified that this right may apply to ODZ land should an ODZ area feature zoning.