Concerning the land

URBAN PLANNING

In accordance with Article 16 of Law No.7491, dated 29.4.1991 "On the main constitutional provisions", on the proposal of the Council of Ministers,

Article 1

Within the meaning of this law:

"Regional urban planning study" is the complex urban planning study and includes the territory of one or more municipalities and districts;

"Master plan" is the urban planning study with a certain subject and includes all the country territory or separate parts of it;

"Environmental study" is the study conducted to determine the ecological conditions or state of a given environment;

"General adjustment plan" is the complex urban planning study of a limited territory and includes the territory of a city together with the suburban area (outskirts) of the perspective extension of a village, an urban area, a recreational area, an industrial area etc;

"Partial urban planning study" is the detailed urban planning study based on the forecast of the general adjustment plan and includes areas of part of its territory where adjustment interventions are forecasted;

"Construction site blueprint" is the graphical material that is extracted form the partial urban planning study and is attached to the decision of approval of the construction site and its urban conditions;

"Construction bordering line" is the geographical border of the territorial extension of constructions;

"The border of the suburban area or the suburban line" is the geographical border of the territorial extension of the town outskirts for a multi-annual period;

"Construction line" is the permitted border for the construction of volume with the surround area referring to;

"Site" is a piece of land that is located within the bordering line of the construction determined through the urban planning study approved to build on it;

"Public property territory" is the piece of land inside and outside the bordering line of the construction and approved for public use;

"Private property land" is any piece of land inside and outside the bordering construction line in private property;

"Draft project" is the development phase of a construction project sufficient to use in the deliberation of the approval of the construction site;

"Technical project" is the development phase of construction project sufficient to use in the construction permit issuance;

"Implementation project" is the development phase of construction project sufficient to use in the implementation of the object construction;

"Urbanization" is the process of occupation of a piece of land to construct, from the simple adjustment elements to the definite construction;

"Protected area" is the area of special natural values and ecologically sensitive;

"The green area" is the piece of land destined for greening, from the grass to the high greening [trees and bushes];

"Urban planning conditions" are the technical conditions and requirements compulsory to be applied that define the space development of a construction (extension in length, width, volume, form, etc).

The Urban planning Regulation determines the content and the preparation methodology of the above definitions.

In determination of these rules shall be taken into consideration the economic and social development, present or future of the country, at the national and local level, the protection of the country, the protection of the environment, preservation and display of the urban planning, architectural and archeological values as well as the protection of legal interests concerning the private property.

- Terms of Reference for studies approval of which is under its competence;

- Regional urban planning studies;

- Master plans of areas with a surface more than 10 hectares;

- Regional and partial urban planning studies of development of the tourism areas;

- Master plans of development of the tourism areas;

- General adjustment plans, constructions bordering lines and the suburban border of cities that are administrative centers of a district and of other towns with a population of over 10 000 inhabitants;

- Urban planning studies of the towns centers with a population of over 50 000 inhabitants;

- Partial urban planning studies within towns with surface of larger than 15 hectares;

- Studies of city parks, national parks and national reserves of preservation of biodiversity and of protected natural areas;

- Regional studies on port, airport and strategic areas.

- Draft Projects of the general studies of road, rail, energy, water supply, sewage, telephone, gas and petroleum supply infrastructure inside town and in areas outside those; – Construction sites and the projects of objects within those with a surface of over 0.5 hectares proposed to be constructed outside bordering lines of towns, villages and residential areas according to the definition in the regional studies and master plans. The relevant District Council asks for the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food on sites with surface over 0.5 hectares outside the bordering lines.

- Construction permits for important objects in the centers of the towns, urban planning studies of which are approved by it [the CTARA].

- Urban planning studies, construction sites and permits in the tourism areas, which are in the disposal of the Committee for Tourism Development.

- The Council of Territory Adjustment in the District Council, in the Municipality of Tirana and in other municipalities, which are of the first category towns (CTA).

- The urban planning section in the District Council and in municipalities that are towns of the first category (the urban planning directory in the Municipality of Tirana) and the technical secretariat of the CTA;

- The urban planning office in municipality;

- The urban planning office in the commune.

Establishment and functioning of the CTA is done respectively on the proposal of the District Council, of the Municipal Council of Tirana or of towns of the first category and the ministry, covering the activity in the relevant approves it. The members of the CTA shall be compensated for their work.

Within the meaning of this law, towns of the first category are Shkodra, Durrësi, Elbasani, Fieri, Vlora, Korça, Saranda, Gjirokastra, Berati, Pogradeci, Lezha, Lushnja and Kavaja.

- Terms of Reference for the design of any kind of urban planning study on the territory under its jurisdiction;

- Platform [the format] for development of competitions of urban planning studies;

- Regional plan, master plans and the general adjustment plan of town comprising the district and partial urban planning studies of any size in conformity with the development programs;

- Bordering line of construction and the border of suburban area;

- General and partial urban planning studies of communes;

- General adjustment plans of communes;

- General adjustment plans of villages;

- Construction sites with their destinations together with urban planning conditions based on the approved urban planning studies;

- Implementation project of objects constructed in a construction site of any size;

- Construction sites and permits;

- The CTA of the district and municipality shall approve the consideration as illegal of the already approved increased object volume and sanctions on it.

