Urban Planning Lawyer

Urban planning law, which aims to regulate land use, is of paramount importance in an era where urban development is one of the major challenges of policies at both local and national levels. The firm's cross-disciplinary skills, particularly in urban planning, public domain, expropriation, and environment, offer its clients a comprehensive view of the issues they may encounter in their development projects.

• Coastal Law
• Cross-disciplinary skills of the firm
• Lawyer in regulatory and operational urban planning
• Support in the development of urban planning documents
• Amending building permit
• Management of urban planning authorizations
• Expertise in pre-emption law
• Criminal law of urban planning
• Public domain
• Public inquiries
• Appeals against opinions issued by the architects of buildings of France
• Sursis à statuer sur un permis de construire
• Building permit
• Refusal of building permit
• Work without a permit
• Stop work order
• Change of use
• Change of use
• Decisions of non-opposition to preliminary declarations
• Decisions opposing preliminary work declarations

Regulatory and operational planning lawyer

Urban planning documents, the main ones being the local urban plan (PLU, possibly inter-municipal (PLUI), the territorial coherence scheme (SCOT), and the more recent regional scheme for planning, sustainable development, and territorial equality (SRADDET), set out urban planning rules at different territorial scales.

They can also be adapted to allow the realization of projects led by a local authority or public establishment (ZAC) or by an individual in collaboration with a local authority (project declaration). The buildability of land and therefore the feasibility of future projects depend on these urban planning documents.

The firm Macfarlanes LLP thus supports its clients (local authorities, companies, and individuals) in the process of drafting these documents, particularly PLUs (consultation, observations during the public inquiry), as well as in the context of litigation that may be brought against the resolution approving them to contest, in particular, the chosen zoning.

Lawyer for planning permissions

Except in certain cases, new constructions, development projects, and changes of use must be preceded by a planning permission (development permit, building permit, prior declaration).

For authorization requests to succeed, it is necessary to first consider the buildability of the land, particularly in agricultural areas, and the rules applicable in the zone of the site.

The urban planning law team intervenes both upstream (permit audit) to secure the project, and downstream in the event of refusal or challenge of a building permit or a decision of non-opposition to a prior declaration, or in the event of abnormal neighborhood disturbance caused by the new construction.

Pre-emption rights lawyer

The right of pre-emption (in particular the urban pre-emption right and the pre-emption right on business assets) allows public authorities to acquire, as a priority, a property when it is put up for sale, by substituting themselves for the buyer.

The preemption decision can be challenged before the administrative court by the excluded buyer and the seller, while the price can be set by the expropriation judge in the absence of an agreement.

Our lawyers assist you both before the administrative judge to obtain the annulment and suspension of the preemption decision, before the expropriation judge for setting the price of the preempted property, and, in the event of annulment of the preemption decision, to obtain restitution or damages.

Criminal urban planning lawyer

Buildings erected without authorization or not in compliance with a planning permission constitute an offense that may lead to criminal prosecution.

The firm is competent both to defend its clients being prosecuted and to help them regularize the situation by obtaining the appropriate planning permission.

Public property lawyer

Public domain covers several topics ranging from the composition of the public domain, to its collective and private use, including irregular encroachments and trespasses, alignment procedures, or accidents caused by public works.

As these issues can give rise to litigation (particularly in the event of refusal of a temporary occupation permit – AOT), the firm intervenes to ensure the defense of its clients and support them in their preliminary requests.