Consolidated version valid as of 1 January 2017
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON
TERRITORIAL PLANNING
12 December 1995 No I-1120
(As last amended on 27 September 2016 No XII-2643)
Vilnius
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose and objective of the Law
1. This Law shall regulate territorial planning of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, its continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea and establish the rights and duties of persons involved in the process. The objective of this Law shall be to ensure sustainable territorial development and rational urbanisation by establishing requirements for systematic solutions in the process of territorial planning and compatibility and interaction between different levels of documents, to facilitate the sustainable natural and anthropogenic environment and the quality of urban development by preserving valuable landscape, biodiversity and natural and cultural heritage values.
2. The provisions of this Law have been harmonised with the legal acts of the European Union listed in the Annex to this Law.
Article 2. Definitions
1. Comprehensive plan shall mean a document of complex territorial planning which, based on the levels and tasks of territorial planning, establishes the spatial structure of a planned territory and mandatory provisions and requirements for the use of the territory as well as the principles of its protection.
2. Detailed plan shall mean a document of local-level complex territorial planning of an urbanised territory or a territory under urbanisation which establishes regulations on the use of the territory.
3. Functional zoning shall mean the division of a territory into zones establishing the priorities of the principal designations of the use of land and possible activities therein, which is carried out while preparing territorial planning documents based on the levels and tasks of the planning in compliance with the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning approved by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Ministry of Environment’).
4. Engineering infrastructure shall mean facilities for various areas of activity servicing the economy and the population: engineering and utility networks, transport infrastructure or the facilities necessary for improving the quality of the environment.
5. Engineering infrastructure development plan shall mean a document of special territorial planning providing for the layout of engineering infrastructure facilities and measures for the use and protection of these facilities and the adjacent territories.
6. Engineering communications corridor shall mean a strip of land for installing and operating centralised engineering infrastructure lines.
7. Compactly built-up territory shall mean a built-up territory exceeding five hectares (land occupied by buildings, courtyards, yards and other land used for direct operation of construction works) with the density of built-up area being not less than 20 per cent.
8. Documents of complex territorial planning shall mean territorial planning documents which, based on the levels and tasks of territorial planning, establish the spatial development of planned territories and main requirements for or regulations on the use and protection thereof.
9. Complex territorial planning shall mean territorial planning for the establishment of spatial development directions and priorities of use and protection of territories.
10. Quarter shall mean a structural element of an urbanised territory or a territory under urbanisation in a residential area bounded, from at least three sides, by engineering communications corridors or natural barriers, namely land relief forms, water bodies, greening, anthropogenic components, etc.
11. Height of buildings shall mean the height measured in metres in the building zone of construction works from the average altitude of the land surface to the apex of the roof of buildings or the highest point of construction of the structure thereof.
12. Planned territory shall mean a territory for which a territorial planning document is under preparation.
13. Priority development territories shall mean the territories under urbanisation identified in municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans, in which a municipality undertakes to develop the social and/or engineering infrastructure.
14. Social infrastructure shall mean the infrastructure comprising facilities intended for cultural, educational, public health, sports and fitness, recreational and tourism and religious purposes, and other public use facilities.
15. Documents of special territorial planning shall mean territorial planning documents which, based on the levels and tasks of territorial planning, establish measures for the use, management and/or protection of territories planned for certain activities.
16. Special territorial planning shall mean territorial planning for the establishment of measures for the use, management and/or protection of territories and protected areas necessary for certain activities.
17. Construction line shall mean the line with which the projection of the elevation of buildings and/or construction works must coincide, except for roads or streets and engineering and utility networks, excluding balconies, oriels, cornices and other elements of the elevation.
18. Construction boundary shall mean the line beyond which the construction of buildings and/or construction works is banned, except for the construction of roads or streets and engineering and utility networks.
19. Construction zone shall mean a part of a territory or a land parcel with existing or envisaged above-ground construction works, excluding roads or streets, engineering and utility networks, fences and retaining walls.
20. Public concerned shall mean the public whose legitimate interests are affected or are likely to be affected by solutions of a territorial planning document under preparation or which has an interest in the implementation of the said solutions. For the purposes of this definition, associations and other public legal persons (with the exception of legal persons established by the State or a municipality or institutions thereof) established in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts and promoting sustainable territorial development and environmental protection shall in any case be deemed the public concerned.
21. Territory shall mean a certain surface area of land and/or water.
22. Regulations on the use of a territory shall mean the totality of provisions on the use and protection of a territory and requirements and restrictions for the development of activity therein established in solutions of documents of local-level complex territorial planning.
23. Type of use of a territory shall mean a category of a planned territory specified in territorial planning documents, which covers the principal designations of land use, possible modes of land use and possible prevailing designations of construction works or groups thereof. In addition, maximum indicators of intensity and density of development shall be established.
24. Planning conditions of a territory shall mean the provisions of sectoral economic development programmes and other strategic planning documents applicable to a planned territory, solutions of documents of higher-level territorial planning and legislation-based requirements of an institution issuing the planning conditions relating to mandatory provisions, mandatory requirements or regulations on the use of the territory, as well as requirements for connecting to engineering and utility networks and transport infrastructure to be established in territorial planning documents.
25. Development of a territory shall mean economic, social and/or environmental urban qualitative changes in a planned territory and its quantitative development.
26. Territorial planning shall mean a process carried out in compliance with requirements of this Law and other laws as well as their implementing legal acts which aims at sustainable territorial development and includes the establishment of land use priorities, measures of environmental protection, public health, heritage protection and other measures, creation of residential areas and manufacturing, engineering and social infrastructure systems, creating conditions for regulation of employment and development of activities of the resident population and reconciliation of public and private interests.
27. Territorial planning documents shall mean documents of complex (comprehensive and detailed plans) and special territorial planning which include, in graphic and written form, solutions of the use, management and protection of territories and the needs and conditions for development thereof.
28. Solution of a territorial planning document shall mean the outcome of solving territorial planning tasks, expressed in graphic and written form.
29. Programme for the implementation of solutions of a territorial planning document shall mean a document approved by the organiser of planning establishing the implementation modes of solutions of a territorial planning document.
30. Public discussion on a territorial planning document shall mean a territorial planning publicity procedure during which, after the public have familiarised themselves with the prepared territorial planning document in accordance with the set procedure, a public meeting is held to consider the solutions of the document and their alternatives and proposals submitted.
31. Drafter of territorial planning documents shall mean a natural person, a legal person or a division thereof and any other organisation or a division thereof entitled, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and other legal acts, to prepare territorial planning documents within the European Union.
32. Monitoring of the implementation of solutions of territorial planning documents shall mean systemic monitoring and assessment of solutions of territorial planning documents in terms of qualitative and quantitative changes in the environment.
33. Territorial planning norms shall mean the provisions of legal acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Government’) or institutions authorised by it which establish qualitative and quantitative requirements for territorial planning applicable when preparing territorial planning documents.
34. Organisers of territorial planning (hereinafter: ‘organisers of planning’) shall mean public administration entities authorised by the Government, directors of municipal administrations and persons specified by laws who organise the preparation, coordination, examination, publicity procedures and submission for approval of territorial planning documents.
35. Manager of territorial planning shall mean a person who has completed the appropriate higher or equivalent education and attained the qualification and is entitled, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and other legal acts, to prepare territorial planning documents or manage the preparation thereof.
36. Territories under urbanisation shall mean territories in municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans envisaged to be compactly built-up with engineering communications corridors and not to be built up green areas, public spaces and state forests adapted for common use in cities.
37. Urbanised territories shall mean developed territories with buildings in cities, towns and compactly built-up rural areas with engineering communications corridors and not built up green areas, public spaces and state forests adapted for common use in cities.
38. Height of development shall mean a mandatory requirement for the use of a territory of a local-level comprehensive plan which establishes a prevailing height of buildings in a planned territory.
39. Intensity of development shall mean the ratio of the sum of the total area of the above-ground premises of all buildings, including the premises of basement grounds and usable attics, to the area of the land parcel.
40. Density of development shall mean the ratio of the area of above-ground development with buildings and engineering construction works containing a roof, established based on the projection of exterior walls or other envelope on the land surface, to the area of a land parcel.
41. Type of development shall mean an urban category of a territory established in local-level comprehensive and detailed plans, which includes the totality of structure and parameters of layout of buildings and spaces characteristic of and/or possible in the territory.
42. Indicator of the volume of development shall mean the ratio of the volume of construction works to the area of a land parcel which is established in industrial and warehousing or engineering infrastructure territories.
43. Project of importance to the State shall mean a project recognised, by a resolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Seimas’), to be of special national importance or an economic or cultural project recognised, by a resolution of the Seimas and/or the Government, to be of importance to the State.
44. Public shall mean one or more natural and/or legal persons, their associations, organisations or groups.
45. Public space shall mean an element of spatial structure of an urbanised territory of a residential area intended for common public interests.
Article 3. Objectives of territorial planning
1. The objectives of territorial planning shall be:
1) to facilitate sustainable territorial development of the State, the implementation of consistent functional and spatial integration policy, territorial cohesion, comprehensive solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges;
2) to establish guidelines for the development and implementation of residential areas’ engineering and social infrastructure and other areas of social and economic activities important to the State and to envisage territories required for development;
3) to facilitate rational use and restoration of the State’s natural, subsoil and energy resources;
4) to provide for the preservation, targeted use and knowledge of the State’s unique natural and cultural landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage and for the formation of the nature frame necessary for the ecological balance;
5) to create a healthy, safe and sustainable living environment and complete living conditions in residential areas;
6) to facilitate private investment which creates social and economic well-being and living conditions of appropriate quality;
7) to balance the interests of natural and legal persons or groups thereof, municipalities and the State regarding the use of a territory and conditions for developing activities therein;
8) to facilitate rational use of land and promotion of agricultural activities.
2. When establishing planning objectives for a specific territory, it is necessary to take account of the public needs, the landscape and biodiversity of a planned territory, its geographical location, geological conditions, the existing urban, engineering, transport and agricultural systems, the interests and rights of managers and users of land and other immovable property and third parties, as well as architectural, environmental, public health, nature protection and heritage protection requirements and state and public security and defence needs.
3. Objectives of complex territorial planning shall not be established in other legal acts.
Article 4. Levels of territorial planning
1. The levels of territorial planning shall be:
1) state – the entire territory of the State or parts thereof are planned (comprehensive plans and documents of special territorial planning are prepared at a scale of 1:100 000–1:400 000 for the entire territory of the State and, if necessary, parts thereof which are characterised by administrative (regions, counties) or functional commonality);
2) municipal – territories characterised by administrative (municipal) or functional commonality are planned (comprehensive plans and documents of special territorial planning are prepared at a scale of 1:20 000–1:50 000);
3) local – parts of the territory of a municipality are planned: cities (or parts thereof), towns (or parts thereof), villages and steadings (comprehensive plans of separate urbanised territories or territories under urbanisation are prepared at a scale of 1:2 000–1:10 000, detailed plans at a scale of 1:500–1:1 000 and documents of special territorial planning at a scale of 1:500–1:10 000).
2. The drafter of territorial planning documents may additionally use also other scales to express solutions clearly and legibly.
3. The organisational framework of application of territorial planning documents and their interaction shall operate in compliance with this Law and other legal acts. Each lower level of territorial planning must operate in compliance with the approved solutions of documents of higher-level territorial planning and detail them. The solutions of documents of same level territorial planning must be coordinated, except for the cases specified in paragraph 4 of this Article.
4. The solutions of documents of state-level complex territorial planning, documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State, documents of special territorial planning approved by the Government and subsoil use plans shall be of higher legal validity than the solutions of documents of municipal-level and local-level complex and special territorial planning and shall apply on a mandatory basis to municipalities when preparing, amending or adjusting the documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning. The solutions of the documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State shall be mandatory for documents of state- and lower-level territorial planning. When applying the solutions of the documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State, the solutions of the documents of state- and lower-level territorial planning shall apply to the extent they do not contradict the solutions of the documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State.
5. Managers and users of land shall act in compliance with documents of lowest level complex territorial planning valid in a planned territory, and in case of unurbanised territories and territories not under urbanisation – also with documents of special territorial planning.
Article 5. Types of territorial planning documents
1. The types of territorial planning documents shall be:
1) documents of complex territorial planning;
2) documents of special territorial planning;
2. The following documents shall be attributed to documents of complex territorial planning:
1) the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State and the comprehensive plans of parts of the territory of the State (prepared at state level);
2) the comprehensive plans of municipalities (prepared at municipal level) or the comprehensive plans of parts thereof (prepared at local level);
3) detailed plans (prepared at local level).
