Soil artificialization: publication of three decrees.

Publication of the implementing decrees of Law No. 2023-630 of July 20, 2023 aimed at facilitating the implementation of objectives to combat soil artificialization and strengthening support for local elected officials

 

 

As a reminder, Law No. 2023-1104 of August 22, 2021, known as the "Climate and Resilience" law, established an ambitious objective of achieving "zero net land take" (ZAN) by 2050, thus inevitably implying an evolution of urban planning documents. (Link to the first article)

Law No. 2023-630 of July 20, 2023, aimed at facilitating the implementation of objectives to combat soil artificialization and strengthening support for local elected officials, has relaxed the legal framework established by the "Climate and Resilience" law, notably by introducing:

• An extension of deadlines to integrate the ZAN objective for soils into the various urban planning documents;
• A new regional governance body, the ZAN conference, which will meet on any matter relating to the implementation of the objectives for reducing soil artificialization and which must be consulted when qualifying projects of regional, national or European scope;
• An exclusion from the artificialization count for projects of national or European scope presenting a major general interest, with the establishment of a fixed consumption allowance (12,500 hectares at the national level);
• The creation of a minimum envelope of one hectare of artificialization guaranteed to each municipality within the framework of the first ten-year period;
• Finally, the creation of a stay of proceedings, a right of pre-emption, and a ground for refusal of planning permission specific to the challenges of combating soil artificialization.

As an extension of this law, the Government adopted three implementing decrees on November 27, 2023.

 

A new nomenclature

 

Decree No. 2023-1096 of November 27, 2023 relating to the assessment and monitoring of soil artificialization established a new nomenclature, appended to Article R. 101-1 of the Urban Planning Code, making it possible to calculate the artificialization balance and classify surfaces according to whether they are classified as artificialized or non-artificialized.

This nomenclature does not apply to the objectives of the first ten-year tranche (2021-2031) which will focus solely on reducing the consumption of natural, agricultural and forest areas (NAFA).

Territorialization of objectives at the regional level

 

Decree No. 2023-1097 of November 27, 2023 on the implementation of the territorialization of the objectives of economical management of space and the fight against soil artificialization determines the methods for translating the objective of combating soil artificialization into regional planning documents (SRADDET, SAR, SDRIF, PADDUC) which must take into account past efforts and local specificities (mountain and coastal areas) based on data available over the 10 years preceding the "Climate and Resilience" law.

The decree also guarantees a minimum municipal surface area for consumption of ENAF in the SRADDET and the SCOT and ensures a balance between the fight against soil artificialization and the preservation of spaces dedicated to agricultural activities.

Establishment of a regional conciliation commission

Decree No. 2023-1098 relating to the composition and operating procedures of the regional conciliation commission on soil artificialization establishes a regional conciliation commission. It is composed of three representatives for the region and three for the State and is chaired by an administrative magistrate.

It will have one month to meet and issue its opinions.