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Some notions :

 

Urban planning document: a regulatory act, of varying degrees of precision, containing rules that are enforceable against public and private persons, which concerns, at the level of one or more municipalities, the allocation, use and occupation of land. Some examples of urban planning documents :

 

• The Schémas de Cohérence Territoriale (SCoT) is a forward-looking document comprising "a presentation report (abolished for SCOT projects drawn up or revised after April 1, 2021), a sustainable development and planning project, and an orientation and objectives document" (article L. 141-2 of the urban planning code). The SCoT sets objectives for the development and planning of the territory (article L. 141-3 of the urban planning code), general guidelines for the organization of space, coordination of public policies and the enhancement of territories in terms of the urbanization of certain spaces and the establishment of facilities.

 

• The carte communale is drawn up at the communal or inter-communal level, which delimits the sectors in which construction is authorized and those in which it is not, except in exceptional cases (article L. 161-3 of the urban planning code). It makes it possible to derogate from the rule of limited constructibility provided for in article L. 111-1 of the urban planning code, by allowing, for example, the creation of buildable sectors not located in the continuity of an existing urbanization, but does not include any regulations specific to each of the zones, contrary to the PLU.

 

• The local urban plan (PLU) is drawn up at the municipal or inter-municipal level (we will speak of inter-municipal local urban plan - PLUi) and includes "a presentation report, a sustainable development project, development and programming guidelines, regulations and appendices". The PLU or PLUi determines zones with different destinations and therefore variable rules within each of them, provides for networks and public facilities, sets rules relating to land use and occupation easements, architecture, taking into account the environment and landscape.

 

Planning permission: an individual administrative act issued by a legal person under public law (the mayor, the prefect) allowing the realization of a project in conformity with the planning rules in force. There are several types:

 

• The planning certificate has the "effect of guaranteeing to the person to whom a planning certificate has been issued, regardless of its content, a right to have his application for a building permit filed during the following eighteen months, examined with regard to the planning provisions applicable on the date of this certificate, with the sole exception of those whose purpose is the preservation of public safety or health" (CE, December 18, 2017, No. 380438: aux Tables, concl. Ms. Julie Burguburu). An urban planning certificate can be:

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• "Informative" which provides general information (situation of the land with regard to town planning provisions, administrative limitations to the right of ownership, the state of existing or planned public facilities and the system of applicable town planning taxes and participations) without pronouncing on the constructability of the land

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•  "detailed" or "pre-operational" which allows to know if a given operation can be carried out on a given parcel

 

• Declaration prior to building work is required for "constructions, developments, installations and works which, because of their size, nature or location, do not justify the need for a permit" (article L. 421-4 of the town planning code). For example, the construction of a wall whose height above the ground is greater than or equal to 2m is subject to prior declaration;

 

• A building permit is required for "constructions, even those without foundations" (article L. 421-1 paragraph 1 of the urban planning code). For example, a building permit is required for new constructions not exempted from formality and not subject to prior declaration, for certain works 1) on an existing construction, except for maintenance or repair works (e.g.: as soon as there is a creation of a floor surface or a footprint greater than 20 m2), 2) on a building registered as a historical monument.

 

Certain works, installations and developments are subject to a development permit (articles R. 421-19 to R. 421-22 of the town planning code).

Some constructions are exempt, due to their nature, small size, temporary character in particular, from any formality and do not require any planning permission.

Finally, there are demolition permits which are only necessary when the buildings are subject to special protection (building listed as a historical monument, for example) or when a municipality has decided to introduce the use of such permits.