3. It shall be prohibited to establish documents of complex territorial planning other than those specified in paragraph 2 of this Article in other laws or legal acts.
4. The following documents shall be attributed to documents of special territorial planning:
1) land survey documents of special territorial planning: land survey schemes, land survey projects for rural development;
2) forest management schemes;
3) documents of special territorial planning of protected areas: schemes of the system of protected areas or parts thereof, boundaries plans of protected areas, planning schemes of protected areas (boundaries and management plans), management plans of protected areas;
4) documents of special territorial planning for the protection of immovable cultural heritage;
5) development plans of engineering infrastructure;
6) subsoil use plans.
5. In cases laid down by laws, documents of special territorial planning other than those referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article may also be prepared.
6. Taking into account the content of a project, documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State shall be prepared as either documents of complex territorial planning or documents of special territorial planning.
7. Various development programmes, research and feasibility studies, surveys, project proposals representing proposals on the development of activities or restrictions on certain activities in a specific territory and justification therefor or detailing or justifying the solutions of territorial planning documents shall not constitute territorial planning documents.
Article 6. Organisers of territorial planning and the right of initiative
1. Institutions authorised by the Government shall organise the preparation of the following territorial planning documents:
1) documents of state-level territorial planning;
2) documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State;
3) documents of special territorial planning of protected areas;
4) documents of special territorial planning specified in other laws.
2. The preparation of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning shall be organised by the director of municipal administration, except for the territorial planning documents specified in paragraph 1 of this Article and the cases when other laws specify other organisers of special territorial planning.
3. Natural persons, legal persons or divisions thereof, other organisations or divisions thereof shall have the right of planning initiative (hereinafter: the ‘initiators of planning’) and may, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions established by the Government, solely of their own will and by their decision submit to a municipality or organisers of special territorial planning specified by other laws proposal relating to the preparation, amendment, adjustment and/or financing of documents of local-level territorial planning. The director of municipal administration or organisers of special territorial planning specified by other laws must, within ten working days, adopt a decision regarding the proposal or reject the proposal on a reasoned basis. The director of municipal administration or organisers of special territorial planning specified by other laws shall have no right to require to avail of the right of initiative where, in the cases laid down by this Law, territorial planning is not necessary for carrying out the envisaged activity. Upon adoption of a decision to prepare, amend or adjust the proposed territorial planning document, the initiators of planning together with the director of municipal administration or the organiser of special territorial planning specified by other laws shall, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions established by the Government, conclude an agreement on the initiation of the process of territorial planning which provides for the preparation, amendment, adjustment and/or financing of the territorial planning document (unless a different procedure for the financing of territorial planning documents is established in other legal acts regulating the preparation of documents of special territorial planning). The agreement on the initiation of the process of territorial planning shall be publicly announced on the website of the municipality or the organiser of special territorial planning specified by other laws.
4. The initiators of planning together with the director of municipal administration or the organiser of special territorial planning specified by other laws shall, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions established by the Government, before approving a territorial planning document, conclude an agreement on the implementation of solutions of the territorial planning document where the implementation of these solutions requires reparcelling, taking of land for public needs, development of engineering and/or social infrastructure and in other cases established by the Government. The agreement shall enter into force upon approving the territorial planning document and shall be publicly announced on the website of the municipality or the organiser of special territorial planning specified by other laws.
5. Drafters of territorial planning documents shall be selected by organisers of planning in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws of the Republic of Lithuania, except for the cases where the initiator of planning selects the drafter of territorial planning documents when concluding an agreement on the initiation of the process of territorial planning. Documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning shall be prepared from municipal funds, unless other laws of the Republic of Lithuania provide otherwise or it has been otherwise agreed upon regarding the financing of preparation of the documents of local-level territorial planning based on the reciprocal agreement between the initiator of planning and the municipality; the preparation of the territorial planning documents may also be financed from the European Union funds.
Article 7. Shaping and implementation of territorial planning policy
1. The directions of spatial development of the territory of the State and functional priorities of the use of territories shall be established by the Seimas.
2. The Government shall shape state policy in the field of territorial planning:
1) submit the directions of spatial development of the territory of the State and functional priorities of the use of territories to the Seimas for approval;
2) approve comprehensive plans of the territory of the State or a part thereof and earmark the state budget funds for the preparation, implementation and monitoring of implementation thereof;
3) approve documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State;
4) approve schemes of the system of protected areas or parts thereof, boundaries plans of small strict reserves and state reserves, planning schemes (boundaries and management plans) of state parks, strict state reserves and strict biosphere reserves;
5) establish the procedure for the provision of information to the public, public consultation and participation in adopting decisions regarding territorial planning;
6) perform other functions laid down by this Law, other laws and legal acts.
3. The Ministry of Environment shall, within its remit:
1) shape state policy and coordinate its implementation in the fields of territorial planning, territorial cohesion and urban development;
2) organise preparation of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State or the comprehensive plans of parts of the territory of the State and documents of state-level special territorial planning;
3) approve boundaries plans of biosphere grounds, restorative plots and genetic plots, management plans of state reserves and also approve other documents of special territorial planning;
4) draw up legal acts necessary for the shaping of territorial planning policy and implementation of this Law, methodological instructions, methodological recommendations and territorial planning norms for the preparation of territorial planning documents to the extent this is necessary for the uniform application and interpretation of this Law;
5) issue territorial planning conditions of a territory in the cases laid down by this Law;
6) provide, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and the Government, information to the public on the process of territorial planning and decisions adopted and enable the public to participate in the process of territorial planning;
7) carry out the monitoring of implementation of solutions of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State and the comprehensive plans of parts of the territory of the State;
8) perform other functions laid down by this Law, other laws and legal acts.
4. An institution or institutions authorised by the Government shall, within their remit:
1) implement state policy in the field of territorial planning and organise the preparation of the documents referred to in Article 6(1) of this Law and other territorial planning documents;
2) approve documents of state-level special territorial planning;
3) draw up legal acts implementing this Law;
4) draw up, together with the Ministry of Environment, legal acts, methodological instructions, methodological recommendations and territorial planning norms for the preparation of territorial planning documents;
5) perform other functions laid down by this Law, other laws and legal acts.
5. Municipal institutions shall:
1) implement state policy in the field of territorial planning when preparing documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning, except for the territorial planning documents referred to in Article 6(1) of this Law;
2) carry out the monitoring of implementation of solutions of municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans;
3) provide, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and the Government, information to the public on the process of territorial planning and decisions adopted in the process and enable the public to participate in the process of territorial planning;
4) perform other functions laid down by this Law, other laws and legal acts.
Article 8. Public interest in planning territories
1. In planning territories, the following shall comprise the public interest:
1) the quality of life of the public, based on objective needs and resources of the public, priority for safeguarding ownership rights and promotion of investment and determined by territorial planning and green area norms, public health regulations and other requirements laid down by legal acts;
2) the protection and rational use of landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage, agricultural land with fertile soil, forests, subsoil resources and other natural resources, sustainable formation of cultural landscape;
3) the social or engineering infrastructure necessary for state and municipal functions or functioning of territories, development of these territories;
4) projects of importance to the State;
5) provision of information to the public and its participation in decision-making.
2. When planning territories, the public interest shall be implemented through regulated open territorial planning process mandatory for all organisers of planning, establishing measures for the use and protection of a territory, mandatory or possible activities therein and their restrictions in solutions of territorial planning documents.
Article 9. State supervision of territorial planning and examination of complaints or reports
The procedure for examining complaints of state supervision of territorial planning and persons whose interests have been allegedly violated, disputes between participants of the territorial planning process or reports by persons on alleged violations of this Law shall be laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Territorial Planning and the Law on State Supervision of Construction.
CHAPTER TWO
COMPLEX TERRITORIAL PLANNING
Article 10. Documents of complex territorial planning
Documents of complex territorial planning shall be prepared in compliance with this Law and legal acts implementing it. Other legal acts shall not establish the requirements for the process of preparation of documents of complex territorial planning.
Article 11. State-level comprehensive plans, objects and tasks thereof
1. The comprehensive plan of the territory of the State must be prepared in compliance with the directions of spatial development of the territory of the State and functional priorities of the use of territories established by the Seimas. The object of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall be the territory of the Republic of Lithuania (including its continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea).
2. The comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall be valid for an indefinite period.
3. The tasks of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall be as follows:
1) to establish guidelines for the implementation of spatial development of the territory of the State, the spatial structure of the territory of the State and elements thereof;
2) to establish mandatory provisions for the use of the territory of the State;
3) to optimise the state urban structure, engineering and social infrastructure systems and recreational and other territorial structures;
4) establish principles for the rational use of agricultural land, forests, subsoil and other natural resources and maintaining the ecological balance, the formation of the nature frame and preservation of natural and immovable cultural heritage and valuable landscape by optimising the system of protected areas;
5) envisage objects of projects of importance to the State.
4. Where it is necessary to detail the solutions of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State, the comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State shall be prepared and have as its object parts of the territory of the State which are characterised by administrative (regions, counties) or functional (border regions, etc.) commonality. A decision on the need to detail the solutions of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall be adopted by the Government.
5. The comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State shall be prepared at state level and shall be valid for an indefinite period.
6. When planning a mainland territory in the comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State, parts of Lithuania’s territorial sea, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea related to the planned territory shall also be included therein.
7. The tasks of the comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State shall be as follows:
1) to detail solutions of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State;
2) to establish guidelines for the implementation of territorial development policy of the Republic of Lithuania in separate parts of the territory of the State, the spatial structures of these territories and elements thereof;
3) to establish mandatory provisions for the use of the part of the territory of the State;
4) to detail the state urban structure provided for in the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State, engineering and social infrastructure systems and recreational and other territorial structures;
5) to detail the principles of rational use of agricultural land, forests, subsoil and other natural resources and maintaining the ecological balance, the formation of the nature frame and the system of protected areas, preservation of landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage;
6) to detail the layout of objects of projects of importance to the State.
8. Having assessed the specific needs of the public, social and economic characteristics of a planned territory, strategic planning documents and the scale of the comprehensive plan under preparation, the organiser of planning shall establish in the programme of planning works a planned period not shorter than 20 years and additional legislation-based planning tasks.
Article 12. Mandatory provisions for the use of a territory established in state-level comprehensive plans
1. The following mandatory provisions for the use of a territory shall be established for state and municipal institutions in the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State:
1) the directions of spatial development and functional zoning of the use of the territory of the State;
2) the system of residential areas – the system of urban centres of the territory of the State and their functional links, the prospect of development of urban centres;
3) the formation of the nature frame of European and national importance;
4) the system of state parks, strict state reserves and state reserves, the system of state protected sites and sites of cultural heritage of national significance and the system of territories of complex objects of cultural heritage and protection zones thereof;
5) development of main roads of state importance and other transport infrastructure and energy facilities of national importance;
6) development of the structure of state importance for tourism, recreation and resorts;
7) the layout of objects of projects of importance to the State.
2. In compliance with the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning, the following mandatory provisions for the use of a territory, which are consistent with and detail the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State, shall be established for state and municipal institutions in the comprehensive plans of a part of the territory of the State:
1) functional zoning of the use of the part of the territory of the State;
2) the system of residential areas – the system of urban centres of the part of the territory of the State and their functional links, the prospect of development of regional urban centres;
3) parts of the nature frame of regional importance, the European ecological network “Natura 2000”;
4) the system of state parks, strict state reserves and state reserves, the system of state protected sites and sites of cultural heritage of national significance and regional significance and the system of territories of complex objects of cultural heritage and protection zones thereof;
5) comprehensive development of national roads and other itemised transport infrastructure of state importance and energy facilities of national importance;
6) the layout of objects of projects of importance to the State.
3. Taking into account the scale of the comprehensive plan under preparation, the planned territory, its value and respective planning tasks formulated in the programme of planning works, the organiser of planning shall indicate in the programme of planning works that additional legislation-based mandatory provisions relating to protection of the environment, landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage, urbanism, architecture, development of the engineering and social infrastructure or other mandatory provisions shall be established in the comprehensive plan.
Article 13. Implementation of solutions of state-level comprehensive plans
Solutions of comprehensive plans of the territory of the State and parts thereof shall be implemented:
1) by way of detailing solutions of documents of lower-level territorial planning;
2) by way of preparation by the organiser of planning programmes for the implementation of solutions which are coordinated with respective long-, medium- or short-term strategic planning documents providing for opportunities to implement investment projects in the planned territories and facilitating the attraction of private investment.
