Federal Council: freeze on zoning for three more cantons
The Federal Council has imposed a zoning freeze on the cantons of Glarus, Obwalden and Ticino. The cantons have not yet implemented the revised Spatial Planning Act.
April 30 marked the end of a five-year period during which the cantons had to adapt their structure plans to the revised Spatial Planning Act (RPG). Cantons that do not yet have an adapted structure plan approved by the Federal Council are therefore no longer allowed to zone - even if they would compensate for the zoned areas at the same time and in the same area.
In April, the Federal Council had already decided on a freeze on land zoning for the cantons of Geneva, Lucerne, Schwyz, Zug and Zurich. Now it has also been imposed on Ticino and the cantons of Glarus and Obwalden.
The freeze on land use is valid until the cantons concerned have both an approved structure plan adapted to the revised RPG and a legal regulation on the value-added levy that conforms to federal law.
According to the Federal Council, the cantons of Glarus and Obwalden have not yet submitted their structure plans to the federal government for review and approval. The canton of Ticino submitted its adapted structure plan in July last year, but appeals against the structure plan are still pending in the canton. The Federal Council cannot approve the structure plan until the Ticino's Grand Council has decided on the appeals.
Six years after the adoption of the revised RPG, a total of eight cantons thus do not meet the requirements regarding the structure plan or the law.
However, the approval of the structure plans does not mark the end of the spatial management of settlement development. The municipalities must now revise their land use plans, reduce oversized building zones if necessary and implement inward settlement development. (ah)
