Module 1: Spatial Planning

Governance of urban development is not possible to separate from the global world changes, since globalisation seriously affects the local changes and influence of the local politicians is more and more affected by external processes and powers. Right governance of the city and good political decisions often taken under high level of complexity and uncertainty must be supported by professionally well-prepared documents. There is a need for continual, complex and updated information, for assessment of indicators of the quality of urban life as well as submitting the alternative solutions of development of different spheres of urban life. Important parts of these instruments are spatial planning instruments. Spatial planning instruments are long-term instruments of regulation of territorial development.

Spatial planning represents a broad scale of planning activities, differing in the scope of complexity, spatial ties, methods and tools but also in the planning doctrines bound not only to the social system. Territorial communities at the levels of the towns and regions that form the basis of urban society and the space to fulfil the principles of urban democracy are the base for spatial and sectoral integration of the planning activities of various subjects. These are primarily the regional and urban systems in which the different sectoral planning activities, representing often controversial and partial interests in the territory, meet and which are dominant for safeguarding the sustainability of development in the sense of the rule: "Think globally, act locally".

Transformation of the society in Slovakia as well as European integration of Slovakia brings the changes in the conditions not only of settlement structure, but in the conditions, objectives and principles of its management. Adoption of the new concept of decentralisation and modernisation of public administration, the establishment of the second level of government and the shift of more than 300 competencies from the state administration to the municipalities and regions, strengthen not only the position of elected representatives in the state to the detriment of the representatives of executive but creates new and better conditions for participation of the public and private (entrepreneurial, civic) sector in the development of municipalities and regions after 1989. Thus, the requirement of decentralisation and delegation of the power from the state administration to territorial self-government is being fulfilled, but it does not remove the numerous competences that are divided between the state administration and self-government, with impact on efficacy, flexibility and rationality of public administration as the whole system. The mentioned changes affect new urban governance in the Slovak Republic substantially and increase the responsibility of the bodies of local and regional self-government for the development of the municipalities, regions and thus of the whole Slovak Republic. In the governance of urban development, the public sector insufficiently and often formally communicates with private sector. The change in the attitudes is gradual and particularly in these localities where the civic society well organised in the NGOs.

It is so especially in the urban areas and in the areas with higher educational structure. The change in the background conditions, along with the increased responsibility of the local councils brings also the requirements for changes in communication between the public and the private sector.

The planning activities/policies, can be identified in 5 main stages and 3 levels, as follows:

stage: supranational -- European Union, European Commission, UN, ECE UN,
stage: national -- parliament, government,
stage: regional -- regional governments,
stage: supralocal -- microregions, associations of municipalities,

4.a stage: local -- local governments, municipalities,

stage: sublocal -- business and other subjects.

These 5 stages overlap 3 main pillars of the system of complex spatial development management consisting of:

Spatial relevant planning activities -- spatial planning

Integrative planning activities represented by
- landscape planning
- socioeconomic strategic development planning
- land use planning
Sectoral planning activities like transport planning, infrastructural planning

Spatial monitoring and information management system
Spatial management -- implementation control system

Figure 1: The system of spatial development management in Slovakia

Scheme

Source: Scheme © Finka, M.; et al.; 2011

Strategic socio-economic development planning

Current stage in the progression of strategic development planning is characterised by searching for optimal tools, methods and system relations, either vertical / hierarchic or horizontal, with other planning activities and primarily with land-use planning.

The basic documents of cross-sectoral strategic development planning are the National Strategy of Regional Development, including the Strategic Sectoral Plans, the regional operational programmes and the programmes of social development and economic development of self-governmental districts and municipalities. The National Strategy defines as the primary task of regional policy of the Slovak Republic: gradual equalisation between the regions, socio-economic cohesion and increase in living standard of population.

Landscape planning

Landscape planning in Slovakia does not create institutionally unified system. It is understood as the system of integrative and in the same time specific planning activities integrated into the different parts of spatial development planning and management system.