Article 14. Municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans, objects and tasks thereof
1. Comprehensive plans must be prepared for the territory of each municipality.
2. Municipal-level comprehensive plans shall be valid for an indefinite period.
3. Local-level comprehensive plans shall be prepared for priority development territories specified in municipal-level comprehensive plans – cities and parts thereof, towns and parts thereof and territories of villages and steadings or following a decision of the municipal council to prepare the comprehensive plan of a part of the municipality in a respective part of the municipality.
4. Local-level comprehensive plans shall be valid until the preparation and approval of the same level territorial planning documents amending them.
5. Municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans shall be mandatory for state and municipal institutions and shall entitle them to act while planning the funds and preparing detailed plans. The municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans shall be mandatory for all natural and legal persons or other organisations operating in a territory that has been planned, where detailed plans have not been prepared.
6. The tasks of municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans shall be as follows:
1) to form the directions of functional and spatial development of a territory consistent with the level of planning;
2) to optimise the urban structure of the planned territory, its social and engineering infrastructure;
3) to provide for measures for rational preservation and use of subsoil resources, agricultural land, forests and other natural resources, the use of the nature frame and ecologically sound land, the formation of territorial structure, preservation of natural and immovable cultural heritage, landscape and biodiversity;
4) to detail solutions of respective documents of higher-level complex territorial planning.
7. Having assessed the specific needs of the public, social and economic characteristics of a planned territory, strategic planning documents and the level and scale of the comprehensive plan being prepared, the organiser of planning shall establish in the programme of planning works a planned period not shorter than 10 years and additional legislation-based planning tasks.
Article 15. Mandatory requirements for the use of a territory established in municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans
1. Taking into account the scale of the comprehensive plan under preparation and detailing the provisions of respective state-level comprehensive plans in compliance with the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning, the following mandatory requirements for the use of a territory shall be established in municipal-level comprehensive plans:
1) functional zoning of the territory;
2) the system of residential areas of the territory – the system of municipal urban centres and their functional links, development possibilities of the municipal urban centres and priority development directions of urbanised territories;
3) protection requirements for protected areas and landscape;
4) the system of nature frame, supplemented by the nature frame of local importance comprising an ecological network and separate green areas;
5) requirements for the protection of immovable cultural heritage of local significance and development of activities in its territories and protection zones thereof;
6) development principles of the engineering and social infrastructure (or its layout requirements), engineering communications corridors;
7) territories intended for objects the layout whereof in a planned territory depends on the impact of their activities on the environment and public health;
8) identification of urbanised territories and territories under urbanisation and not under urbanisation (or indication of development directions of urbanised territories), establishing territories for priority development and possible scale of development and priority and other possible activities;
9) mandatory requirements for the layout of retail facilities (in the territory of a city), specifying the maximum possible total area of a single retail facility in separate parts of the planned territory;
10) cities and parts thereof, towns and parts thereof and other territories for which it is necessary to prepare local-level comprehensive plans at a scale of 1:2 000–10 000;
11) territories to be reserved for objects of importance to a municipality;
12) reservoirs of subsoil resources;
13) territories of objects of projects of importance to the State.
2. When preparing the comprehensive plans of city municipalities, additional mandatory requirements for the permitted intensity of development and height of development shall be established.
3. The following mandatory requirements for the use of a territory which, in compliance with the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning, detail municipal-level comprehensive plans shall be established in local-level comprehensive plans:
1) detailing the elements of spatial structure of the use of a territory established in the higher-level comprehensive plan (establishing the boundaries of separate structures of the nature frame and their elements, boundaries of separate green areas, public spaces, etc.);
2) detailing the mandatory requirements for the use of the territory of the higher-level comprehensive plan by establishing the type of use of the territory along with the largest permitted indicators of intensity of development and density of development, possible types of development and height of development.
4. Where the comprehensive plans of territories of cities and parts thereof, towns and parts thereof, villages and steadings are prepared at a scale of 1:2 000, the programme of planning works must provide that all regulations on the use of the territory of detailed plans shall be established therein.
5. When preparing municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans, if provided for by the programme of planning works, parts of Lithuania’s territorial sea and/or continental shelf and/or exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea related to the mainland part of the territory shall be planned alongside. The Government’s approval must be obtained prior to adopting a decision to plan the territory.
6. Taking into account the scale of the comprehensive plan under preparation, the planned territory, its value and planning tasks formulated in the programme of planning works, the organiser of planning shall indicate in the programme of planning works that additional legislation-based mandatory requirements relating to protection of the environment, landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage, public health, urbanism and architecture, development of the engineering and social infrastructure and other mandatory requirements shall be established in the comprehensive plan.
Article 16. Implementation of solutions of municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans
1. Solutions of municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans shall be implemented:
1) by detailing solutions of documents of lower-level territorial planning, detailed plans or land survey planning documents – landholding projects the preparation whereof is regulated by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Land (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Land’) (hereinafter: the ‘landholding projects’). The preparation of landholding projects in cities and towns shall be organised and they shall be approved by the director of municipal administration;
2) by issuing documents permitting construction in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Construction (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Construction’), where detailed plans or landholding projects are not prepared;
3) by preparing programmes for the implementation of solutions which, taking into account the level of implementation (state or municipal), are coordinated with strategic planning documents of respective level, providing for the possibilities of the use of state and municipal investment in the planned territories.
2. Solutions of municipal-level and local-level comprehensive plans may be implemented through public-private partnerships mobilising private funds.
Article 17. Detailed plans, objects and tasks thereof
1. Detailed plans shall be prepared in urbanised territories and territories under urbanisation as established in municipal-level or local-level comprehensive plans, if prepared, where development of the territory is envisaged and/or where the regulations on the use of the territory are amended in urbanised territories and territories under urbanisation (except for the cases referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article).
2. Detailed plans shall be valid for an indefinite period or until the preparation and approval of the same level territorial planning documents amending them.
3. Detailed plans shall be mandatory for state and municipal institutions and shall entitle them to act while planning the funds. Detailed plans shall be mandatory for all natural and legal persons or other organisations operating in a territory that has been planned.
4. Detailed plans shall not be prepared:
1) in unurbanised territories and territories not under urbanisation. In compliance with the comprehensive plans and documents of special territorial planning, in such territories, where necessary, land survey planning documents (land survey documents or landholding projects of special territorial planning), forest management projects, subsoil use plans or other documents of special territorial planning which establish economic activity possibilities for public and private entities shall be prepared;
2) where all requirements of the regulations on the use of the territory mandatory for detailed plans are established in local-level comprehensive plans;
3) in territories for which documents of territorial planning of projects of importance to the State have been prepared and approved and their solutions are sufficient for design of construction works in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on Land or all requirements of the regulations on the use of the territory mandatory for detailed plans are established therein;
4) in the cases laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Energy from Renewable Sources (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Energy from Renewable Sources’);
5) when constructing construction works in the territories of an amateur garden in the cases laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Gardeners’ Societies;
6) in unurbanised territories in which development of agricultural activities is envisaged.
5. The objects of detailed plans shall be:
1) the existing or newly planned parts of cities and towns, quarters thereof;
2) the existing or newly planned compactly built-up territories of villages, quarters thereof.
6. The tasks of detailed plans shall be:
1) to detail mandatory requirements for the use of territories established in a municipal-level comprehensive plan or a local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared;
2) to establish regulations on the use of built-up territories and territories envisaged to be built-up;
3) to plan the optimal network of engineering communications corridors of a planned territory;
4) to envisage territories for the social infrastructure;
5) to specify special land use conditions;
6) to envisage measures for the preservation and use of natural and immovable cultural heritage;
7) to envisage territories for development of green areas, measures for restoration thereof and protection and use of the existing ones;
8) to form the optimal urban structure.
7. The boundaries of a quarter as a planned territory shall be established on a case-by-case basis in the programme of planning works in compliance with the features specified in Article 2(10) of this Law and taking into account the specific planning objectives and tasks.
8. Having assessed the specific needs of the public, social and economic characteristics of a planned territory, strategic planning documents and the scale of the detailed plan under preparation, the organiser of planning shall establish additional legislation-based planning tasks in the programme of planning works.
Article 18. Regulations on the use of a territory established in detailed plans
1. When detailing a municipal-level comprehensive plan and/or a local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared, in compliance with the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning, the following regulations on the use of a territory, mandatory for natural and legal persons or other organisations, shall be established in detailed plans:
1) the type of use of the territory conforming to the local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared, or a specific principal designation of land use and specific modes of land use;
2) the permitted height of buildings;
3) the permitted density of development of land parcels;
4) the permitted intensity of development of land parcels or density of development volume (in territories of industrial and warehousing facilities and/or engineering infrastructure);
5) possible types of development conforming to the local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared, the construction zone, boundary and line of construction works;
6) boundaries of territories necessary for the social and engineering infrastructure and/or engineering communications corridors;
7) possible boundaries of land parcels and/or principles of forming and reparcelling of land parcels (minimum and/or maximum possible sizes of land parcels);
8) separate green areas, parts of territories of subordinate green areas and of greenery in percentage.
2. Taking into account the scale of the detailed plan under preparation, the planned territory, its value and planning tasks formulated in the programme of planning works, the organiser of planning shall indicate in the programme of planning works that additional legislation-based mandatory requirements relating to protection of the environment, landscape, natural and immovable cultural heritage (sites of cultural heritage and their protection zones, objects of cultural heritage, their territories and protection zones) and regulations relating to urbanism and architecture (layout of buildings and public spaces, layout of parking places, etc.), development of the engineering and social infrastructure, public health or other regulations on the use of the territory shall be established in the detailed plan.
3. Modes of provision of engineering and utility networks and transport infrastructure (layout of envisaged routes of distribution networks and servicing streets and subsidiary streets) in a planned territory and the need for servitudes necessary for the functioning thereof shall be established in detailed plans.
4. When preparing a detailed plan, it shall be mandatory to comply with boundaries of the nature frame and ecological networks established in the comprehensive plan, detailing them based on the specific characteristics of a locality and restrictions of activities laid down by legal acts.
5. Specific modes of land use in a land parcel or a part thereof based on the type of use of the territory approved in a detailed plan shall be established when approving the detailed plan, and they shall be replaced with other possible modes of land use by a decision of the director of municipal administration, providing information to the public in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.
Article 19. Implementation of solutions of detailed plans
1. Solutions of detailed plans shall be implemented using the funds of state and municipal institutions or natural and legal persons or other organisations which have availed of the right of initiative of territorial planning and have signed the agreement referred to in Article 6(4) of this Law.
2. For the purpose of implementation of solutions of detailed plans:
1) where the detailed plan only provides for the principles of forming and/or reparcelling of land parcels, landholding projects shall be prepared in which, in accordance with the regulations on the use of the territory established in the detailed plan, new land parcels shall be formed or the boundaries of the existing land parcels shall be adjusted in compliance with the principles provided for in the detailed plan and the principal designation and mode of land use shall be established or amended. The preparation of landholding projects in cities and towns shall be organised and they shall be approved by the director of municipal administration;
2) documents permitting construction shall be issued in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on Construction where landholding projects are not mandatory.
Article 20. Right to construct and application of draft landholding projects
1. In compliance with the provisions of the Law on Construction, construction conforming to solutions of the municipal-level comprehensive plan and/or local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared, may be carried out in a land parcel located in an urbanised territory and a territory under urbanisation, for which detailed plans have not been prepared, or in a land parcel located in an unurbanised territory and a territory not under urbanisation.
2. In the case specified in paragraph 1 of this Article:
1) the director of municipal administration or a civil servant authorised by him shall, taking into consideration the type of development of adjacent territories, parameters of construction works and design proposals submitted by the builder, establish in the special architectural requirements for designing the construction works the parameters of the regulations on the use of the territory of a land parcel intended for construction in accordance with the municipal-level comprehensive plan and/or a local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared. Information on the intended design of the construction works and participation of the public in considering the design proposals shall be provided in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on Construction;
2) where, in compliance with laws and other legal acts, it is mandatory to change the designation and/or mode of land use in a land parcel for carrying out the planned construction and envisaged activity, they shall be changed in accordance with the procedure established by the Government by a decision of the director of municipal administration based on the municipal-level comprehensive plan and/or a local-level comprehensive plan, if prepared.
3. A list of engineering construction works of exceptional significance the construction whereof must be provided for in territorial planning documents shall be established in the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning.
4. The construction of renewable energy facilities must be provided for in the municipal-level comprehensive plan or engineering infrastructure development plans (except for the cases provided for in the Law on Energy from Renewable Sources).
