MEPA boards will have to defer sittings whenever they decide to overturn case officers’ recommendations so that new conditions can be imposed on applications
James Debono
New rules on MEPA applications will oblige case officers to change their reports whenever the planning authority’s boards disagree with the recommendation for approval or refusal of a permit.
At present MEPA boards can approve a development, despite the contrary recommendation of case officers – without even allowing case officers to impose conditions on the development approved by the board.
But this is set to change if new rules issued for public consultation are adopted.
NGOs monitoring MEPA’s decision-making process are aware of numerous cases in which case officers failed to show consistency in the recommendations on particular developments.
The new rules will oblige MEPA boards to defer the sitting whenever they decide to overturn a case officer’s recommendation. This will give time to the case officer to impose conditions on the development.
The changes come in the wake of criticism that MEPA boards have been too liberal in overturning negative recommendations by case officers in a number of highly sensitive cases at Bahrija, Ta’ Baldu and other countryside development.
But more recently, MEPA had also overturned recommendations for the approval of outside development zones (ODZ) developments.
In one such case, the MEPA board presided by chairman Austin Walker overturned a recommendation to approve the illegal boathouses in Dwejra.
If the new draft rules go ahead, whenever MEPA boards intend to overturn recommendations by case officers, they will be obliged to request the Director of Planning to update the report on the application, and include a list of conditions for the development’s approval.
This would effectively save MEPA boards from the embarrassment of taking a decision that is not backed by MEPA’s own experts. But it is not clear whether the public will have access to the original recommendation before this is changed by the board.
MEPA will also have to defer its decision after informing the architect on the changes made to the report.
In line with its reform guidelines, developers must also submit their applications to a pre-screening process, which has to be undertaken by MEPA in four weeks.
MEPA will have no power to stop any application at this stage, but it will be obliged to inform the developer on major issues raised by the application and whether it conforms to established policies, such as zoning and height limitations.
In the past MEPA spent 10 years to decide on controversial projects like the Verdala golf course or the Ta’ Cenc development, despite clear policies regulating such developments.
Developers will now be immediately informed on which additional studies and assessments will be required.
The new rules also limit applications that can qualify for a MEPA reconsideration. Over the past years, a large number of developers overruled by MEPA boards were later accepted through the reconsideration process.
Now MEPA will only accept a reconsideration in cases where the developer objects to conditions imposed by a MEPA board. Effectively this means that applicants who had their project refused will no longer apply for a reconsideration, and will have to appeal directly to the Appeals Board. This means that instead of two chances to overrule a prior MEPA decision, developers will only have one. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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