Landscape planning in Slovakia is based on long tradition of landscape-ecological and human-ecological assessment of the landscape; orientated towards ecological optimization of landscape use based on the co-ordination of present and proposed activities with landscape relevance following the goals of sustainable development and safeguarding the landscape ecological stability, efficient use of natural resources, preservation of cultural and natural heritage including the landscape character. Land-use planning in this context seems to be the tool for the spatial and spatial-temporal integration at the highest level as it has to integrate all different interests in the space and time represented by different stakeholders, different sectors of activities, of different wage and priorities, different spatial effects, different length etc.

In the land-use planning creates the platform for the efficient transfer of the landscape sustainable development interest from the professional sphere into the society development management, from professional planning documents into the political decisions and from partial political decisions towards comprehensive territorial governance. In this position the land-use planning as the part of spatial planning system can be understood as the crucial instrument for the implementation of landscape convention in Europe.

Land-use planning

Land-use planning in the Slovak Republic is continual and systematic activity, thanks to preserving its rational, but in the period of socialism partially politically deformed, matter which covers the issues of planning of complex spatial development at the zonal, local, regional and national levels in the crossing activities of inventories, analyses, planning, decision-making and monitoring, but up to now without opportunities for active territorial management.

Similarly to other developed countries, also in the Slovak Republic land-use planning is implemented in unity of the principles of subsidiarity and planning sovereignty of the basic spatial planning units -- municipalities.

Land-use planning systematically and comprehensively addresses the spatial arrangement and functional use of land, lays down its principles, it is proposed the material and chronological coordination of activities which influence environment, ecological stability, cultural-historical values of land, land development and landscape in accordance with the principles of permanently sustainable development. Land-use planning creates the conditions for permanent harmony of all activities in the territory with particular regard to care for the environment, reaching the ecological balance and ensuring permanently sustainable development, desirable using the natural resources and protection of natural, civilizational and cultural values.

Land-use planning includes these tasks and activities:

it determines the directions of spatial arrangement and functional land-use,
it determines the necessary interventions to land for sanitation, reconstruction or recultivation purposes and determines the manner of its further use,
it defines protected areas, protected buildings, quiet areas and protective zones ("hereinafter only protected areas of land"), unless they originate under other regulations, and ensures the protection of all protected areas of the land,
it determines the principles and conditions for the material and chronological co-ordination of locally concentrated construction by one or several developers,
it assesses and evaluates the land-technical effects of buildings that are prepared and other measures in the land and proposes their scope condition their environmental suitable and safe use,
it regulates the location of buildings, determines the land-technical, urban and architectonic and environmental requirements for their projection and realisation,
it determines the principles of the use of natural resources, land conditions and whole environment in order that the activities within it do not exceed the acceptable load of land, so that it is created and preserved the ecological stability of the land,
creates the necessary materials for the creation of overall construction plans and the technical provision of an area,
proposes the order of construction and the use of land,
proposes the land-technical and organisational measures necessary for improvement of environment, achievement of ecological stability and ensuring the permanently sustainable development.

The community objectives are projected into the objectives of planning documentation. This should ensure not only spatial conditions of sustainable development, access to social and technical infrastructure, quality of environment in all parts of territory, but it also guarantees the priority of social goals with respect to the goals of all individual subjects.

Land-use planning plays special role in co-ordination of various interests in the territory (e.g. in the municipality or in the region), but also between the economic sectors (water management, agriculture, transport and others) and between the sectors of services (health care, social welfare, education, trade) and the private subjects of business and non-profit character and individual citizens. Land-use planning itself as a system of legally defined rules and processes guarantees, respecting social equity in relation to protection of ownership of property also with regard to public interests in various spheres of social life, from environment through accessibility of education and social services up to development of minor social groups.