5. The construction of construction works, without applying point 1 of paragraph 2 of this Article, shall be possible in accordance with the Law on Construction in the following cases:
1) when constructing new construction works and reconstructing or repairing the existing construction works, where the construction thereof does not require a permit to construct a new construction works or a permit to reconstruct the construction works or where no change occurs in the actual (based on the data of the Real Property Cadastre) mode of use of the land parcel, there is no increase in the built-up area and height of buildings or no violation of the regulations on the use of the territory established in the territorial planning documents;
2) when constructing new buildings and reconstructing or repairing the buildings in land parcels with one or two dwelling residential buildings, where there are no violations of the permitted height of buildings, the maximum density of development of the parcel and the maximum area occupied by the buildings, as established by legal acts. Where in a parcel of agricultural land areas built up with residential buildings and their appurtenances owned by the land user are not formed into separate land parcels, the maximum density of development of the parcel shall be calculated based on the data of the Real Property Cadastre for the actual area of land use in the built-up territory (land occupied by buildings, courtyards, yards and other land used for direct operation of the construction works);
3) when renovating (modernising) residential buildings and social infrastructure objects, where no changes occur in the designation of use of the construction works, built-up area, height and volume (without assessing the change in these parameters due to the insulation of the external envelope, change of the exterior finish, glazing of balconies and loggias, installation of entrance steps, driveways, lifts or hoists);
4) when constructing or restoring homesteads in the cases provided for by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Protected Areas (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Protected Areas’) and the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Forestry (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Forestry’).
6. In the territories of cities and towns, landholding projects approved by the director of municipal administration shall be used to:
1) implement solutions of documents of complex territorial planning in the cases specified in Article 16(1)(1) and Article 19(2)(1) of this Law;
2) form land parcels for the purpose of operation of the existing construction works according to their direct designation entered in the Real Property Cadastre;
2) divide, partition, merge or reparcel land parcels, except for the cases where it is prohibited by law and where the changes are not related to the change of the boundaries and area of the land parcels in the unoccupied state-owned land, and there is no violation of the permitted density of development established in the territorial planning documents or no change in the actual density of development. When reparcelling land parcels with homesteads and one or two dwelling residential buildings, the density of development permitted by legal acts shall be established, except for the cases where these regulations on the use of the territory established in territorial planning documents are less stringent;
4) form state-owned land parcels for the purpose of operation of the existing transport infrastructure, squares and other public spaces, cemeteries, beaches, parks, public gardens and other green areas as well as territories occupied by cultural heritage objects;
5) merge, in accordance with the procedure and in the cases established by the Government, an unoccupied area of state-owned land located in between private or leased state-owned land parcels and a road/street with an adjacent land parcel, where no land parcel of rational size and boundaries can be formed in the unoccupied state-owned land;
6) form new state-owned land parcels, except for the cases where parcels are formed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Land Reform.
7. In cases where it is not mandatory to prepare a territorial planning document or a landholding project for the pursuit of the proposed economic activity while in cases established by laws or other legal acts special land use conditions must apply for the pursuit of such activity, such conditions shall be specified in documents of environmental impact assessment of the proposed economic activity or public health impact assessment of the proposed economic activity, the section of the design documentation on the arrangement of the land parcel/plan of the land parcel or in a written agreement/consent between the owner of the land or the trustee of the state-owned or municipal land and the interested party (the builder or organiser of the proposed economic activity) for the pursuit of the proposed economic activity whereof additional special land use conditions must be established for the land parcel or a part thereof.
CHAPTER THREE
SPECIAL TERRITORIAL PLANNING
Article 21. Objects and tasks of special territorial planning
1. The objects of special territorial planning shall be territories characterised by functional commonality:
1) territories intended for agriculture, forestry, use of subsoil resources and earth cavities or other activity;
2) systems of the engineering infrastructure or parts thereof;
3) the system of protected areas and parts thereof, sites of immovable cultural heritage and protection zones thereof, complex objects of immovable cultural heritage and protection zones thereof.
2. The tasks of special territorial planning, based on the type of documents of special territorial planning, shall be as follows:
1) to facilitate rational use of land, forests, subsoil resources and earth cavities;
2) to develop the systems of the transport infrastructure, engineering and utility networks and energy as well as other engineering infrastructure necessary for public needs and to envisage territories required for the development thereof;
3) to envisage measures for the protection of the landscape, nature and biodiversity;
4) to establish heritage protection requirements for the protection of immovable cultural heritage and development of activities at sites of immovable cultural heritage, complex objects of immovable cultural heritage and protection zones thereof and the boundaries of the territories;
5) to specify special land use conditions.
3. Specific tasks of special territorial planning shall be established by the organiser of planning in compliance with the Law on Land, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Subsoil, the Law on Forestry, the Law on Protected Areas, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage (hereinafter: the ‘Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage’), the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Green Areas, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Tourism, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Roads, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Heat Sector, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Health, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Coastal Zone, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Taking of Land for Public Needs in Implementing Projects of Special National Importance (hereinafter: the ‘Law on the Taking of Land for Public Needs in Implementing Projects of Special National Importance’) and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 22. Legal effect of documents of special territorial planning
1. Solutions of an approved document of state-level special territorial planning shall be mandatory for territorial planning documents under preparation and they shall also establish measures for the use, management and/or protection of a territory when preparing other territorial planning documents of the same or lower level.
2. Solutions of documents of municipal-level or local-level special territorial planning approved by a municipal council (except for land survey documents of special territorial planning) shall specify the solutions of the comprehensive plan of the municipality and, by a decision of the municipal council, documents of special territorial planning shall be recognised as an integral part of the comprehensive plan of the municipality. Solutions of other approved documents of municipal-level or local-level special territorial planning shall be coordinated with the solutions of documents of respective level complex territorial planning and shall be integrated into the solutions of the comprehensive plan while preparing, amending or adjusting the municipal-level comprehensive plan.
3. Land survey documents of local-level special territorial planning and subsoil use plans prepared and approved in unurbanised territories and territories not under urbanisation shall be mandatory for the entities that have approved them, managers and users of land parcels, as well as for all natural and legal persons or other organisations operating in a territory that has been planned.
4. The principal designation of land use in unurbanised territories and territories not under urbanisation may be changed by a document of local-level special territorial planning or a landholding project, where the change of the principal designation of land use is not in contradiction with the comprehensive plan of a municipality.
CHAPTER FOUR
TERRITORIAL PLANNING OF PROJECTS OF IMPORTANCE TO THE STATE
Article 23. Procedure for the preparation, coordination, amendment, examination, approval, validity and publicity of territorial planning documents of projects of importance to the State and the dispute settlement procedure
1. Territorial planning documents of projects of importance to the State shall be subject to the procedure for the preparation, coordination, amendment, examination, approval, validity, publicity and dispute settlement procedure of documents of state-level territorial planning, save for the exceptions laid down in this Article.
2. The preparation of territorial planning documents of projects of importance to the State shall commence upon adoption of a Government resolution. The organiser of planning of territorial planning documents of projects of importance to the State shall be a state institution, authorised by the Government or assigned by the Seimas, in charge of the implementation of a respective project of importance to the State.
3. Before commencing the preparation of a territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State, the organiser of planning shall apply in writing to the institutions indicated in a procedure description approved by the Ministry of Environment regarding the issuance of planning conditions for the preparation of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State. These institutions must issue the planning conditions for the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the application of the organiser of planning at the institution.
4. The organiser of planning must publish information on the prepared territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State and the procedure, venue and time for familiarisation with and public discussion on this document in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania, its website, the notice board of the ward, and must also notify thereof in writing the managers and users of the land parcels falling within and bordering the territory of the project of importance to the State as well as the owners or users of other immovable property located in such land parcels. Such notifications shall be sent in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16 of the Law on the Taking of Land for Public Needs in Implementing Projects of Special National Importance.
5. Proposals regarding solutions of a territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State shall be provided to the organiser of planning in writing or in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania during the entire period of preparation of the territorial planning document until public discussion and in the course of it. Proposals regarding the solutions of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State submitted after the public discussion shall not be accepted. The organiser of planning shall examine the proposals submitted by the public within ten working days from the date of public discussion, prepare the summarised material on the proposals adopted and those rejected on a reasoned basis, and shall reply in writing in a reasoned manner to the persons who have submitted the proposals. Within ten working days from receipt of the reply and, in the cases where the organiser of planning has failed to submit a reply within the set time limits, within ten working days from the date on which the reply ought have been submitted, these persons shall have the right to lodge a complaint with a regional administrative court regarding the reply submitted by the organiser of planning or regarding the failure to submit a reply. Upon receiving the complaint, the court shall set a time limit of ten working days for the organiser of planning to submit a written reply to the complaint. Not later than within ten working days from the date of submission by the organiser of planning of the reply to the complaint, the court shall, by its ruling, resolve the issue of whether further procedures of preparation, coordination and approval of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State need to be suspended due to the complaint lodged. When adopting the ruling, the court shall assess whether:
1) there is a valid resolution of the Seimas or the Government on the recognition of the project as being of importance to the State;
2) there is a valid resolution of the Government on the commencement of preparation of a territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State;
3) planning conditions for the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State have been issued and are valid;
4) publicity procedures of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State have been carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law;
5) the person who has lodged the complaint has, within the time limits and in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law, been informed of the territorial planning document, the procedure, venue and time for familiarisation with and public discussion on this document.
6. The ruling of a regional administrative court provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article may, within five working days from the date of its announcement, be appealed against to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania by filing a separate appeal in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Administrative Proceedings (hereinafter: the ‘Law on Administrative Proceedings’). The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania must examine the separate appeal not later than within 20 working days from the date of its receipt. The complaint provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article must be examined as to substance by the regional administrative court within 30 working days from the date of adoption of the ruling specified in paragraph 5 of this Article, and the appeal – within 30 working days from the date of acceptance of the appeal.
7. Solutions of the territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State shall be coordinated with the institutions which have submitted the planning conditions. Coordination procedures shall be carried out and a conclusion on coordination or a reasoned conclusion to refuse the coordination of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State shall be published in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania. These institutions shall, not later than within 20 working days from the date of submission of the territorial planning document to them, examine it and issue a conclusion on coordination or a reasoned conclusion to refuse the coordination of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State. The territorial planning document shall be considered coordinated if approval has been granted and conclusions have been issued by all the coordinating institutions involved in coordination of the territorial planning document. In the absence of observations by an institution regarding the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State within the set time limit, it shall be considered that the institution has had no observations and has coordinated the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State. In the cases where the institution refuses, specifying reasons, to coordinate the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State or such a document is coordinated with derogations, the organiser of planning may, having regard to the reasons of the institution which has issued the planning conditions for refusal to coordinate the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State or to the specified amendments to the solutions of the territorial planning document, respectively amend the solutions of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State. In the cases where the organiser of planning has reasonable grounds to believe that the amendments to the solutions of the territorial planning document, as specified by the institution which has issued the planning conditions, are unnecessary or where the refusal to coordinate the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State is issued without providing reasons, the organiser of planning shall, upon providing a reasoned explanation, have the right to submit the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State for approval to the Government even without coordinating it with the respective institution. Having assessed the reasons provided by the organiser of planning, the Government shall have the right to approve the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State which has not been coordinated with the respective institution.
8. Prior to approving a territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State, the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning shall, not later than within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the territorial planning document, verify and issue a conclusion on the approval of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State. If the conclusion of the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning is negative, the organiser of planning must forthwith eliminate the shortcomings specified in the conclusion. After the shortcomings specified in the conclusion have been eliminated, the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning shall, in compliance with the terms and procedure laid down in this paragraph, reissue a conclusion on the approval of the territorial planning document of the project of importance to the State.
CHAPTER FIVE
PROCESS OF TERRITORIAL PLANNING
Article 24. Organisation of preparation of documents of complex territorial planning
1. The procedure for organising the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning shall be established by this Law and the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning approved by the Ministry of Environment.
2. The preparation of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall commence upon adoption of a Government resolution on the commencement of preparation of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State and planning objectives. The preparation of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State shall be organised by the Ministry of Environment.
3. The preparation of the comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State shall commence upon adoption of a Government resolution on the commencement of preparation of the comprehensive plan of the part of the territory of the State and planning objectives. The preparation of the comprehensive plan of the part of the territory of the State shall be organised by the Ministry of Environment.
4. The preparation of the comprehensive plans of a municipality or parts thereof shall commence upon adoption by a municipal council of a decision on the commencement of preparation of the comprehensive plans of the municipality or parts thereof and planning objectives. The preparation of such plans shall be organised by the director of municipal administration.
5. The preparation of detailed plans shall commence upon adoption by the director of municipal administration of a decision on the commencement of preparation of a detailed plan and planning objectives. The preparation of detailed plans shall be organised by the director of municipal administration.
