Legal governance in land use planning. Balance between national and municipal power and between private initiative and public control

"Legal governance in land use planning [GOVLAND]" have examined the core legal instruments for regulating the balance between national and municipal power in Norwegian land use planning. How the legal framework is and should be on land use planning, the interpretation of the rules and day by day management, can have a major impact on living conditions, infrastructure and sustainability. What are the legal requirements for effective, knowledge-based decision processes and what legal protection does local democracy have in a rapidly changing society marked by Europeanisation, globalization, privatization and climate change? In GOVLAND assessments have been made of the rules that apply, and the need for legislative changes. The question of democracy and efficiency in connection with municipal land management raises two main issues, that is examined through six subprojects. The first challenge concerns the interplay between municipal autonomy and central government control, and the second concerns the interplay between public and private initiative and management. GOVLAND constitutes two law student theses, one legal science PhD fellowship, research activities of the management team and research contributions from geography. The law student theses discuss the distribution of initiative, competencies and responsibility between the public administration and private operators. The PhD project aims at analyzing the relationship between state and municipal self-government by a study of under which conditions the state can take over responsibility for making decisions on matters for which the law, in principle, assigns responsibility to the municipality as administrative authority. The management team will compare the system of government in Norway and Scotland in cases according to aquaculture and offshore wind. The project in geography will look more closely at democracy and efficiency in compact urban development. All parts of the project have now been completed. In collaboration with our partners both within the legal and social sciences in Norway and internationally, and in close cooperation with skilled lawyers in the government administration, we have from 2016 and until today, worked to identify and solve key issues within land use planning and in particular the management system for land use and resource management. In line with planned progression for the project, this has so far led to two masters´ theses, a doctoral thesis and five scientific articles. (See list of publications). In the PhD assessments have been made of the thesis basic questions about legislation and interpretation of the interaction between municipal self-government and state governance, in relation to Constitution (2016), new municipal law (2019), new administrative law and of course the Planning and Building Law, which is the main theme of the analysis. The central finding in this research is that the regulations on objections must be must be interpreted in the light of overall frameworks regarding the requirement of necessity for proportionality according to interventions in the municipal self-government. This is based on an interpretation of the Planning and Building Act, but also with support in the overall framework we find for the municipal self-government in Section 2-2 of the Municipal Act and Section 49 second paragraph of the Basic Law. In the thesis, it is claimed that it is wrong, as it has previously been claimed by other lawyers, that the municipal self-government is not legally relevant in the assessment of whether an objection should be presented, or a plan should be changed. The thesis thus contributes to new views of what municipal self-government is. In several of the sub-projects in in this study, it is shown how we are facing increased pressure on the use of land, both on land and sea, as a result of human activity, but also environmental hazards and contaminants. A consistent feature of findings in the research is that there is a need for more overarching institutional arrangements to coordinate spatial planning and the awarding of concessions. It is pointed out that better integration with planning will lead to better holistic solutions, prevent damage and also contribute to a a significant step forward in the evolution of an ecosystem approach both management and administration of land and resources. In the last period of the research project, the entire research project will be summarized in an English article and be available to an international audience. This smaller part of the project is not yet completely completed. This will be published 2022/23.

Alle arbeida i studien studerer korleis auka press på areal på land og sjø, som følgje av klimaendringar, menneskeleg aktivitet og ulike former for ureining, kan møtast gjennom nye, eller tilpassa, former for styring. Gjennomgåande er det peika på behov for meir overordna institusjonelle ordningar for å koordine planlegging, kommunen sine interesser, private initativ og sektormål. Det er peika på behov for sterkare styring gjennom heilskapelege planar, både nasjonalt, regional og kommunalt kan bidra i eit skritt mot meir økosystemtilnærming av areal og ressursar. I alle delarbeida er det likevel vist at spørsmål om styring ikkje er, og ikkje kan, vere hugge inn i stein. Korleis ansvar mellom forvaltningsnivå og lover skal delast må vurderast både i høve til eit lands sin særlege kontekst, men også i høve til dei til ei kvar tid gjeldande behov for styring. Den rettslege forskinga her vi difor heile tida vere i bevegelse, og sikre at ein til ei kvar tid finn ein balanse mellom behovet for heiskapeleg styring og behovet som borgar og næring har for fleksibilitet til tilpassing av ny teknologi og ny kunnskap. Det tek ofte tid å påverke ei samfunnsutvikling, og påverking skjer som vi veit gjennom mange kanalar, som t.d. akademiske artiklar, diskusjonar i akademiske – og meir samansette kompetansemiljø, førelesingar for studentar m.m., men også gjennom slikt som høyringssvar på lovendringsforslag osb. Av og til kan ein nyttig måte å påverke i utviklinga av samfunnet, og systemet for offentleg styring av areal- og ressursar, vere å stå saman i eit større akademiske fellesskap mot ein vind som bles i feil retning, sjølv om resultatet er status quo. Akademiske påverking er altså ikkje berre å få til endringar, men også å ta vare på viktige verdiar som vi har, som kjem under press. Eit praktisk døme eg kan trekkje fram er lovforslaget frå 2020 om endringar i plan- og bygningslova som skulle gi kommunane vidare fullmakter til å dispensere frå lov- og planvedtak, også byggjeforbodet i 100-metersbeltet, men der dei kontroversielle sidene av dette lovforslaget vart skrella vekk i departementet. Sjølv om ein her – som elles – vanskeleg kan vite sikkert kva som har vore utslagsgivande for dei vala som lovgivar endeleg tok, så heiter det i odelstingsproposisjonen, at ein ved skrinlegging av forslaget har merka seg den store motstand mot lovforslaget, der også høyringa frå Det juridiske fakultet, UiB, er trekt fram som ein del av vurderingsgrunnlaget. (Sjå Prop. 169 L (2020-2021) og s.44 og s.42.)På den måten har vi kanskje gjennom artiklar, avisinnlegg og høyringar, vore ein sentral del av grunnlaget – saman med også sentrale andre aktørar, også Sivilombodet – som har gitt viktige bidrag for å verne om strandsona, og slikt som plante, fugle- og dyreliv og premissane for friluftslivet. Det har vore fleire slike vindar i retning av ønskje om forenkling av dispensasjonsprosessar, som kan føre til «bit for bit» nedbygging, og fleire vindar er varsla.

The question of democracy and efficiency in connection with municipal land management raises two main issues, that will be examined through six subprojects. The first challenge concerns the interplay between municipal autonomy and central government control, and the second concerns the interplay between public and private initiative and management. All subprojects analyse both procedural and substantive rules, and make assessments of legitimacy, sustainability and ability to ensure long-term solutions. What can municipalities decide within their own municipality? The PhD thesis will analyse how decision-making processes take place under the Planning and Building Act. One main question is under which condition the state can take over responsibility for making decisions on matters for which the law, in principle, assigns responsibility to the municipality as administrative authority. Professor Sigrid Eskeland Schütz will analyse the Norwegian system for municipal land use planning and central government control compared with Canada and Scotland and Professor Ingunn Elise Myklebust will focus on objection in relation to spatial planning in the coastal zone and at sea. In Håvard Haarstad's subproject the main focus is on the content of substantive rules. Haarstad will examine the rules that apply to urban development, and discuss new challenges such as globalisation, privatisation and climate change. The last two subprojects analyses the interaction between the municipalities and private actors. The key question here is whether private zoning and development agreements adequately ensure challenges to the climate and environment, and whether the citizens' interests in urban and industrial development, and protection, are sufficiently taken care of.