This is not the first attempt to create a comprehensive law that would regulate the process of urban planning and construction. In 2007, the concept of the Urban Planning Code was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, in 2010 the document was even approved by the Council in the first reading, however, the matter never progressed.
At the beginning of 2023, the Verkhovna Rada created a working group to develop the Urban Planning Code of Ukraine, which would be as close as possible to European legislation and correspond to the current situation. In addition, the Code should balance the rights and obligations of various subjects of the urban planning process, taking into account the decentralization reform, and serve as the main reference point for the construction of stable, comfortable and economically sustainable cities in the future.
Discussion of provisions of the Urban Development Code among members of the working group and invited experts
Work on creating the document will last at least two years. The development of the concept takes place in the most transparent mode — you can follow the news on the Facebook page, and any Ukrainian can join public online meetings on Zoom. As previously written by PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA, the process was entrusted to the deputy Hanna Bondar, who is a professional architect, to lead and supervise.
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: At what stage is the work on the Urban Planning Code now? Earlier you talked about the fact that it takes about two years to prepare. What does practice show, are you on schedule or lagging behind?
Anna Bondar: We have an indicative plan that consists of three parts, three big stages. The first is the development of the concept of the Urban Planning Code. The second is writing the text of the draft law. The third is the passage of the draft law through the Verkhovna Rada. We started working with the working group in early June and are now, I estimate, near the middle of the concept development phase. During these months, we held nine events.
Stages of development of the Urban Development Code. Slide from Hanna Bondar's presentation
In the first block, there are discussions devoted to the qualification of urban planning legislation and initial data: urbanization of Ukraine, challenges of war, demographic forecasts. It is important for us to decide for whom we are building. Also important are the issues of the mentality of Ukraine, the value base that we should include in the Code. We discussed the requirements of the European Union to harmonize our legislation with European directives related to the field of urban planning.
The second block was devoted to pressing issues. We devoted four events to territory planning, design, construction and operation of real estate objects.
Today, we have an almost ready structure of the concept of the Urban Planning Code — with headings and headings, but so far no text to be written. We will transfer this structure to the members of the working group for consideration and preparation of proposals. In this way, we indicate who is ready to prepare theses and on which topic.
In the process of this international bloc, we will be able to see how the approaches differ and what they have in common. It will become obvious what is the mainstream that we should definitely follow
PM: What should be in the fall? This year, the government, like the whole country, worked without holidays, but we still perceive September 1 as a new stage.
G. B.: In September, we start the international block. We are preparing about ten lectures, which will be delivered by experts from different countries — the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark. They will tell us about the structure of urban planning activities in their countries. Perhaps there will also be lectures dedicated to specific topics, such as cultural heritage protection, public participation. And perhaps - this is still in the process of negotiations - we will be joined by judges of the German administrative court who specialize in the topic of urban planning and construction.
Visualization of the discussion process. Slide from Natalia Kondel-Perminova's presentation
In the process of this international bloc, we will be able to see how the approaches differ and what they have in common. It will become obvious what is the mainstream that we should definitely follow. Differences will allow us to understand in which issues we have some leeway for our national specifics. And after that, we will start collecting proposals for solving the problems we talked about in the second block. I really hope that we will develop a concept in the winter of 2023-2024 and be able to bring it to the committees for discussion.
PM: How effective is the work with such a large and diverse group of participants? What topics were particularly controversial?
G. B.: It is simply impossible to recount everything that caused discussions, because the volume of information is too large. One of the biggest problems in territorial planning is the fact that at the state and regional level we simply lack town planning documentation. There are no general development schemes, it is not clear what to do at the regional level, at the level of districts. There are no comprehensive plans at the local level, most of the city master plans are fatally outdated. A huge number of questions: are the local self-government bodies able, in principle, to make this town planning and land management documentation on their own, given the complexity and high cost of its development? The problem is very serious, because it is obvious that without the availability of high-quality planning documentation, all other procedures already go to waste.
They talked about the lack of expertise on detailed plans of territories. It turned out that the tasks of author's and engineering supervision are not clearly divided. They discussed the insufficient subjectivity of citizens with participation in public hearings and discussions — the lack of public participation during the approval of construction projects of significant structures, construction in public areas or protected areas. We also do not have a professional discussion. Much was said about copyright, about the fact that architects are not protected.