Article 25. Process of complex territorial planning
1. The process of complex territorial planning shall consist of the following stages:
1) preparatory;
2) preparation;
3) final.
2. During the preparatory stage, the organiser of planning shall, based on the established planning objectives, envisage a planned territory, prepare and approve a programme of planning works. The programme of planning works shall provide for specific planning tasks, specify the need for carrying out surveys and feasibility studies, whether a concept of development of the territory (hereinafter: the ‘concept’) will be prepared during the preparation stage and whether an independent professional assessment of the concept is envisaged. The concept shall be prepared where alternative solutions of territorial planning documents are envisaged, as well in the cases specified in the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning. At this stage, the organiser of planning shall publicly announce the adopted decision on the commencement of preparation of the territorial planning document, planning objectives and the programme of planning works. During the preparatory stage, research on the possible pollution of the planned territory shall be carried out where conversion of industrial territories is envisaged, and other surveys and feasibility studies shall be carried out if provided for by the programme of planning works. In addition, it shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government, be determined whether strategic environmental assessment (hereinafter: the ‘SEA’) will be carried out.
3. In the cases of planning objects of importance in terms of urban, state or public interest, the programme of planning works shall prescribe the preparation of an open tender for the selection of the best urban idea.
4. Prior to commencing the preparation of a document of complex territorial planning, the organiser of planning or a person authorised by him shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the Ministry of Environment, apply in writing to the institutions specified in the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning requesting them to issue planning conditions within 15 working days (in the case of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning – within ten working days) from the date of receipt of the application. If the planning conditions have not been issued within the set time limit and the organiser of planning has not been informed of the reasons for refusal, the organiser of planning shall have the right to commence the preparation of the document of complex territorial planning.
5. The preparation stage shall consist of the following phases:
1) assessment of the current state – having regard to the levels of territorial planning, the objectives and tasks of the prepared document and the approved programme of planning works, an assessment of the territory’s state of natural, demographic and social environment, landscape, protection of natural and immovable cultural heritage, environment, public health, engineering and economic state and the needs of national and public security and national defence shall be carried out, development tendencies, problem situations or/and natural ranges in the territory shall be established and an assessment of legal acts shall be carried out. Forecasts of the possible territorial development shall be provided in the light of the established development tendencies of the territories;
2) development of common solutions – having regard to the levels of territorial planning, the planned territory and provisions of state and regional strategic planning documents applicable to the respective territory, principal directions of development of the territory shall be established and the concept shall be prepared if provided for by the programme of planning works. The SEA shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Government if a decision on the carrying out of such assessment is adopted during the preparatory stage. At this phase, the drafter of territorial planning documents may apply to the institutions which have issued planning conditions regarding the fulfilment of the planning conditions and in that case the institutions which have issued the planning conditions must provide consultancy. The concept must be approved in writing by the organiser of planning;
3) specification of solutions – having regard to the levels of territorial planning, the objectives and tasks of planning, specific solutions of territorial planning documents shall be prepared establishing mandatory provisions, mandatory requirements or regulations on the use of the territory.
6. The final stage shall consist of the following phases:
1) publicity of solutions of a document of complex territorial planning – familiarisation with the prepared territorial planning document, examination of proposals and consultation or public discussion;
2) coordination of the document of complex territorial planning with the institutions coordinating the territorial planning document or with the Territorial Planning Commission;
3) verification of the document of complex territorial planning by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning;
4) approval of the document of complex territorial planning and its registration in the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania.
7. Each phase of a stage of complex territorial planning process may commence only upon completion of the previous one.
8. Where the SEA is carried out in the course of preparation of the comprehensive plan of a part of a municipality, a repeat SEA shall not be carried out when preparing a detailed plan of that part of the municipality in which the SEA has been carried out, if no other quantitative and qualitative environmental impact has been planned, except for that previously assessed in the SEA.
Article 26. Coordination and verification of documents of complex territorial planning
1. The procedure for coordination, verification, approval and entry into force of documents of complex territorial planning shall be laid down by this Law and the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning approved by the Ministry of Environment.
2. The coordination procedure of documents of state-level complex territorial planning shall be carried out upon submission of solutions of such a document for coordination to the institutions which have issued planning conditions and other coordinating institutions specified in the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning (hereinafter: the ‘coordinating institutions’). The territorial planning documents must be examined at these institutions and a conclusion on coordination or a conclusion to refuse the coordination of the documents must be issued within 20 working days (in the case of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning – within 15 working days) from the date of submission by the organiser of planning of the application to coordinate the document of complex territorial planning. Coordination procedures shall be carried out and decisions on coordination or refusal to coordinate the document of complex territorial planning shall be published in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania. The document of complex territorial planning shall be considered coordinated if approval has been granted and conclusions have been issued by all the coordinating institutions involved in coordination of the territorial planning document.
3. Upon receiving documents of state-level complex territorial planning for coordination, the coordinating institutions shall, within their remit, verify whether:
1) the documents of state-level complex territorial planning are in compliance with sectoral economic development programmes and provisions of strategic documents;
2) the planning conditions have been fulfilled (fulfilment of requirements of the planning conditions by compensatory or alternative measures shall be coordinated with the institutions which have issued the planning conditions);
3) the content of the documents of state-level complex territorial planning is not contrary to the public interest, laws and other legal acts regulating the preparation of territorial planning documents and whether the implementation of their solutions has no adverse impact on other (adjacent) territories.
4. The coordination of documents of municipal-level and local-level complex territorial planning shall be carried out by the Territorial Planning Commission. The composition of the Commission shall be approved by the director of municipal administration. The Territorial Planning Commission shall consist of authorised representatives of the following institutions:
1) a civil servant of the municipal administration performing the functions of chief architect of the municipality (chairperson of the Territorial Planning Commission);
2) a representative of the Fire and Rescue Department under the Ministry of the Interior:
3) a representative of an institution in charge of environmental protection as authorised by the Ministry of Environment;
4) a representative of the National Health Centre under the Ministry of Health;
5) an authorised representative of the directorate of a protected area – where the planned territory falls within state parks, state reserves, strict state reserves, strict biosphere reserves, biosphere grounds and restorative and genetic plots;
6) an authorised representative of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection under the Ministry of Culture – where immovable cultural heritage, territories or protection zones thereof fall within the planned territory;
7) other representatives of the institutions which have issued the planning conditions.
5. In the case of coordination of a specific territorial planning document, the chairperson of the Territorial Planning Commission shall, making use of the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania, on the working day following the day of submission by the organiser of planning of an application to coordinate the territorial planning document, notify the members of the Territorial Planning Commission about the territorial planning document submitted for coordination.
6. In the course of coordination of documents of municipal-level and local-level complex territorial planning, the following shall be verified:
1) whether the document of complex territorial planning submitted for coordination is in compliance with sectoral economic development programmes and provisions of strategic documents, valid solutions of documents of higher and same level territorial planning, special land use conditions and requirements of territorial planning norms, the solutions specified in the comprehensive plans of the adjacent municipalities and with the territorial planning documents specified in Article 6(1) of this Law;
2) whether the document of complex territorial planning submitted for coordination is not contrary to the public interest, laws and other legal acts regulating the preparation of territorial planning documents and whether the implementation of its solutions has no adverse impact on other (adjacent) territories;
3) whether the planning conditions have been fulfilled (fulfilment of requirements of the planning conditions by compensatory or alternative measures shall be coordinated with the institutions which have issued the planning conditions).
7. In the event of ambiguity or a difference of opinion between the members of the Territorial Planning Commission regarding the coordination of a document of complex territorial planning, the chairperson of the Territorial Planning Commission may, at the reasoned request of the organiser of planning or the members of the Territorial Planning Commission, hold a meeting of the Territorial Planning Commission before the expiry of the time limit for coordination.
8. The coordination of documents of municipal-level and local-level complex territorial planning shall be carried out not later than within ten working days from the date of submission by the organiser of planning of an application to coordinate a document of complex territorial planning. All coordination procedures shall be carried out and decisions on coordination or refusal to coordinate the territorial planning document shall be published in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania. The document of complex territorial planning shall be considered coordinated if approved by the members of the Territorial Planning Commission. If a member of the Territorial Planning Commission disagrees with the decision, he shall, within five working days from the date of submission by the organiser of planning of the application to coordinate the document of complex territorial planning, submit the reasons for his disagreement in writing to the chairperson of the Territorial Planning Commission. If the chairperson of the Commission considers that the disagreement is inadequately reasoned, he shall apply to the institution which delegated that member of the Commission requesting to either confirm his reasons for disagreement or deem them unfounded. The institution to whom the chairperson of the Territorial Planning Commission applies must, within five working days from the date of receipt of the application, issue its conclusions.
9. Where a document of complex territorial planning is refused, the reasons for refusal shall be provided. In the course of coordination of documents of complex territorial planning, the Territorial Planning Commission may not establish new requirements which have not been provided for in the planning conditions.
10. The organiser of planning, the initiator of planning, the manager of territorial planning, institutions issuing planning conditions and coordinating, verifying and approving a territorial planning document as well as the public shall, making use of the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania, have the right to obtain all the information related to coordination of the document of complex territorial planning.
11. Persons coordinating a document of complex territorial planning shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws, bear personal responsibility for the legitimacy of their decisions taken within their remit.
12. If no conclusion or minutes of the meeting of the Territorial Planning Commission regarding the coordination or refusal to coordinate a document of complex territorial planning are provided to the organiser of planning within the time limits specified in this paragraph, it shall be considered that the coordinating institution or a member of the Territorial Planning Commission have coordinated the document of complex territorial planning and it may be submitted for verification to the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning.
13. A coordinated document of complex territorial planning shall be submitted for verification to the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning. The institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning shall verify the documents of complex territorial planning and shall, within 20 working days (in the case of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning – within 15 working days) from the date of submission by the organiser of planning of the application to verify the document of complex territorial planning, provide him with a verification report on the document of complex territorial planning. Where the verification report on the document of complex territorial planning is not provided to the organiser of planning within the time limit specified in this Article and the reasons provided for in paragraph 14 of this Article for refusal of the document of complex territorial planning are not specified, it shall be considered that the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning has verified and approved the prepared document of complex territorial planning.
14. The institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning shall refuse a document of complex territorial planning by issuing a verification report where:
1) the prepared document of complex territorial planning is not in compliance with a document of higher or same level territorial planning, except for the cases provided for by this Law;
2) the prepared document of complex territorial planning is not in compliance with laws and other legal acts regulating the preparation of territorial planning documents.
15. In the event that the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning refuses submission of a document of complex territorial planning for approval by issuing a verification report on the document of complex territorial planning, this territorial planning document shall not be submitted for approval. The document of complex territorial planning shall be submitted for approval only in the case of elimination of the shortcomings specified in the verification report on the document of complex territorial planning by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning and the latter endorses the submission of the document of complex territorial planning for approval. The verification report on the document of complex territorial planning by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning may be appealed against in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Law on Administrative Proceedings.
Article 27. Approval and entry into force of documents of complex territorial planning
1. Where the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning endorses the submission of a document of complex territorial planning for approval, the organiser of planning shall submit this document for approval to a respective institution.
2. The Ministry of Environment shall submit the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State and the comprehensive plan of a part of the territory of the State for approval to the Government. The comprehensive plan of the territory of the State and the comprehensive plan of the part of the territory of the State shall be approved or refused approval in compliance with the rules of procedure of the Government within three months from the date of their submission for approval.
3. The director of municipal administration shall submit the comprehensive plan of a municipality or the comprehensive plan of a part of the municipality for approval to the municipal council. The comprehensive plan of the municipality or the comprehensive plan of the part of the municipality shall be approved or refused approval within 20 working days from the date of their submission for approval.
4. Detailed plans shall be approved by the director of municipal administration. A detailed plan shall be approved or refused approval within five working days from the date of receipt of the verification report on the document of complex territorial planning by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning.
5. The approving institution may refuse to approve a document of complex territorial planning only in the following cases:
1) where the initiator of planning refuses to sign the agreement specified in Article 6(4) of this Law;
2) where a verification report on the document of complex territorial planning (except for a verification report on a territorial planning document of projects of importance to the State) by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning has been appealed against to court – until a court decision whereby the verification report on the document of complex territorial planning is deemed unlawful takes effect.
6. The legal act and the territorial planning document approved thereby shall enter into force on the day following that of its registration and publication in the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania, unless a later date of entry into force is established in the decision on the approval of the document of complex territorial planning. The official information note on the approval of the document of complex territorial planning shall be published on the website of the institution approving the document of complex territorial planning and in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania.
