Canton Bern focuses on densification
In the future, the municipalities of Berne are to grow primarily inwardly and only in exceptional cases are new building land to be zoned. According to the Cantonal Structure Plan 2030, 75 percent of new building zones must be created in the cities and agglomerations and along the major transport and development axes in the future, instead of the current 68 percent.
In the future, the municipalities should not primarily grow on the outskirts of settlements, but rather focus on inward development. In this way, the government council wants to stop urban sprawl and protect the cultivated land. At the same time, it wants to maintain or improve the quality of the settlement area. However, in well-founded cases, zoning should still be possible, especially in central locations and in regional centers.
With the decision of the government council, the structure plan is valid for the municipalities with immediate effect. They must now implement the structure plan in their local planning. However, the zoning moratorium, which requires that every new zoning must be compensated with a zoning out at another location, is not yet off the table. The moratorium will be lifted once the cantonal structure plan has been approved by the Federal Council. That is planned for the first half of 2016. (ah)