Composition of members of the working group. Slide from Hanna Bondar's presentation
The developers stated that today we do not have coordination of the project documentation. But this is nonsense, as it is: it is impossible to build in the city without agreeing on one's intentions, the law today forbids it. Representatives of expertise were angry that today there are too many pocket experts who are not really specialists, and state supervision of expertise is not effective.
The discussion of construction control attracted the most attention. Today, the control system practically does not work, because no one carries out this control. We already have a number of suggestions on how to fix this situation, but it's too early to talk about them yet.
The issue of the supply of building materials to the market was also discussed - today there are no by-laws and there is no supervision of the quality of building materials.
PM: Have there already been insurmountable contradictions between the participants of the discussions or is it possible to reach a consensus so far?
G. B.: At the level of discussion of problems, such contradictions did not arise. All parties feel that the system is catastrophically ill, skewed, and there is no balance of rights and responsibilities. Radical intervention is necessary. But I think that at the stage of submission and discussion of the proposals, very hot battles and disputes await us.
Discussion of provisions of the Urban Development Code among members of the working group and invited experts
PM: What is the role of representatives of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure in the working discussion? How did they practically show themselves and their position?
G. B.: A representative of the relevant ministry comes to our events personally, and this is an important point. So far, no offers have been received from them. But in the near future we are preparing to send requests for proposals regarding the structure of the concept and issues. We want each institution to express its opinion in writing.
Finally, an official interpretation of the term "codex" appeared in Ukrainian legislation. This interpretation did not exist, and each person understood it somehow in his own way
PM: The process of developing the law is long, and parallel to your work, there are probably changes in Ukrainian legislation. Can you react?
G. B.: Yes, very recently important changes have taken place. This year, the Law on Administrative Procedure was adopted, which will enter into force on December 15, 2023. It introduces completely new approaches in the relationship between authorities and entities that need services: permits, extracts, etc. The law has already been signed by the president, and we will certainly use its principles and tools to balance the interests of all subjects in the urban planning sphere.
On August 25, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on Legislative Activity in the second reading. This is important because, finally, an official interpretation of the term "codex" appeared in Ukrainian legislation. This interpretation did not exist, and each person understood it somehow in his own way. Lawyers knew that the code is a large-scale law that regulates an entire field. But neither the format of the code nor its composition was recorded in the legislation. The law has been voted and sent to the head of the Verkhovna Rada for signature. And when it comes into force, we will also focus on it. Interestingly, this law says that it is necessary to develop a concept for primary legislation and codes - which is what we actually do! So we are moving in the right direction.
Discussion of provisions of the Urban Development Code among members of the working group and invited experts
PM: By the way, about the terminology, you wrote earlier, that precisely one of the factors of chaos and ruthless destruction of cultural heritage is the absence of an official wording of the term "reconstruction". How did it happen?
G. B.: At one of the discussions in 2020, devoted to amendments to draft law No. 5655, I submitted an amendment to define the term "reconstruction". This would make it possible to prevent the common situation when the developer demolishes the building under the label of "reconstruction". De jure it does not violate anything, but in fact it is a deception of the authorities that issue permits. Therefore, I proposed to define this term. But the ministry's position was that this is unnecessary. People's deputies did not support me either. Like, if we already define the term "reconstruction", then let's define all the terms: "new construction", "reconstruction", "restoration", "overhaul". OK, I agree. At the next subcommittee, I proposed the revision of all four terms, but, unfortunately, almost without discussion, all these proposals were rejected.
These interpretations are still missing in the laws. DBN, which defined reconstruction as "a change in geometric parameters and technical and economic indicators while preserving the existing structural scheme of the building", in the edition of 2011 "lost" the last words about preserving the structural scheme. These words have been deleted. And such a hole in the law allows today to carry out machinations regarding heritage objects.
PM: Will you be able to address this and similar gaps in the text of the Codex?
G. B.: Definitely. The story with No. 5655 as with the draft law is already complete. Currently, this is a law that has not been signed by the president, that is, it has not become effective. And the story with the Urban Planning Code is just beginning. And I am sure that most specialists will insist on finally deciding on all four terms. What will be their definition will be clarified at the discussions in 2024. But I am sure that everyone understands the need to decide. We will also have to define the concepts of building height, density - with many different terms. Each section of the Code will be preceded by a glossary. We plan to eliminate a huge number of white spots in Ukrainian urban planning legislation.
