The harm caused by planning complaints could be reduced by improving and diversifying the opportunities for citizens to participate. If the citizens of the municipality knew how to influence the planning process in the right way, many pointless complaints would be avoided. Disadvantages could also be prevented by targeting the right of appeal more precisely than at present and by making the processing of appeals in administrative rights more efficient.
In the opinion of the planners of large cities, delays caused by complaints significantly hinder the planning process. Complaints often delay socially significant construction projects and cause a variety of inconveniences to the citizens, municipalities and developers. A large number of municipal residents often become the vicariously victims of complaints when housing production and the creation of services slow down, business operations become more difficult and municipalities lose investments in their area.
The views are revealed in a survey, which was answered by the office holders responsible for zoning in the fifty largest municipalities. The survey is part of a research project commissioned by Rakennusteollisuus RT, RAKLI and the Finnish Confederation of Business and Industry EK and implemented by Aula Research. In addition, twelve experts and legal scholars familiar with zoning were interviewed for the discussion paper produced in the project.
Ninethan tenä from the planner tormfor braking complaints
In the current appeals system, all municipal residents have the right to appeal, regardless of whether the appellant is a party to the case. Based on the survey, in a large number of complaints, more than 36 percent, the complainant is someone other than the party involved. In practice, this can mean that the person making the complaint can file a complaint about a project tens of kilometers away from their own living environment.
In the worst case, it is possible that complaints are made with the intention of causing harm. 92 percent of the zoning professionals who responded to the survey have encountered such situations in their work.
"For one reason or another, the appellant's intention may be to delay, hinder, or even prevent the construction project without a basis based on the law. Such braking complaints are a significant challenge for municipalities and operators in the real estate and construction industry. In the survey, it was noticed that braking complaints are more common, especially in the largest cities with more than 100 inhabitants", CEO of Rakennusteollisuus RT Aleksi Randell comment.
61 percent of the respondents – as much as 80 percent in Uusimaa – consider the slowdown in the municipality's housing production to be the main disadvantage caused by complaints.
"Delays in housing production increase the costs of construction and also the prices of apartments, because the amount of supply cannot grow according to the needs," states Randell.
Complaints kpreeningä jannoyingnightavä, right of appeal to be specified and participation addauntavä
Plan appeals are poorly successful in the administrative court. Those who responded to the survey estimate that on average about 14 percent of the complaints made in their municipalities are accepted in the administrative court. According to zoning professionals, the vast majority, on average 59 percent, of the zoning complaints filed in their municipality are unfounded.
According to Randell, streamlining the zoning process would require paying attention to the resources of administrative rights and who has the right to appeal.
"Improving the complaints process and reducing complaints would be in everyone's interest. Processing planning appeals at different levels of court stretches the planning process and makes it significantly more difficult to predict at the moment. Pre-screening of complaints and the development of document management could speed up the processing of complaints. Administrative law must also have sufficient resources so that complaints do not remain on the table for a long time," says Randell about the development proposals that emerged in the municipal survey and expert interviews.
"It is also necessary to seriously consider whether the right of appeal should only be for the party involved in the implementation level formulas," says Randell.
Limiting the right to appeal receives a positive response from municipal office holders in the survey. Of the office holders, 62 percent have a positive attitude, and only a quarter negatively, to the fact that in the future only the party concerned would have the right to appeal at the lowest plan level.
The planners and the interviewed experts see improving the opportunities for municipal citizens to participate as a good way to prevent complaints. Participation requires both personal and online interaction. Web-based information and discussion platforms enable effective two-way communication, as well as illustrating plans and gathering feedback using digital, map-based modeling.
In the expert interviews, many suggested an educational approach to inclusion. The right to complain is considered important, but municipal residents often do not understand the role of complaining, which leads to unfounded complaints. In the appeals procedure, the legality of the municipality's actions is examined, and it is not possible to apply for compensation or change for the fact that one's opinion did not win.
"Improving the opportunities for residents to participate and the interaction between residents, planners and developers would increase the understanding of different interest groups about each other's perspectives and thereby also reduce complaints," emphasizes Randell.
Personnel responsible for the zoning of Finland's 50 largest municipalitiessurvey carried out during the nights kprepared the zoning participation and appeal committeeeatentat nighteh. The survey was carried out on Wedohä 2018 and was answered by 173 planning professionals. The survey's response rate was 32. Twelve qualitative expert interviews were conducted in the fallä, and the respondents represented diverse parties. Sec. of the survey, expert interviewsä research projectn. of the guysto aggravationä is compiled in a discussion paper, which can be kusedoh wellcurrently kstarin the countryusedin the comprehensive reform of the Housing and Construction Act. The research project was carried out by Aula Research Oy Rakennusteollisuus RT, Elinkeinoelumon behalf of the confederation and RAKLI.
More detailed information lat nightyou are online
- Discussion paper, which also includes comments by experts
- Summary of the results of the municipal survey
Pressprovide information
- Juha Vekkilä, CEO, Aula Research Oy, tel. 050 352 5335
- Aleksi Randell, CEO, Construction Industry RT, tel. 0400 500 822
- Merja Vuoripuro, communications director, Rakennusteollisuus RT, tel. 040 587 2642, merja.vuoripuro@rakennusteollisuus.fi