7. If the director of municipal administration fails to approve a detailed plan within the time limit specified by this Law or refuses to approve the detailed plan and fails to provide the reasons for refusal to coordinate, the initiator of planning shall, within ten working days, have the right to apply to the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment whose officials shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Code of Administrative Offences’), institute administrative proceedings; the initiator of planning shall also have the right to apply to court requesting the court to impose an obligation on the director of municipal administration to adopt a decision to approve or refuse, specifying the reasons, to approve the detailed plan within the set time limit not exceeding seven working days.
Article 28. Amendment and adjustment of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning
1. Documents of complex territorial planning shall be amended pursuant to the territorial planning process provided for in this Law and the same document approval procedure upon adoption of the decision on the amendment of the document by the state or municipal institution which has adopted the decision to prepare the respective document.
2. A decision on the adjustment of a document of complex territorial planning shall be adopted by the organiser of planning. Natural persons, legal persons or divisions thereof, other organisations or divisions thereof shall have the right of initiative to propose to the organiser of planning the adjustment of a document of local-level territorial planning in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 6 (3) and (4) of this Law.
3. The procedure for and cases of preparation, coordination, verification, approval and entry into force of revisions of documents of complex territorial planning shall be laid down by this Law and the Rules for the Preparation of Documents of Complex Territorial Planning. The adjustment of the document of complex territorial planning shall be approved by a decision of the entity approving the territorial planning document and shall be registered in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law.
4. Documents of complex territorial planning shall be amended in the cases where the state or municipal institutions which have adopted a decision to prepare a respective territorial planning document decide to make substantial amendments to the solutions of the document of complex territorial planning or where the solutions intended to be amended relate to the public interest.
5. Documents of complex territorial planning shall be adjusted where unsubstantial amendments are made to solutions of a document of complex territorial planning, in other cases provided for by this Law or where a respective court decision has been adopted.
6. When the organiser of planning wishes to amend or adjust solutions of a document of higher or same level complex territorial planning, except for the solutions of the territorial planning documents the organiser of planning whereof he is himself, he shall submit a reasoned proposal regarding the amendment or adjustment of the document to the organiser of planning of the document of complex territorial planning intended to be amended or adjusted. Having assessed the submitted proposal, the organiser of planning of the document of complex territorial planning intended to be amended or adjusted shall, within ten working days from the date of submission of the proposal:
1) adopt a decision on the adjustment of the valid document of complex territorial planning or reject the proposal on a reasoned basis;
2) forward the proposal to the state or municipal institution which has adopted the decision to prepare a respective document of complex territorial planning and the latter shall, within one month, adopt a decision on the adjustment of the valid document of complex territorial planning or reject the proposal on a reasoned basis.
7. In urbanised territories and territories under urbanisation the principal designation of land use shall be changed based on the comprehensive plan of a municipality or the comprehensive plan and detailed plans of a part of the municipality.
8. The construction zone, construction boundary and construction line of construction works, the boundaries of territories necessary for the social and engineering infrastructure and/or communications corridors, the layout of buildings and public spaces, the layout of parking places, the part of a territory to be planted, the modes of provision of engineering and utility networks and principles of arrangement of the transport infrastructure in a planned territory and the need for servitudes necessary for the functioning thereof, established in detailed plans, may be adjusted in the course of preparation of the design documentation of the construction works if that does not prejudice the requirements of laws and other legal acts, the solutions of a document of higher-level complex or special territorial planning and the decisions of the director of municipal administration. The adjustment of this document of complex territorial planning must be preceded by written approval of all the managers and users of a land parcel and the Territorial Planning Commission, through submission to the latter of the section of the design documentation on the arrangement of the land parcel/plan of the land parcel.
9. The solutions of documents of municipal-level or local-level special territorial planning (except for land survey documents of special territorial planning) approved by a municipal council and recognised, by a decision of the municipal council, to be an integral part of the comprehensive plan of the municipality, shall be registered as revisions of the respective territorial planning documents.
10. Where in the case provided for by Article 20(6)(3) of this Law land parcels established in a valid detailed plan prepared in accordance with the legal regulation of territorial planning valid until 1 January 2014 are reparcelled, a landholding project shall be regarded as an adjustment of the valid detailed plan.
11. Information on the adjustment process, publicity and registration of a document of complex territorial planning shall be published in accordance with a simplified procedure established by the Government on the website of the organiser of planning and in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 29. Monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning
1. Monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning shall be carried out in respect of the comprehensive plan of the territory of the State, the comprehensive plans of parts of the territory of the State and the comprehensive plans of municipalities and parts thereof.
2. Monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning shall be carried out by the organisers of planning on a permanent basis. For the purpose of carrying out monitoring of the implementation of the solutions of documents of respective level territorial planning, the State or municipalities shall make use of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania, encompassing state- and municipal-level territorial planning.
3. The manager of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the Ministry of Environment. The administrators of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania (the Ministry of Environment or an institution authorised by it and municipal administrations) must ensure the exchange of information and data accumulated in this information system. The administrators of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania shall provide information necessary for carrying out monitoring of the implementation of the territorial planning documents specified in paragraph 1 of this Article to the organisers of planning. The administrators of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania shall act in compliance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Management of State Information Resources and the regulations of the Information System on the Monitoring of Territorial Planning of the Republic of Lithuania approved by the Minister of Environment.
4. In carrying out monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning, the organiser of complex territorial planning shall, in compliance with the programme for implementation of the solutions of a document of complex territorial planning, accumulate and analyse information, monitor, analyse and forecast the development trends of a territory and their influence on the implementation of the solutions of the document of complex territorial planning and prepare a monitoring report.
5. A report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of state-level complex territorial planning shall be drawn up at least every five years. A report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of municipal-level complex territorial planning shall be drawn up at least every two years. A report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of the comprehensive plan of a part of a municipality may be included in the report on monitoring of the comprehensive plan of the municipality.
6. The organisers of complex territorial planning that organise the drawing up of a report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning shall publish the following information on the website of the state institution or the municipality which has adopted a decision to prepare the respective document of complex territorial planning:
1) the document of complex territorial planning, the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions whereof is being drawn up;
2) the time limits for the start and end of drawing up of the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning;
3) the organiser of monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning and the drafter of the monitoring report;
4) the ways for the public to submit proposals on the improvement of the document of complex territorial planning, the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions whereof is being drawn up.
7. The organiser of planning shall publish a report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning setting out the monitoring results and the need for amending a document of complex territorial planning on the website of the state institution or the municipality which has adopted a decision to prepare the respective document of complex territorial planning. In the cases where the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning indicates the need for amending the document of complex territorial planning, the organiser of planning shall, not later than within three months from the date of publication of the report, submit a proposal to the state or municipal institution which has adopted the decision to prepare the respective document of complex territorial planning to adopt a decision to amend the document of complex territorial planning. Upon receiving the proposal from the organiser of planning to amend the document of complex territorial planning, the state or municipal institution must adopt a decision either to amend the respective document of complex territorial planning based on the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning drawn up by the organiser of planning or to reject the proposal on a reasoned basis. In the cases where the report on monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning indicates the need for adjusting the document of complex territorial planning, the organiser of planning shall, not later than within one month from the date of publication of the report, adopt a decision to adjust the document of complex territorial planning.
8. The content of monitoring of the implementation of solutions of documents of complex territorial planning and monitoring procedure shall be established by the Ministry of Environment.
Article 30. General requirements for the preparation of documents of special territorial planning
1. Documents of special territorial planning shall be prepared:
1) where their preparation is provided for under laws;
2) where solutions of documents of complex territorial planning do not regulate the proposed activity or, by a decision of an institution in charge of regulating a specific activity, it is necessary to specify or detail the solutions of the documents of complex territorial planning;
3) where the institution in charge of a specific field of activity plans to introduce new regulation of activity mandatory for managers and users of land and other immovable property in documents of complex territorial planning, except for the cases where the regulation of activity is established in the protection regulations of objects of cultural heritage in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage.
2. The preparation of documents of special territorial planning shall commence upon a decision on the commencement of preparation of a document of special territorial planning and planning objectives adopted by the entity approving the document of special territorial planning.
3. The process of special territorial planning shall consist of the following stages:
1) preparatory;
2) preparation;
3) final.
4. During the preparatory stage, the organiser of planning shall, based on the established planning objectives, envisage a planned territory, prepare and approve a programme of planning works. The programme of planning works shall provide for specific planning tasks, specify the need for carrying out surveys and feasibility studies, whether a concept of development of a territory will be prepared during the preparation stage and whether an independent professional assessment of that concept is envisaged. The concept shall be prepared where alternative solutions of territorial planning documents are envisaged, as well as in other cases established in certain rules for the preparation of documents of special territorial planning approved by institutions authorised by the Government together with the Ministry of Environment. At this stage, the organiser of planning shall publicly announce the adopted decision on the commencement of preparation of the document of special territorial planning, planning objectives and the programme of planning works. During the preparatory stage, surveys and feasibility studies shall be carried out if provided for by the programme of planning works. In addition, it shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government, be determined whether the SEA will be carried out.
5. Before commencing the preparation of special territorial planning documents, the organiser of planning or a person authorised by him shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the institution authorised by the Government, apply in writing to the institutions specified in the rules for the preparation of documents of special territorial planning requesting them to issue planning conditions. The planning conditions shall be issued or a reasoned reply concerning reasons for refusal shall be provided within 15 working days (in the case of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning – within ten working days) from the date of receipt of the application. If the planning conditions have not been issued within the set time limit and the organiser of planning has not been informed of the reasons for refusal, the organiser of planning shall have the right to commence the preparation of documents of special territorial planning.
6. The preparation stage of a document of special territorial planning shall consist of the following phases:
1) assessment of the current state – assessment of development possibilities of a proposed activity in a certain field in a territory and identification of current tendencies and problems;
2) development of common solutions – having regard to the levels of special territorial planning and nature of activity, priorities of development of the proposed activity and/or management of land shall be established, the concept shall be prepared if provided for by the programme of planning works, the SEA shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Government if a decision on the carrying out of such assessment is adopted during the preparatory stage. The concept must be approved in writing by the organiser of planning;
3) specification of solutions – having regard to the levels of special territorial planning, specific solutions for the development of a proposed activity in a certain field and the use, management and protection of territories intended for that activity shall be prepared.
7. The final stage shall consist of the following phases:
1) publicity of solutions of a document of special territorial planning – making the prepared document of territorial planning public in accordance with a simplified procedure;
2) coordination of the document of special territorial planning with institutions coordinating the territorial planning document (at state level) or with the Territorial Planning Commission (at municipal level or local level);
3) verification of the document of special territorial planning by the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning;
4) approval of the document of special territorial planning and its registration in the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania.
8. Documents of special territorial planning shall be prepared, adjusted, amended, coordinated, verified and approved in compliance with this Law, laws regulating the activities of entities organising the preparation of documents of special territorial planning and certain rules for the preparation of documents of special territorial planning, approved by the heads of institutions authorised by the Government together with the Minister of Environment, which establish the procedure for organising, preparing, adjusting, amending, coordinating, verifying and approving a document of special territorial planning. Documents of special territorial planning shall be amended pursuant to the special territorial planning process provided for in this Law and the same document approval procedure upon adoption by the state or municipal institution which has adopted the decision to prepare the respective document of the decision on the amendment of the document.
CHAPTER SIX
PUBLICITY OF TERRITORIAL PLANNING
Article 31. Publicity of territorial planning
1. Territorial planning shall be public, except for the cases where the objects of the state border, national defence and of strategic importance are related to classified information pursuant to provisions of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Secrets and Official Secrets.
2. The publicity of territorial planning shall be ensured by the organiser of planning. The general and simplified procedure for territorial planning document publicity procedures shall, based on the type and level of territorial planning documents, be established in the Regulations on the Provision of Information to the Public, Public Consultation and Participation in Adopting Decisions Relating to Territorial Planning approved by the Government.
3. Representatives of the public concerned and other natural and legal persons may be actively involved in the publicity procedures of territorial planning.
4. A draft decision on the preparation of a territorial planning document and planning objectives must, at least ten working days prior to its adoption, be published on the website of a municipality and on the website of another state institution intending to adopt a decision on the preparation of a respective territorial planning document as well as on the notice board of the ward for which the territorial planning document is being prepared, informing of the time limit and address for familiarising with the documents of the decision and planning objectives and for sending proposals on the planning objectives.
Article 32. Publicity procedures of territorial planning
Publicity procedures of territorial planning shall be as follows:
1) provision of information to the public on the commencement and objectives of territorial planning;
2) familiarisation with the prepared territorial planning documents;
3) consultation;
4) submission and examination of proposals;
5) public discussion.
