Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/457075
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2015 6 News Simon Busuttil supports MEPA amnesty for 'minor infringements' MIRIAM DALLI OPPOSITION leader Simon Bu- suttil is in favour of an amnest y by the Malta Environment and Planning Authorit y (MEPA) for "minor" infringements but the Opposition will not support an amnest y for excessive ones. MEPA will soon be proposing to the Cabinet an amnest y to sanc- tion long-standing illegal devel- opments, and tackle a substan- tial number of MEPA's 10,000 pending enforcement cases. If the amnest y as proposed by MEPA is approved by the cabinet, the authorit y is expected to rake in over €20 million. The scheme will apply to all infringements that took place before 2013 and those outside development zones that took place before the full es- tablishment of the planning au- thorit y in 1994. In comments to MaltaToday, Busuttil said one had yet to see what the government was pro- posing: "The government has not yet informed the opposi- tion of any such plans, nor were there any consultations. I can't comment on something I'm not aware of." He went on to point out that the PN's electoral manifesto for the 2013 elections had included the possibilit y of an amnest y " but on minor infringements". "There are certain cases which are unacceptable and that is why they were never sanctioned in the first place." Busuttil said he hoped that the government was not "a prisoner of its own electoral pledges" on this issue as well. "Giving an amnest y for exces- sive infringements is unaccept- able. The government may be a prisoner of its own electoral pledges, just as it was with the promises made to the monti (open air) hawkers and other promises." Planning amnesty: New value An amnesty for minor illegalities issued by the previous government on the eve of the 2013 general election is already in place. So why does the present government feel the need to issue yet another one? The answer is that unlike previous schemes which simply gave owners protection from enforcement, the newly proposed amnesty will give owners the benefit of a full development permit JAMES DEBONO ILLEGAL properties which lack a planning permit cannot be sold, modified or redeveloped. This not only can render such buildings un- inhabitable but also diminishes their commercial value. A planning amnesty through which owners can pay a fine to become legal, will allow owners to put these properties back on the market. The Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority is currently consid- ering a procedure through which owners of illegal developments car- ried out before January 2013 within development zones and before 1994 in outside development zones (ODZ) can get a full permit after paying a hefty fine. MaltaToday is informed that a range of fines will apply to different categories of illegal developments, each of which will be subject to a different fine. In this way larger and more commercially valuable devel- opments will pay a heftier fine than minor agricultural developments, to become legal. Details of the new procedure, which still has not been presented to the cabinet, were revealed in the Sunday Times. Interviewed by MaltaToday in December, planning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon had al- ready hinted that the government was considering a system allowing the regularisation of some but not all illegalities. Through the new system approval of these applications to regularise past illegalities will not be automatic and may still be denied. It is not clear whether a new MEPA board will be set up to grant these permits. Speaking to MaltaToday a MEPA spokesperson replied that the way these permits are issued will be ad- dressed "in a new legal notice" which is yet to be published. But if the application is approved, the owner will benefit from the long- term advantages of having a full per- mit which would give him or her the possibility of applying for modifica- tions and alterations and the possi- bility of putting the legalised prop- erty on the market. Due to the appreciation in the commercial value of some of these properties resulting from regulari- sation, owners may be willing to pay hefty fines to have their properties legalised. Existing legislation only allows owners to request MEPA to refrain from executing already issued en- forcement notices against a number of minor illegalities, which are al- ready defined in the law. Presently, to get a permit own- ers have to apply through existing procedures, which require them to remove the illegality before the de- velopment can be regularised. In fact an "amnesty" granted by the previous government through a legal notice issued on the eve of the 2013 general election is already in place for a number of minor illegali- ties, such as irregularly built internal yards. But technically this amnesty did not grant owners a permit which would enable them to sell such prop- erties. A spokesperson for MEPA ex- plained that the major difference between the amnesty issued in 2013 and what is being proposed now, is that while through the existing legal notice "a concession for the sanc- tioning of minor illegalities may be granted, in the new proposal we are recommending that a permit is granted". The proposed amnesty will also open a window of opportunity for developments made in outside de- velopment zones before 1994. Amnesty not applicable to squatters Asked whether the Armier squat- ters will benefit from the proposed "amnesty" a spokesperson for MEPA insisted that the proposal makes it clear that "the owner of the land has to give his consent for the illegality to be regularised". This will also apply for all govern- ment property. This means that squatters on gov- ernment land will not be able to regularise their position with MEPA if they are not given the go-ahead by the government. But it will enable them to seek a full permit if the gov- ernment gives its go-ahead. Illegalities in Natura 2000 sites The MEPA spokesperson con- firmed that all owners of all ODZ de- velopments carried out before 1994 will benefit from the proposed am- nesty even if this does not mean that all applications will be accepted. Existing legislation, namely Article 70 of the law, excludes the sanction- ing of any illegalities on scheduled areas like Natura 2000 sites irrespec- tive of when these were made. The only exception to the rule ap- plies to cases where an application to regularise the development was presented before 2010, when the law came into place. Asked by MaltaToday whether the new system will overturn this prohibition, a MEPA spokesperson simply reiterated that "the proposal earmarks illegal development that was carried out pre-1994 and that "it is premature to state whether or not the law will be amended". Schedule 6 already prevents MEPA from regularising any ODZ develop- ment, which exceeds the approved footprint if this were carried out af- ter May 2008. This will not change with the new system, which cannot be used to legalise any illegalities carried out after 1994. The major change will be that MEPA will be able to regularise il- legalities carried out between 1967, when the first planning regime came in being, and 1994 when MEPA was fully set up. Controversial developments car- ried out partly or entirely without a permit before 1994 include additions to the Grotta discothèque in Gozo and the various accretions added to Popeye village in Anchor Bay over the years. They also include a large number of agricultural and rural structures. A number of ODZ villas and dwellings constructed before 1994 – which currently cannot be sold or redeveloped – may also be eligible for regularisation through the new scheme. The electoral mandate In its electoral manifesto the La- bour Party promised that it "will continue to implement and facilitate schemes for regularisation for those who have minor pending issues with planning and sanitary compli- ance". On 30 January Joseph Muscat declared that the regularisation of cases involving minor planning is- sues will be treated responsibly and efficiently as soon as possible. "Many genuine owners have been waiting years for the regularisation of such minor matters and these cas- es will be treated in the immediate future," he said. But while it is clear that the government has a mandate for addressing minor irregularities, no reference was made in Labour's manifesto to regularising ODZ ille- galities. A commitment to regularise past Under the existing legal notice minor illegalities may be sanctioned; under the new proposal the recommendation will be that a permit is granted