The materials that the CTA of the district, Tirana Municipality and municipalities of the first category towns reviews, on the basis of studies and the opposition, are prepared by the technical secretariat of the CTA, the function of which is executed respectively the urban planning section in the District Council, Tirana Municipality and in those first category municipalities. The materials that are forwarded, due to lack of competence, to the CTARA must be submitted no later than 30 days after their approval by the district of municipality CTA.
Article 21
The district and municipality CTA convenes once a month and on request of its Chairperson or of 1/3 of its members convenes in an extraordinary meeting. The meeting is official when 2/3 of its members are present. The Decision of the CTA is taken with majority vote and is signed by the CTA Chairperson. All members of the CTA, present in the meeting shall be obliged to sign the minutes of the meeting after reading it. In the meeting of the CTA participate without the right of vote representatives of the interested local government. In case when the District Council or Municipal Council have objections and do not agree with decisions taken by the CTA, they have the right of veto only once. In cases when the CTA does not change the decision, it remains effective.
Article 22
The urban planning section in the District Council, in municipalities of the first category towns and the Directory of Urban planning in the Municipality of Tirana has the following competencies:

- Prepares materials of studies in the field of territorial planning and development under its jurisdiction and submits for review in the CTA;

- Designs urban planning studies or orders them in conformity with the law from state or private design institutions licensed in the field of urban planning studies, upon opinion of the CTA, in implementation and elaboration of the regional urban planning studies, master plans, general adjustment plans and partial approved studies.

- Manages the work for formulation of the Terms of Reference of the regional plan, general adjustment plan, of territorial development master plans, partial urban planning studies, etc;

- Prepares the technical documentation and submits for approval in the District of Municipal Council;

- Submits to the CTA applications for construction sites. In cases when those are public property submits to the CTA, upon the District Council, the Municipal Council and the Communal Council has determined and distributed ownership of the sites;

- Submits applications for construction permit, applications for object demolition and tree cutting;

- Prepares the decisions of the CTA and the necessary technical documentation together with urban planning conditions approved by CTA and delivers to the applicant no later than 30 days after CTA decides, upon the applicant’s obligations pay off towards the state according to the law.

- Designs urban planning studies for communes and adjustment plans for villages;

- Controls, in conformity with approved permits, the use according to destination of relevant constructions;

- Keeps the property registration and urban statistics, makes periodical update of the city blueprint and archives it at the end of each year;

- Delivers every 6 months to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport statistical information about the territory planning sector;

- Determines, upon construction permit approval and in compliance with the law, valuation of the site public property on which construction will take place;

- Keeps the control acts of the following phases of works implementation: to picket the object, completion of foundations and building framework as well as archives the object technical documentation and other documentation of the object;

- Proposes norms of special urban planning conditions and submits for review to CTA;

- Prepares upon approval of CTA the material on relevant changes, in cases when new conditions for change occur in the approved studies by other higher state organs;

- Keeps frequent contacts with the technical secretariat of the CTARA and with urban planning offices in municipality and commune;

- Gives its opinion in writing about any material that submits to CTA.

- Get information about licenses in the field of design and implementation and makes proposals to the competent organs to lift licenses in cases when misused.
Article 23
Designation and dismissal of the Chief of urban planning section in the District Council and in municipalities of first category towns shall be done respectively on the proposal of the District Council, Municipal Council of first category towns and is approved by the relevant minister. The relevant minister in special and justified cases decides their dismissal.

The minister shall designate and dismiss the Director of the Directory of Urban Planning in the Municipality of Tirana.

- Chief of the section (Director of Urban planning in Tirana Municipality);

- Technical secretariat of the CTA;

- Sector of design study urban planning;

- Sector of urban property registration;

- Sector of legal urban planning;

- Sector of engineering infrastructure and environmental impact assessment.

The District Council and the Municipal Council, shall determine the number of employees of urban planning section respectively but no less than seven urban planners, architects, infrastructure engineers and topographic engineers in districts and first category towns and no less than five urban planners, architects, environment engineers, infrastructure engineers and topographic engineers or similar experts in other districts.

The Municipal Council shall determine the number of employees of the Directory of Urban planning in Tirana Municipality, but no less than 35 urban planners, architects, environment engineers, construction engineers, infrastructure engineers, topographic engineers, environmentalists or similar experts.
Article 25
In the Directory of Urban planning in Tirana Municipality, urban planning sections in the District Councils and urban planning offices in municipalities of the first category towns shall be established the technical council, composition of which is approved by the Tirana Municipal Council, District Council or Municipal Council of first category towns. Composition, functioning, rights and duties of the technical council shall be determined by normative acts.
Article 26
The urban planning office in the municipality has the following rights:

- Manages the work for formulation of Terms of Reference of urban planning development design of the town and the necessary technical documentation for design of the adjustment plan and submits for approval to CTA and to the Municipal Council.

- After approval from the Municipal Council and from the relevant organs of design Terms of Reference, shall order the design of town adjustment plan to the specialized organs in reliance with laws in force.

- Designs and orders partial urban planning studies from specialized design organs, private or state, licensed in the field of urban planning, in reliance with legal provisions in force and in application and elaboration of town general adjustment plan, upon primarily receipt of CTA opinion.

- Reviews applications for construction permit of any object and the enclosed documentation and only where there is a general adjustment plan or partial urban planning study approved, after gives its opinion, submits for review to the CTA. It delivers the paperwork to the technical secretary of CTA. The number of employees of the urban planning office shall be determined by the Municipal Council, which shall be urban planners, architects, environment engineers, infrastructure engineers and topographic engineers, but in any case no less than five experts for municipalities’ center of the district and no less than three experts for other municipalities. The Chief of urban planning office in the municipality must be an urban planner, an architect or an environmental engineer for municipalities of first category and may be either a construction or an environmental engineer for municipalities of other categories.
Article 27
The urban planning office in the commune has the following rights and duties:

- Manages the work for application of urban planning development program approved within the territory of the commune;

- Reviews applications for construction site and permit and the relevant documentation only where exists an approved general adjustment plan and partial urban planning study together with its opinion [remarks] and submits for approval to the Communal Council;

- Submits for approval to the district CTA the applications for construction permit, construction sites, for objects demolition and trees cutting.