Article 33. Ways of provision of information
Information shall be provided in the following ways:
1) electronically – information shall be provided on proposals (initiation) of territorial planning, decisions on the commencement of territorial planning, planning objectives and preparation of the SEA and the programme of planning works shall be published; where prepared – the SEA report, the concept, as well as information on the procedure for submission of proposals and familiarisation with the prepared territorial planning documents and the venue and date of public discussion on them, the solutions submitted for the public discussion and the solutions of the approved territorial planning document;
2) at the registered office of the organiser of planning – information shall be provided on the commencement of preparation of territorial planning documents and planning objectives, the organisers of planning and drafters of territorial planning documents, the procedure for submission of proposals and familiarisation with the territorial planning document and to the SEA report, as well as the venue and date of the public discussion on them;
3) on the notice boards of wards – information shall be provided on the commencement of preparation of territorial planning documents and planning objectives, the procedure for submission of proposals and the venue and date of public discussion on the prepared territorial planning documents, while by registered mail – on the venue and date of public discussion on the prepared territorial planning documents;
4) orally or in writing, in response to oral or written queries from the persons concerned.
Article 34. Informing of the commencement of territorial planning
1. Decisions of state institutions on the commencement of preparation of documents of state-level territorial planning (except for land survey documents of special territorial planning) and planning objectives, the programme of planning works and information on the preparation of the envisaged SEA shall be published on the website of these institutions and in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Decisions of state and/or municipal institutions on the commencement of preparation of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning and planning objectives, the programme of planning works and information on the preparation of the envisaged SEA shall be published on the website of these institutions, on the notice boards of wards and in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 35. Familiarisation with prepared territorial planning documents
1. Natural and legal persons or divisions thereof or other organisations or divisions thereof shall have the right to familiarise themselves with prepared territorial planning documents at the institution which organised the territorial planning and to obtain copies of the drawings of the territorial planning documents or parts thereof for a fee established by the Government upon calculating the expenses related to the preparation of these documents (copying, publication, etc.).
2. Access to prepared territorial planning documents shall be provided to the public by the organiser of planning or a person authorised by him:
1) a period of at least two months shall be allowed for familiarisation with the prepared documents of state-level territorial planning with at least one month of that period allowed for public exposure;
2) a period of at least one month shall be allowed for familiarisation with the prepared documents of municipal-level territorial planning, with at least 15 working days of that period allowed for public exposure;
3) a period of at least ten working days shall be allowed for familiarisation with the prepared documents of local-level territorial planning, with at least five working days of that period allowed for public exposure.
3. The organisers of planning must publish solutions of a prepared territorial planning document, the procedure for and venue and date of familiarisation with and public discussion on the document in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania and on the website of the state or municipal institution which has adopted the decision to prepare the territorial planning document. The organisers of planning must also publish information about the prepared territorial planning document of the territory of a municipality or a part thereof, the procedure for and venue and date of familiarisation with and public discussion on the document on the notice board of the ward in which the planned territory is located.
4. Where a land parcel is envisaged for the implementation of a project of importance to the State or a territorial planning document of a project of importance to the State is under preparation, the organiser of planning shall inform about the prepared territorial planning document in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of this Law.
5. The organiser of planning must, by registered mail, inform about a prepared draft detailed plan the managers and users of land parcels whose rights to use the land parcels are restricted by special land use conditions established in solutions of the detailed plan.
6. Natural persons, legal persons or divisions thereof, other organisations or divisions thereof in respect of whom, due to the public interest, additional restrictions on the use of land and other immovable property are envisaged shall be informed about the ongoing preparation of the territorial planning document in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. Additional restrictions on the use of land and other immovable property due to the private interest of other persons may be imposed on the natural persons, legal persons or divisions thereof, other organisations or divisions thereof by a territorial planning document on the grounds laid down in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Civil Code’).
Article 36. Consultation
In the course of consultation, the organisers of planning and drafters of territorial planning documents shall, in compliance with the Regulations on the Provision of Information to the Public, Public Consultation and Participation in Adopting Decisions Relating to Territorial Planning, as approved by the Government, consult the competent organisations concerned or the public concerned regarding solutions of the ongoing and prepared documents of state-level territorial planning.
Article 37. Submission and examination of proposals
1. Proposals regarding territorial planning documents shall be submitted to the organiser of planning in writing or in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania during the entire period of preparation of the territorial planning document until the end of public discussion, while in the course of the public discussion the proposals shall also be submitted orally. The organiser of planning must publish information on the prepared territorial planning document which has been revised based on the proposals taken into consideration, the procedure for and venue and date of familiarisation with and public discussion on the document in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania and on the website of the state institution or the municipality which has adopted the decision to prepare the territorial planning document.
2. Having examined the proposals submitted by the public regarding territorial planning documents, the organiser of planning shall prepare a summary of the proposals adopted and those rejected on a reasoned basis, with explanations of the account taken of the public opinion; he shall submit the summarised material, copies of the proposals submitted by the public together with the prepared territorial planning documents to the institution verifying the territorial planning document. The organiser of planning shall provide the persons who have submitted proposals with a reasoned reply in writing or in the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania, where the proposals have been submitted through that system. The reply provided by the organiser of planning may, within ten working days, be appealed against to the respective institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning. The reply to the organisers of planning shall indicate whether the organiser of planning approves the proposals of the public or rejects the proposals, specifying in detail the inadmissibility/unreasonableness of the proposals.
Article 38. Public discussion
1. Public discussion shall be organised upon preparation of documents of municipal-level and local-level territorial planning, after the expiry of the time limit for familiarisation with prepared territorial planning documents, as specified in Article 35 of this Law.
2. The organisers of planning must submit the prepared territorial planning document along with other materials relating to solutions. During the public discussion, the organiser of planning or a person authorised by him shall discuss the amendments made based on the proposals received before the public discussion, as well as likely new amendments based on the proposals received during the public discussion and shall explain why and which of the proposals are inadmissible.
CHAPTER SEVEN
REGISTER OF TERRITORIAL PLANNING DOCUMENTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
Article 39. Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania
1. Documents of territorial planning shall be registered in the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania. The legal acts approving territorial planning documents and solutions of territorial planning documents shall be accumulated and administered in this register. The object of the register shall be the territorial planning documents and the legal acts approving the territorial planning documents.
2. The Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be a state register. The Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be set up and the regulations of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be approved by the Government.
3. It shall be mandatory for the organisers of planning to submit data on approved territorial planning documents and the legal acts approving the territorial planning documents in accordance with the procedure established in the regulations of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania for registration not later than within five working days from the date of approval of the territorial planning document. The administrator of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall register the approved territorial planning document and the legal act approving the territorial planning documents only if solutions of the approved territorial planning document have been submitted in accordance with the procedure established in the regulations of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. The leading management body of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the Ministry of Environment. The central management body of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment. The management bodies of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the municipal administrations.
5. The data accumulated in the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be public, except for restrictions established by laws. The data of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be provided to natural and legal persons, except for the exemptions specified in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, European Union legal acts and the regulations of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania, for a charge the amount and payment procedure whereof shall be established by the Government. The data of the Register of Territorial Planning Documents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be provided free of charge to state and municipal institutions for the purpose of performance of their direct functions and in other cases specified by the laws. Territorial planning document search and view services must be provided free of charge.
6. The organiser of planning must store approved territorial planning documents along with all the procedural documents in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Documents and Archives.
CHAPTER EIGHT
DRAFTERS OF TERRITORIAL PLANNING DOCUMENTS AND CHIEF ARCHITECTS OF MUNICIPALITIES
Article 40. Drafters and managers of territorial planning documents, their certification procedure and qualification requirements
1. The rights of drafters and managers of documents of complex territorial planning shall be as follows:
1) the right to prepare the documents of complex territorial planning shall be granted to natural persons entitled, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Law and its implementing legislation, to manage the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning, legal persons and divisions thereof and foreign organisations and divisions thereof engaged in territorial planning, where these activities are managed by certified managers of territorial planning. Where, taking into account the level of the territorial planning document, the objectives of planning, the tasks of the territorial planning document and the planned territory, the programme of planning works provides for addressing the tasks attributable to documents of special territorial planning specified in Article 21(2) of this Law, natural persons entitled to manage the preparation of documents of special territorial planning specified in Article 5(4) of this Law must be involved in the preparation of a document of complex territorial planning. This provision shall not apply where the manager of territorial planning himself holds a certificate of competency entitling to prepare a respective document of special territorial planning, or where, pursuant to Article 22(2) of this Law, solutions of approved documents of special territorial planning are integrated into the document of complex territorial planning;
2) the right to manage the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning shall be granted to a person who has acquired a university degree in the study field of architecture in the study area of arts or equivalent education, and who has obtained a certificate of competency (hereinafter: the ‘certificate’) from an organisation carrying out certification entitling to manage the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning based on the types of territorial planning documents and levels of territorial planning. The certification of persons referred to in this point shall be carried out by the Architects’ Chamber of the Republic of Lithuania. This requirement shall not apply to citizens of another EU Member State, Swiss Confederation or a country which is a signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and other natural persons who enjoy the freedom of movement granted to them by the European Union legislation, provided that they hold a certificate issued by the competent authority of another EU Member State, Swiss Confederation or the country which is a signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or another document confirming their right to engage in activities corresponding to the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning in their state of origin.
2. The rights of drafters and managers of documents of special territorial planning shall be as follows, unless the laws regulating the preparation of documents of special territorial planning of the respective type provide otherwise:
1) the right to prepare documents of special territorial planning shall be granted to natural persons entitled, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Law and other legal acts, to manage the preparation of documents of special territorial planning, legal persons and divisions thereof and foreign organisations and divisions thereof engaged in territorial planning, where these activities are managed by natural persons entitled to manage such activities, except for the cases where laws regulating the preparation of specific documents of special territorial planning do not establish mandatory certification of such managers;
2) the right to manage the preparation of documents of special territorial planning (except for the cases where laws regulating the preparation of specific documents of special territorial planning provide otherwise) shall be granted to the manager of territorial planning with professional experience in preparing documents of higher-level or appropriate level complex territorial planning, where the specific tasks attributable to the document of special territorial planning were addressed therein, or a natural person who has, based on the study areas and fields established by the Government, completed higher education (university or college) or equivalent education which is in line with the type of the document of special territorial planning and holding a certificate entitling to manage the preparation of documents of special territorial planning based on the types of territorial planning documents and levels of territorial planning. The certification of persons referred to in this point shall be carried out by the state enterprise “Statybos produkcijos sertifikavimo centras” (Centre for Certification of Construction Products), except for persons who have acquired a university degree in the study field of architecture in the study area of arts or equivalent education, whose certification is carried out by the Architects’ Chamber of the Republic of Lithuania. This requirement shall not apply to citizens of another EU Member State, Swiss Confederation or a country which is a signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and other natural persons who enjoy the freedom of movement granted to them by the European Union legislation, provided that they hold a certificate issued by the competent authority of another EU Member State, Swiss Confederation or the country which is a signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or another document confirming their right to engage in activities corresponding to the preparation of documents of special territorial planning in their state of origin.
3. The procedure for the issuance, renewal, suspension, lifting of the suspension and revocation of certificates (except for those of managers of special territorial planning of immovable cultural heritage protection, whose certification is carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage), as well as the regulations and composition of the certification commission carrying out certification shall be established by the Minister of Environment together with the Minister of Culture. The certification commission shall evaluate the applicant’s education, professional experience, skills and creativity, the results of the examination in professional and legal knowledge, the up-skilling documentation and other materials submitted by the applicant and shall deliver its conclusion to either issue a certificate or to reject the application. On the basis of the certification commission’s conclusion, the organisation carrying out certification shall adopt a respective decision and shall issue the certificate or inform the applicant about the reasons for rejection of the application not later than within 30 working days from receipt of all the documents for obtaining the certificate. Natural persons shall, in the manner prescribed by the organisation carrying out certification, have the right to perform all the certification-related procedures at a distance by electronic means through the point of single contact or by applying directly to organisations carrying out certification.
