St.Gallen prevents planning standstill in municipalities
With an amendment to the Planning and Building Act, the St.Gallen government is creating more planning security for municipalities, investors and project sponsors. Special use plans remain possible even during ongoing local planning revisions and the deadline for adapting land use planning to the new law has been extended to 2030.
In many St.Gallen municipalities, comprehensive revisions of structure and framework land use planning are currently underway, while in some cases the 1972 Building Act is still in force. As a result, no new planning principles could be implemented for years between the publication and approval of new land use plans, and important projects remained blocked. The IV. Amendment to the Planning and Building Act closes this gap and implements the motion to avoid a planning standstill. The aim is to ensure the municipalities’ ability to develop and at the same time create legal clarity.
Two approaches for greater planning certainty
The government is pursuing two approaches to achieve this. On the one hand, special land use plans that are still materially based on the old law can continue to be approved until the new framework land use plan has been approved by the Office for Spatial Development and Geoinformation. If such a plan is compatible with the future regulations, it can be converted into a PBG-compliant special use plan without having to restart the procedure. On the other hand, under the new law, special land-use plans may be published and approved as soon as the revised framework land-use plan has been published. Depending on their compatibility with the old law, they enter into force either immediately or only when the new plan comes into force.
Extended deadline for local planning revisions
In addition, the government is proposing to extend the deadline for adapting the municipal framework land use plan to the new Planning and Building Act from 2027 to 2030 across the board. Experience to date has shown that many municipalities are unable to complete their extensive planning work within ten years. The deadline can also be extended further on an individual basis upon justified request. The new provisions combine legal certainty with flexibility and thus form an important basis for orderly settlement development, reliable investment decisions and the implementation of the canton’s spatial planning objectives.