A case initiated with respect to a part in the spatial planning of the Amata Region
On 18 July 2019, the 1st Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated the case “On Compliance of the Binding Regulation by the Amata Regional Council of 19 December 2018 No. 12 “The Rules on the Use and Construction in the Territory and the Graphic Part of the Spatial Plan of the Amata Region for 2014–2024 (with Amendments of 2018)” in the Part Regarding the Borders of Anna Village of Zaube Rural Municipality and the Type of Territory Use of the Immovable Property with Cadastre No. 4296 009 0047 with Article 115 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
The Contested Act
The Graphic Part and the Regulation on the Use and Construction in Territory of the Amata Region have been approved by the Binding Regulation of the Amata Regional Council of 19 December 2018 No. 12 “The Rules on the Use and Construction in the Territory and the Graphic Part of the Spatial Plan of the Amata Region for 2014–2024 (with Amendments of 2018)”, inter alia, including within the borders of Anna Village of Zaube Rural Municipality the immovable property with cadastre No. 4296 009 0047 and defining the type of its use.
The Norm of Higher Legal Force
Article 115 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia: “The State shall protect the right of everyone to live in a benevolent environment by providing information about environmental conditions and by promoting the preservation and improvement of the environment.”
The Facts
The case was initiated on the basis of an application by Uģis Lapiņš (hereinafter – the Applicant). The Applicant owns immovable property, which is located in the Amata Region and borders with the immovable property with cadastre No. 4296 009 0047. The Applicant holds that the contested act violates several norms of the regulatory enactments that regulate the planning of spatial development and principles of spatial development planning. Thus, allegedly, the contested act violates his right to live in a benevolent environment, defined in Article 115 of the Satversme.
It is noted in the application that, inter alia, society had not been provided exhaustive information about the intended amendments to the Spatial Plan of the Amata Region. The preparatory materials for the contested act contain no substantiation for changing the borders of Anna Village or changing the type of use of the property with cadastre No. 4296 009 0047. Moreover, the local government had not provided the reasoning as to why the objections made by the Applicant had been rejected.
The Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court has requested the institution, which issued the contested act, – the Amata Regional Council – to submit a written reply on the facts of the case and the legal reasoning by 18 September 2019.
The term for preparing the case is 18 December 2019. The Court will decide on the type of procedure and the date for hearing the case after it has been prepared.
Open in PDF: 2019-14-03_PR_par_ierosinasanu_ENG
Linked case: 2019-14-03