The basic tools of land-use planning are land-use planning materials, land-use planning documentation and land use decisions. Land-use planning materials comprises mainly:

a) An urban study, covering partial problems in the area in question. It is produced in preparation of land-use plan as a proposal of concept of spatial arrangement and functional use of land or for making the land plan more detailed or verification of land plan and in case of amendment of land plan or for solution of some specific land technical, landscape-ecological, environmental or architectonic problems in land as a basis for land-use decision-making or if it is stipulated otherwise in special regulation.

b) A land-use general plan addresses the possibilities of long-term spatial arrangement and functional use of land. It is elaborated on the basis of analyse and evaluation of land-technical conditions, environmental conditions and social conditions of land as well as on the basis of analysis and evaluation of land system of ecological stability, tendencies of land development and environmental care.

c) Land technical materials, specifically focused and systematically compiled and updated sets of data characterising the state and conditions prevailing in an area, are produced for the whole territory of the Slovak Republic and for selected territorial units.

d) Other materials used for the production of the land-use planning documentation and are produced particularly for the creation and protection of the living environment, the protection of nature and the creation of the landscape, the protection of cultural and historical heritage and technical and transport infrastructure.

The actual planning tool of land-use planning is the land-use planning documentation, represented by the Conception of Territorial Development of Slovakia, by regional land-use plans, municipal land-use plans and zone plans. The land-use planning documentation represents the basic tool of land development and environmental care of the Slovak Republic, regions and communes. The departmental overall plans of the central bodies of state administration and overall plans for development of communes and other programs regarding economic, social or cultural development must be in accordance with the binding parts of the land-use planning documentation:

Conception of Territorial Development of Slovakia is elaborated for the whole territory of the Slovak Republic. It solves the spatial arrangement and functional use of land of the Slovak Republic and establishes the framework of social, economic, environmental and cultural requirements of state for land development, environmental care and creation of landscape of the Slovak Republic and its regions. The strategy of land development of the Slovakia represents the land technical material for its elaboration.
Regional land-use plan is elaborated for part of country with several communes in which it is necessary to solve specific development projects or carry out the activities markedly affecting the spatial arrangement and functional use of land. The land-use plan of region must be in accordance with the binding part of the Overall plan for development of the Slovakia.
Land-use plan of a municipality is elaborated for the land of one commune or for the land of two or several communes. Land-use plan of commune establishes in particular:

principles and limits of spatial arrangement and functional use of territory of commune in connection with the surrounding territory,
permissible, limited and prohibited functional use of areas,
principles and directions or environmental care, land system of ecological stability including green areas,
principles and directions of protection and use of natural resources, cultural-historical values and important landscape elements,
boundaries between continuously built-up area of commune or the area determined for building-up (hereinafter only "built up area") and other area of commune,
principles and directions of public transport and technical facilities and civil facilities,
areas for public buildings, for carrying out the sanitation and for protected part of land.

Land-use plan of a zone is produced for self-contained parts of a settlement formation, especially for its industrial, dwelling, central and historical parts and parts of a recreational or landscape unit, or for the whole area of a small settlement formation, with the aim of providing detailed directions and limits for the functional and spatial arrangement of the location of buildings. Land-use plan of zone establishes especially:

principles and directions of spatial arrangement and functional use of lands, buildings and public and technical facilities of the territory,
principles and directions of location of buildings in particular lands, into the urban areas and building-up conditions of individual building lands,
lands that are in the built-up area of the commune, buildings on lands and portion of possible building-up and acceptability of territory use,
unbuilt-up lands as building lands including determination of lands that according to land-use plan cannot be permanently ranked among building lands,
protected parts of land,
principles and directions of inevitable facilities of buildings and connection to public transport and technical facilities of the area,
principles and directions of inclusion of buildings into the surrounding development, into monumental reservations, into monumental zones and into other landscape,
location of lawn and planting, important landscape elements and other elements of ecological stability on individual lands,
material and chronological co-ordination of new development and sanitation of existing buildings,
lands for public buildings, building enclosure and for carrying out the sanitation.

The land-use planning documentation consists of binding part and guiding part. The approving authority determines the binding part and guiding part of land-use planning documentation. In the binding part it determines always public buildings and protected parts of landscape.

Land-use planning authorities are required to procure land-use planning documentation in conformity with the needs of development of the area and environmental care within an appropriate and economically feasible scope. Land-use plans of communes and land-use plans of zones are always procured for the construction of new communes, for the location of public buildings and for the material reconstruction, completion or sanitation of existing communes or parts thereof, with the aim to improve environment, to ensure ecological stability and permanently sustainable development.

