The Law of Planning and Development of Territories

The Law of Ukraine

On Planning and Development of Territories

Date of Entry into Force:
June 2, 2000

The Law of Ukraine “On Planning and Development of Territories” sets legal and organizational grounds for planning, building and otherwise utilizing of territories of settlements. This Law aims at ensuring sustainable development of settlements.

According to the Law, key tasks of planning and building of territories, in particular, shall be:
• justifying future needs and identifying priority areas of utilizing territories;
• taking into account state, public and private interests in planning, building and otherwise utilizing territories;
• justifying the division of lands according to their designation and utilizing territories for town-planning needs;
• ensuring rational settlement and identifying directions for sustainable development of settlements;
• identifying and rationally locating territories of residential and public development, industrial, recreational, environmental, health-improving, historical, cultural and other territories and objects;
• justifying and establishing the regime for rational utilization of lands and development of territories which are envisaged for prospective town-planning activities.

Planning of territories shall take place at general state, regional and local levels. Planning of territories shall be performed by relevant bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government. Planning and development of specific land plots which belong to entities under the right to own or to use shall be performed by their owners or users according to the procedure established by the legislation.

Planning of territories at the general state level shall be the development of the General Scheme for planning of Ukraine's territories. This Scheme shall envisage rational use of Ukraine's territory. This Scheme shall be developed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, taking account of the approved schemes for planning territories at the regional level, and submitted for approval by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Planning of territories at the regional level shall be building and adopting of schemes for planning territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts and regions, regulating the utilization of their territories, as well as adoption and implementation of relevant decisions on the adherence to the town-planning documentation according to the law.

Planning of territories at the regional level shall be ensured by relevant local councils and their executive bodies. Development, agreement and examination of the town-planning documentation shall be performed according to the established state standards, norms and rules following to the procedure stipulated by the legislation.

Taking account of state interests during the planning and development of territories at the local level shall be the identification of the need in territories necessary to locate and maintain objects of the general state importance and to fulfill other tasks on implementing state policies on the utilization of territories.

In case of planning and building of territories at the local level, taking account of public interests shall mean identifying the need of the territorial community in territories necessary to locate and maintain objects of the housing and communal complex, social, engineering and transport infrastructure and to fulfill other tasks for ensuring sustainable development of a particular settlement.

Normative regulation of planning, building and otherwise utilizing territories shall be the adoption of normative and legal acts, in particular state construction norms, departmental normative documents, regional and local development rules.

According to the Law, state control over planning, building and otherwise utilizing of territories shall be exercised by a specially authorized central body of executive power in the field of town-planning and architecture.