4. A certificate according to the types of territorial planning documents and levels of territorial planning shall be issued for an indefinite period to the natural persons specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article who meet the following qualification requirements:
1) natural persons seeking to acquire the right to manage the preparation of documents of complex territorial planning must have completed the education referred to in point 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article, have a record of at least three years’ professional experience (the duration of which is calculated from the date of completion of the education referred to in point 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article) being involved in the preparation of documents of respective level complex territorial planning or professional experience in managing the preparation of documents of lower-level complex territorial planning and have, in the manner prescribed by the institution carrying out certification, passed an examination in professional and legal knowledge under a programme approved by the Minister of Environment;
2) natural persons seeking to acquire the right to manage the preparation of documents of special territorial planning must, (except for the cases where the laws regulating the preparation of specific documents of special territorial planning provide otherwise), have experience as a manager of territorial planning referred to in point 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article or have completed the education referred to therein and have a record of at least three years’ professional work experience (the duration of which is calculated from the date of completion of the education referred to in point 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article) being involved in the preparation of documents of respective level special territorial planning or professional experience in managing the preparation of documents of lower-level special territorial planning and have, in the manner prescribed by the institution carrying out certification, passed an examination in professional and legal knowledge under a programme approved by the Minister of Environment (in the case of managers of special territorial planning of immovable cultural heritage protection – under a programme approved by the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Culture). The results of examinations in professional knowledge of certified architects who participate in up-skilling in the prescribed manner, have no administrative penalties in the professional field and for whom no breach of professional ethics has been established shall be valid for an indefinite period;
3) professional experience of being involved in the preparation of territorial planning documents or managing the preparation of territorial planning documents is proven by furnishing copies of the main and/or other drawings of an approved territorial planning document with a person’s surname and signature in the stamp in the corner of the drawing. Copies of documents of territorial planning publicity procedures, as provided for in the respective rules for the preparation of territorial planning documents, and/or a certificate from the drafter of an approved territorial planning document specifying which stages and phases of the territorial planning process the person was involved in may additionally be provided for assessment to the certification commission. The certification commission shall assess the person’s professional experience taking into account the planning objectives and tasks of the submitted territorial planning documents and the person’s contribution while being involved in the preparation of these documents and/or managing the preparation thereof.
5. Natural persons who have obtained certificates must, at least every five years, improve their qualifications at up-skilling courses, covering at least 20 hours of lectures in the area of preparation of territorial planning documents, legal and professional knowledge under the training programmes approved by higher education institutions, associations and training institutions and coordinated with an organisation carrying out certification. Documentation evidencing up-skilling shall be submitted to the organisation carrying out certification in accordance with the procedure established by this organisation. Where the organisation carrying out certification establishes that a certificate holder has failed to fulfil this requirement, the certificate may be suspended for a period of up to six months until the certified person submits the documentation evidencing up-skilling to the organisation carrying out certification in accordance with the procedure established by this organisation.
6. Where the institution carrying out state supervision of territorial planning establishes that the persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article have, in the course of preparing territorial planning documents or managing the preparation thereof, violated the provisions of laws, other legal acts and requirements for the preparation of territorial planning documents, the certificates may be suspended until the elimination of the violations due to which the certificates have been suspended, but in all cases for a period not exceeding six months.
7. After the certificate holder provides documents proving the elimination of the violations due to which the certificate was suspended, the suspension of the certificate shall be lifted within ten working days from the date of provision of these documents.
8. A certificate shall be revoked where:
1) in the course of preparing territorial planning documents, a person has grossly violated requirements of the laws and other legal acts governing the preparation of territorial planning documents. A violation of the laws and other legal acts governing the preparation of territorial planning documents which has resulted in damage to third parties, objects and sites of natural and cultural heritage shall be regarded as a gross violation;
2) upon suspension of the certificate, the person continues the activities for which the certificate is required;
3) upon suspension of the certificate, the certificate holder has, within the prescribed time limit, failed to eliminate the violations for which the certificate has been suspended;
4) the person has, within the prescribed time limit, failed to submit the requested documents and/or data required for investigating the information on the violations committed by him;
5) it transpires that the certificate holder has submitted incorrect data with a view to obtaining the certificate;
6) at the request of the certificate holder.
9. Upon revocation of a certificate, the natural persons specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article may apply for the issuance of a new certificate not earlier than after the lapse of one year, except for the case referred to in point 6 of paragraph 8 of this Article.
10. A natural person wishing to obtain or renew a certificate of a manager of territorial planning must pay a fee for these services, as established by the Minister of Environment, to the organisation carrying out certification. When fixing the amount of the fee, the provision must be observed that the fee must cover economically justified costs of provision of the certification service and ensure income necessary for developing and improving the infrastructure required for provision of these services.
11. Where technically viable, an organisation carrying out certification must enable natural persons who have acquired the right to manage the preparation of territorial planning documents to obtain a certificate in electronic form.
Article 41. Chief architects of municipalities
Persons holding a university degree in the study field of architecture in the study area of arts or an equivalent university degree in architecture and a record of three years’ work experience in the fields of territorial planning or designing special construction works or state supervision of territorial planning and who have knowledge of provisions of legal acts regulating territorial planning, design of construction works, construction and state supervision of territorial planning and construction shall be entitled to serve as civil servant of the municipal administration performing the functions of chief architect of the municipality, as provided for by this Law and other laws.
CHAPTER NINE
LIABILITY OF LEGAL PERSONS AND OTHER ENTITIES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS LAW
Article 42. Liability of legal persons for the preparation of territorial planning documents without having the right to engage in such activities
1. A fine in the amount from one thousand four hundred and forty-eight euros up to two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six euros shall be imposed for the preparation of territorial planning documents without having the right to engage in such activities.
2. A fine in the amount from two thousand and twenty-seven euros up to five thousand seven hundred and ninety-two euros shall be imposed on legal persons for the repeated violation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article within one year.
Article 43. Liability of legal persons for violations of the procedure for organising the coordination of territorial planning documents, adopting a decision to coordinate the territorial planning documents in breach of their coordination procedure, as laid down in legal acts, or where the solutions thereof are not in compliance with requirements of legal acts regulating territorial planning or solutions of higher-ranking territorial planning documents
1. In cases of intentional violations of the procedure for organising the coordination of territorial planning documents, adopting a decision to coordinate the territorial planning documents in breach of their coordination procedure, as laid down in legal acts, or where solutions thereof are not in compliance with requirements of legal acts regulating territorial planning or the solutions of higher-ranking territorial planning documents, the institution which has adopted the decision shall be imposed a fine in the amount from five hundred and seventy-nine euros up to one thousand one hundred and fifty-eight euros.
2. A fine in the amount from eight hundred and sixty-eight euros up to one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven euros shall be imposed on the institution which has adopted the decision for the repeated violations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article within one year.
Article 44. Liability of legal persons coordinating territorial planning documents for unfounded refusal to coordinate a territorial planning document and for failure to provide a conclusion on coordination of the territorial planning documents within the time limits laid down in this Law
1. A fine in the amount from five hundred and seventy-nine euros up to one thousand one hundred and fifty-eight euros shall be imposed on a legal person for unfounded refusal to consider a territorial planning document and also for failure to provide a conclusion on coordination of the territorial planning documents within the time limits laid down in this Law.
2. A fine in the amount from eight hundred and sixty-eight euros up to one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven euros shall be imposed on a legal person for the repeated violations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article within one year.
Article 45. Liability for the violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law and their examination procedure
1. Divisions of legal persons, other foreign organisations and divisions thereof shall also be held liable for the violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law. The specified violations shall be investigated, records drawn up and cases of violations shall be examined in an out-of-court procedure in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offences, except for the cases referred to in this Article.
2. Records of the violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law shall be drawn up by the officials specified in paragraph 6 of this Article.
3. The violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law relating to forest management schemes shall be examined by the State Forest Service.
4. The violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law relating to land survey documents of special territorial planning shall be examined by the National Land Service under the Ministry of Agriculture.
5. The violations specified in Article 42, Article 43 and Article 44 of this Law, except for the violations examined by the bodies specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, shall be examined by the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment.
6. The right to examine the violations specified in this Law and impose penalties on behalf of the State Forest Service, the National Land Service under the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment shall be granted to the heads and deputy heads of the aforementioned bodies or other officials of the institution authorised by the head.
CHAPTER TEN
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 46. Compensation and reparation
Damage resulting from the implementation of territorial planning documents through unlawful actions as well as from failure to fulfil the requirements of this Law shall be compensated in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Civil Code and other laws.
Article 47. Use of information systems
1. The procedures of territorial planning processes shall be carried out by the organisers of planning, drafters of territorial planning documents, public administration entities and other participants of the territorial planning process by making use of the Information System on State Supervision of the Preparation of Territorial Planning Documents and Territorial Planning Process of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid down in the regulations of the system, as approved by the Minister of Environment, except for the cases where the preparation of territorial planning documents commenced before 1 January 2014.
2. The participants of a specific territorial planning process and the public shall be entitled to receive information on the ongoing process by making use of the information system referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 48. Liability for violations of this Law
Persons who have violated this Law shall be held liable under laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 49. Revocation of administrative decisions which are not in compliance with the provisions of this Law and other legal acts
1. Administrative decisions unlawfully adopted during the process of territorial planning (before the approval of the territorial planning document) shall be revoked by the entities which have adopted those decisions or the court at the request of the persons concerned or on their own initiative in accordance with the administrative procedure. The right to apply to the institution which has adopted the decisions or the court shall be granted to persons whose rights and legitimate interests have been violated, also, on the basis of complaints or reports of the said persons or on their own initiative, to the institutions carrying out state supervision of territorial planning within their remit, other entities of public administration, representatives of the public concerned in defence of the public interest.
2. An unlawfully adopted decision on the approval of a territorial planning document shall be revoked by the court. The court may adopt an administrative decision to revoke the full territorial planning document or a part thereof.
3. The right to apply to court for the revocation of an unlawfully adopted administrative decision on the revocation of approval of a territorial planning document shall be granted to the institutions carrying out state supervision of territorial planning and, within their remit, other entities of public administration whose rights and legitimate interests have been violated.
4. Representatives of the public concerned, other natural and legal persons concerned shall have the right to apply to court regarding the adopted administrative decision on the revocation of approval of a territorial planning document only in the cases where:
1) they have been involved in the publicity procedures of territorial planning and have lodged complaints or reports regarding the decisions relating to territorial planning adopted by entities of public administration or regarding the failure to act of these entities to the institutions carrying out state supervision of territorial planning before the adoption of the appealed administrative decision on the approval of the territorial planning document, where in the course of the publicity procedures they were aware of or could have objectively foreseen the possible violation of their rights;
2) due to reasons recognised by the court as serious, they could not have been involved in the publicity procedures of territorial planning and lodged complaints or reports regarding the decisions relating to territorial planning adopted by the entities of public administration or regarding the failure to act of these entities to the institutions carrying out state supervision of territorial planning before the adoption of the appealed administrative decision on the approval of the territorial planning document.
5. Having proof or legal basis for believing that the public interest specified in Article 8(1) of this Law has been violated, the public concerned shall have the right to defend the public interest in territorial planning and to apply to the institution protecting the public interest in the field in which the violation of the public interest has been committed or to the prosecutor requesting an investigation of the possible cases of violation of the public interest.
6. The period of limitation for entities defending the public interest to make a claim in relation to contesting the approved territorial planning documents, their solutions or administrative acts approving them shall be 20 working days from the date of issuance of a document permitting construction based on the territorial planning document sought to be contested, but not later than two years from the date of entry into force of the approved territorial planning document. A limitation period of two years provided for in this paragraph shall be definitive.
Article 50. Continuity of the territorial planning process
New territorial planning documents prepared in accordance with the requirements of this Law must not be in contradiction with valid documents of higher-level territorial planning and must take into consideration solutions of the valid territorial planning documents. Where the solutions of a valid document of lower-level territorial planning are in contradiction with solutions of a new document of higher-level territorial planning prepared pursuant to this Law, there shall be no obligation to amend or adjust the valid document of lower-level territorial planning and it shall be valid for an indefinite period, except for the cases provided for in Article 4(4) of this Law. The valid documents of lower-level territorial planning may be amended or adjusted on the initiative and at the expense of the organiser of higher-level complex territorial planning. Losses incurred by persons resulting from the solutions of the amended lower-level territorial planning documents shall be compensated for upon written agreement of these persons with the organiser of planning regarding the amount of and time limits for the compensation for losses. Any disputes regarding compensation for losses shall be settled in court. These provisions shall not apply in the cases provided for in the Law on the Taking of Land for Public Needs in Implementing Projects of Special National Importance.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS
Annex to
Republic of Lithuania
Law on Territorial Planning
LEGAL ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IMPLEMENTED BY THIS LAW
1. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 special edition, Chapter 15, Volume 2, p. 102).
2. Council Directive 96/82/EEC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (OJ 1997 special edition, Chapter 5, Volume 2, p. 410).
3. Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (OJ 2001 special edition, Chapter 15, Volume 6, p. 157).
4. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC (OJ 2009 L 140, p.16).
5. Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ 2010 L 20, p. 7).