Procurement of land-use planning documentation includes:

preparation works,
ensuring the processing of researches and analyses,
ensuring the processing of commission and its reviewing,
ensuring the processing of the draft of solution of land-use planning documentation (hereinafter only "draft") supervision over its processing and its reviewing,
ensuring the processing of the proposal of land-use planning documentation, supervision over its processing and its reviewing,
preparation of materials for approving of the proposal of land-use planning documentation,
ensuring the statement of binding part of land-use planning documentation, deposition of land-use planning documentation and issuing of registration form and its delivery to the Ministry.

The siting of buildings, the changing of land-use type and the protection of important interests in the territory are possible only on the basis of a land-use decision, which may be:

a) a decision on the siting of a building,

b) a decision on the use of land,

c) a decision on a protected area or on a protective zone,

d) a decision on a building enclosure.

In the land-use decision the building office shall delineate the area for the proposed purpose and shall prescribe the conditions which are to ensure the interests of the public in the area, especially conformance with the aims and objectives of land-use planning, the material and temporal co-ordination of individual buildings and other measures in the area and above all care for the environment including architecturally and urbanistically valuable objects in the area and shall rule on the objections brought by the participants of the proceedings. In the decision on the siting of a building the building office in justified cases may reserve the right to request submission of more detailed materials, project documentation or parts thereof; in accordance with these it may then prescribe further conditions which must be included in the building permission.

A decision on the siting of a building determines the building land, the building is located in it, there are stated the conditions for sitting of a building, the requirements for content of project documentation and period of validity of the decision. By the decision on the use of land it is permitted the new use of area, there are stated its conditions and duration of its validity. Decision on protected part of land states its boundaries, prohibits or limits certain activities for the reasons of public interest and determines the conditions of its protection, especially the activities that cannot be carried out in the area and those that may be performed only provided meeting of certain conditions. By the decision on building enclosure it is determined the area in which it is temporary prohibited or restricted the building activity, especially if it could cause difficulties or make the future use of area impossible or its organization according to the prepared land-use plan.

Primarily public participation and the approving powers of the councils as the pillars of democracy are the presumptions of optimisation of the planning documents in relation to safeguarding of social participation. The planning sovereignty of municipalities along with the principle of subsidiarity are of special significance. In accordance with the result of researches and analyses the land-use planning authority that procures the land-use planning documentation, ensures the processing of the commission. The commission includes especially the main aims and requirements that should be solved in the procured land-use planning documentation and detailed requirements regarding the form, scope and content of processing of land-use planning documentation.

The commission is reviewed by the respective land-use planning authority who procures the land-use planning documentation with the relevant communes, with the relevant self-governing regions and with the relevant legal persons and it shall agree with the relevant authorities. The communes shall review the commission for land-use plan of commune and the commission for the land-use plan of zone with the regional building office. The way of negotiation of the commission for the Overall plan of development of the Slovakia is determined by the Ministry.

Public will be informed on reviewing of the commission of land-use plan by the land-use planning authority who procures the land-use planning documentation, namely in effective form and way that is usual in the respective locality. The commission draft must be displayed for public inspection. Public is entitled to submit comments on the commission draft within 30 days from the date of notification. The procurer shall determine the adequate deadline for commission reviewing that must not be less than 30 days from the date of delivery of the notice on reviewing of the commission draft. If the relevant commune, the relevant self-governing region documentation at the regional and local levels is declaration of the public works that directly or indirectly support safeguarding of social equity.

Land-use planning is a tool of the planning policy. The value system of the society is being projected into the legally defined priorities and objectives of planning, meeting of which is controlled at all levels by the state. Approval of the plan that is the key instrument of planning is the decision of the council and is of legal effect in the respective area, but only under the condition of its accordance with the objectives and rights guaranteed by the state. The state as guarantor of the public interest plays an important role in spite of the planning sovereignty of the municipalities.

Module 1: Spatial Planning

Strategic socio-economic development planning

Landscape planning

Land-use planning

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