A SURVEY OF BULGARIAN PLANNING AND REGULATION ACTS AND DOCUMENTS CONCERNING URBAN SPRAWL

8/13/2019 A SURVEY OF BULGARIAN PLANNING AND REGULATION ACTS AND DOCUMENTS CONCERNING URBAN SPRAWL

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ULGARIAN(NATIONAL)PLANNING ANDREGULATION ACTS ANDDOCUMENTS CONCERNINGUR AN SPRAWL

Peter Nikolov Varna ree


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INTRODUCTION

Defining the Urban Sprawl

Widely known as unplanned and uncontrolled urban

expansion

The physical pattern of low-density expansion oflarge urban areas, under market conditions, mainly

into the surrounding agricultural areas

(EEA report, !!"#

$ccurs when the rate of land-use con%ersion exceeds

the rate of population growth

RESPAG #$%&

&ulgarian planning and regulation acts and documents concerning urban sprawl' eter )ikolo%,*arna +ree ni%ersi


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INTRODUCTION

4 mainstream groups

st- sing the land according to its originally designated

purpose.nd- Agricultural land use change for construction unrelated

to initial land use.

/rd- sing non-urban territories to the needs of

infrastructure - technical, areal, ground and underground.

0th- sing the land for 1enewable Energy 2ources (1E2#

industry - solar and wind farms, etc

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Developers and non-urbanied territories


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INTRODUCTION

Developers and non-urbanied territories

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0thgroup acti%ities re3uire a larger area of agricultural land,

but does not deal with urban sprawl'

The second and the third group acti%ities to %arying extent

contribute to creating conditions for sprawling'

They come as a result of %arious factors, terms and

conditions' 2ome of them became the dri%ing force behind

an uncontrolled and illegal urban de%elopment'


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4ain dri%ers of current urban sprawl in Europe'with focus on the regulatory framework '

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&ulgarian planning and regulation acts and documents concerning urban sprawl' eter )ikolo%,*arna +ree

ni%ersit

INTRODUCTION

In!reased Urbaniation"De!reased #opulation

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The increase of

urbani5ation, based on the

agricultural land con%ersion

and causing soil sealing, is

considerably slower in

&ulgaria than in rest of the

Europe' At the same time

the total number of

&ulgarian population much

faster decreases'


7/26&ulgarian planning and regulation acts and documents concerning urban sprawl' eter )ikolo%,*arna +ree

ni%ersit

INTRODUCTION

In!reased Urbaniation " #la!es of interest

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The process of urbani5ation is most conspicuous in the

agglomeration of the capital city of 2ofia, the littoral areas

and seaside resorts, and mountain settlements'

The percentage of construction there is dramatically abo%e

a%erage for the country and building acti%ities until recently

ha%e peaked'

6t is expected, in the years to follow, the process to become

e%en more salient, owing to the designed infrastructure

pro7ects pending for reali5ation'


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9/26&ulgarian planning and regulation acts and documents concerning urban sprawl' eter )ikolo%,*arna +ree ni%ersi

INTRODUCTION

In!reased Urbaniation"$ands of !hanged use

A key point in the process of urbani5ation is the con%ersion

of unurbani5ed land (mostly agricultural, in some cases -

forest# into urbani5ed'

The possibilities for this and for regulation of the process of

agricultural land use change are stipulated in the

legislation at global (Europe#, regional (state# and local

le%els'

This paper will present a brief o%er%iew and analysis of key

documents from &ulgarian legislation related to the

problem, considering whether they create conditions for

the pre%ention or expanding of urban sprawl'

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A) $*E1*6EW $+T:E 4A6) A1T $+

T:E ;E



%N O&'R&I'(RESPAG #$%&

A number of national and local normati%e documents in&ulgaria co%er and regulate the processes regarding rural

land con%ersion into urban areas and 5ones'$%er the

years they ha%e been regularly updated and changed at

%arying degrees'

6n the beginning of this research was conducted a

preliminary re%iew which found that due to the linkage and

harmoni5ation of legislation in our country, the number ofdocuments with impact on these processes is significant,

but the influence of many of them is minimal and can be

ignored'



T)' *%IN $%(S +R%*IN, T)' UR%N

'N$%R,'*'NT %ND S#R%($

. mainstream laws and regulations

The 2patial lanning Act .

$rdinance > ? (rules and regulations for different types ofspatial areas and de%elopment 5ones#.

The Agricultural ;and rotection Act.

The $rdinance for implementing the Agricultural ;and

rotection Act.

The Tariff of the +ees ayable upon =hanging the se of

Agricultural ;ands'

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T)' S#%TI%$ #$%NNIN, %CT /S#%0RESPAG #$%&

The basic regulatory document, framing the main problemsof spatial planning and de%elopment in &ulgaria'

6t was adopted at the beginning of !! to replace the ;aw

on 1egional and rban lanning in force until then'

6ts principles gi%e a base to the opportunities for a

sustainable de%elopment and fa%orable conditions for

li%ing, work and recreation of the population'



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With the recent significant changes from $ctober !, the

pro%isions of the



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The main regulatory document related to the 2patial8e%elopment Act is $rdinance > ?'

