Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/487054
maltatoday, Sunday, 29 March 2015 4 News James Debono The Malta environment and Plan- ning Authority has since 2012 ap- proved 4,006 requests to stop plan- ning enforcements against minor planning illegalities, such as those being in breach of sanitary regula- tions due to discrepancies in the size of internal yards or back yards. The government has cited thou- sands of cases involving minor ille- galities to justify a proposed scheme to regularise illegal buildings. Through the new scheme, owners of illegal developments carried out before January 2013 within develop- ment zones and before 1994 in 'out- side development zones' (ODZ) will be able to apply for a full permit after paying a hefty fine. Approval of these applications will not be automatic and may still be denied. But data provided by MePA shows these planning irregularities are al- ready being addressed by Article 9 of the environment and Planning Act, which has been implemented through two legal notices issued by the previous administration in 2012 and 2013. In fact, since 2012 MePA has re- ceived 4,473 requests to regularise minor illegalities, of which 4,062 have been accepted. • The largest number of cases – 2,012 – were approved in 2013. • 1,470 requests were approved in 2014 and 365 were approved in the first three months of 2015. • Only 215 cases were approved in 2012. • The authority has refused only 23 cases, while 49 cases were withdrawn by the applicant. • 339 cases are still being proc- essed. Legal concessions The legal notice gives a concession for minor irregularities which are not to the detriment of third parties. These include encroachments which go beyond the existing official build- ing alignments. These can include pilasters, ramps and steps which do not protrude more than 30cm be- yond the official alignment onto the pavement as long as the pavement width of 1.2 metres is retained. It also gives a concession for minor encroachments which go beyond the existing official building alignments, and minor encroachments which exist within the footprint of a built property: for example, cases where the façade of a building encroaches into the first one-third of a front gar- den, or structures in a front or side- garden of not more than 1.25 metres high and not larger than 10 metres squared. A concession can also be granted if the owner changed the use of a unit into a residential development or where a permitted residential unit was subdivided into two or more units. But this concession is only ap- plicable if the present owner of the unit is not its original owner. A concession can also be granted to owners of dwellings for sanitary ille- galities related to the size of internal yards or back yards, the floor-to-ceil- ing height and the size of a room built in a back yard has also been extended to cover commercial properties. But existing legislation only allows owners to request MePA to refrain from executing already issued en- forcement notices against minor ille- galities already defined in the law. MEPA law's Eighth Schedule The eighth Schedule of the envi- ronment and Development Planning Act makes provision for at least 23 scenarios where development can be regularised. 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". Through the proposed amnesty 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. The proposed regularisation scheme will also open a window of opportunity for developments made in outside development zones before 1994 which are not covered by pre- vious amnesties. 4,006 planning illegalities already regularised since 2012 MEPA data shows planning irregularities already being addressed by Article 9 of the Environment and Planning Act Year Requests Accepted 2012 733 215 2013 1,958 2,012 2014 1,455 1,470 2015 [March] 327 365 TOTAL 4,473 4,062