MDA lobbied to lift ban on regularising ODZ illegalities

The Malta Developers Association had lobbied for the removal of the Sixth Schedule, a provision in a 2010 policy that forbids the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) from regularising illegal development in outside development zones.

This emerges in submissions published Tuesday on a consultation document issued by the government in 2014, on the proposed demerger of the planning and environmental arms of the MEPA.

The MDA argued that laws should “give discretion” to those who are responsible for enforcing them.

The developers’ lobby argued prohibiting MEPA from forgiving illegalities in ODZ areas, resulted in circumstances where owners of ODZ properties could not regularise any minor illegalities on buildings, which already had a permit.

The MDA added that planning officers should have more discretion in determining which cases should be regularised or not.

The deletion of the sixth schedule was opposed by environmental NGOs and by the archaeological society, with the latter warning that “the removal of such schedule encourages developers to carry out abusive developments in scheduled property and protected areas”.

The Ramblers Association warned that the Sixth Schedule as proposed is tantamount to rewarding perpetrators of illegal development, and is to be condemned at all costs.

“Sanctioning rewards law breakers and penalises honest citizens, let alone when the illegal development is situated outside the development zone, and thus is an affront to the common good”.

According to the Ramblers Association the change in this policy results in yet another amnesty, undermining the rule of law.

It also described as illogical the introduction of daily fines from the moment the application for sanctioning is submitted.

“The penalty should apply from the moment the illegality was committed and the law defied, something which can be confirmed from aerial photographs and proper enforcement.”