6t was adopted in !!/, following the adoption of 2A'

6t defines the rules and regulations for different types of

spatial areas and de%elopment 5ones'

The general pro%isions on 2patial lanning, contained inthe $rdinance, do not conflict with the 2A law and mostly

refer to it'

ORDIN%NC' 1 2



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2tipulates that the rules and regulations regarding the

territory structure, as well as the regulations on the land

re3uired for construction building purposes, shall be

determined with a %iew to the effecti%e use of the territories

and maintaining the natural balance'

The change of use of agricultural land for non-agricultural

purposes shall be established by an order of the 1ural

;and rotection Act, under the pro%isions of the

de%elopment plan' Without the change of use of that kindof land, there can only be constructed buildings@structures

whose functions are compatible with the intended use of

the property'

ORDIN%NC' 1 2



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4ost of the municipalities in &ulgaria ha%e no current

? create strong incenti%es for de%elopers and

owners to con%ert land'

S#% and ORDIN%NC' 1 2



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6t defines in detail the procedure of rural to urban land

change in &ulgaria, and therefore with the greatest impact

on the processes of urban enlargement and sprawl'

Aims to promote and ensure a secure land system, optimal

land use and facilitate broad-based social and economic

de%elopment without upsetting or threatening the

ecological balance of the en%ironment'

6t defines agricultural land as a ma7or national asset andchanges to its intended use is allowed only in exceptional

circumstances, pro%en need and the terms and conditions

set by this law'

The %gri!ultural $and #rote!tion %!t



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=ontrary to the intentions of the Act, the practice in

&ulgaria has clearly demonstrated that a great number ofprocedures end with an affirmati%e resolution for land

change'

2till there are actions and possibilities for cancellation andmodification of decisions on appro%al of a site and land

change'

This is feasible when no action is taken by thestakeholders within the statutory deadlines or when the

land plot si5e exceeds the needs for which it was pro%ided

or when there is no more need the land use to be changed'



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The A;A and its implementation rules lack specific le%els

of penalties depending on the si5e of the breaches andfines are set in a %ery wide range' Thus, conditions are

created for tolerance of fraudulent actions by

owners@in%estors or officials'

The ma7or conflict with the ideas for sustainable

de%elopment declared in the laws and norms here

considered is that the possibility of legali5ing the already

build construction on agricultural land is set as possible'

And this may result in unplanned and uncontrolled

expansion of the urbani5ed territories'


Th O di f i l ti


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RESPAG #$%&

The details of the terms, conditions, responsibilities, rightsand obligations of all the participants in the procedures for

disposition of rural land are described in this $rdinance'

A basic rule is that the con%ersion of agricultural land is

allowed in exceptional circumstances, pro%en need and

with the terms and conditions set out in this regulationB'

The regulations of this ordinance do not conflict with the

A;A and are e%en more comprehensi%e, but they do not

remo%e the contro%ersial points in the Act regarding

agricultural lands con%ersion and their future de%elopment

either'

The Ordinan!e for implementing

the %gri!ultural $and #rote!tion %!t

Th T iff f th + # bl


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RESPAG #$%&The Tariff of the +ees #a3able upon

Changing the Use of %gri!ultural $ands

The fee payable for land use change is determined by aformula - + C!al 5 Crl 5 C!s 5 Cirr- whose coefficients

depend onC

D =ategory of agricultural land, specified in the Act of

=ategori5ation ( =cal #.

D ;and si5e ( =rl #.

D ;and location settlements in &ulgaria are di%ided

into eight categories under the ;aw on Administrati%e and

Territorial 8i%ision of the 1epublic of &ulgaria ( =cs # .

D Type of building@structure which is foreseen for

construction.

D ossibility for irrigation ( =irr #'

Th T iff f th + # bl


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The main and extremely important point of conflict in thetariff is the more than ten times lower rate in the group for

the category of place and the type of pro7ect when it comes

to the con%ersion of rural land into golf courses' With

amendments made in !!F, they were remo%ed from thegeneral column for tourism and sport facilities, and were

included in the section which co%ers facilities of crucial

importance for the de%elopment of the country'

This created conditions for the destruction of large

agricultural areas, and, moreo%er, under %ery low fee for

changing their use'

The Tariff of the +ees #a3able upon

Changing the Use of %gri!ultural $ands

CONC$USION


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$%erall, as different acts and regulations concerning issues

related to the con%ersion of agricultural areas are not inconflict, they may be said to ha%e been harmoni5ed'

2till, there remains the problem that after a land use

change is made, the regulatory framework sets far toobroad and loose parameters for de%elopment of the

territory'

Although the greatest problem, lack of updated


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*an3 Than6s for 7our %ttention

Peter Nikolov

Documents

A SURVEY OF BULGARIAN PLANNING AND REGULATION ACTS AND DOCUMENTS CONCERNING URBAN SPRAWL