PSPV and Compromís have filed in Les Corts respective total amendments against the Generalitat Land Law, currently in parliamentary processing, together with around 200 and 80 partial proposals, respectively. Among their objectives is to prevent construction in flood-risk areas, in view of the consequences of the dana of October 29, 2024, which left 234 fatalities. Both formations maintain that the law is "disastrous" and "speculative" and reproach the PP for seeking to favor the urban development business.
The Land Law, whose deadline for registering amendments ends this Monday, was approved by the Consell at the end of September. Among its main changes, it obliges new public housing instruments to reserve at least 50% of the residential buildability for protected housing and establishes simplified urban planning for municipalities with fewer than one thousand inhabitants.
The socialists seek to reform a regulation that they consider "disastrous for Valencian territory, but also for the present and future of the Valencians." This is stated by the deputy spokesperson of the PSPV in Les Corts, Mª José Salvador, who criticizes it as a law "with a clear speculative vocation with land and which bets on the worst of the urban development models of the Partido Popular".
In a statement, the PSPV deputy underlines that the text offers "less legal certainty and has very forceful reports and opinions both from the Consell Jurídic Consultiu and from the Legal Service of the Generalitat". "The PP intends the reclassification of land and grants all power to private initiative, even outside the municipal general plans," she warns.
Salvador also stresses that "the regulation contemplates less land reserve for protected housing, with parameters lower than those contemplated in state legislation": "The Comunitat Valenciana cannot allow itself, in the full 21st century, an urban planning law that does not make reference to the fight against climate change, to the protection of flood-prone areas and to the protection of people".
"The PP project represents an urban planning model that does not respond to the needs of the Valencian territory nor does it guarantee the protection of people," he emphasizes, and in the face of this proposal he calls for "the need for regulation that places protected housing, territorial planning and protection against climate risks at the center of urban planning policy."
MORE PROTECTED HOUSING
The PSPV has also presented amendments to the title of the law itself, considering it essential "to commit to a norm that regulates urban planning, territorial planning and the landscape." Among its proposals is strengthening protected housing and expanding the land reserves destined for this type of use.
Other socialist proposals involve prioritizing the completion of developments already begun and promoting a more sustainable use of land, as well as establishing that forest land affected by fires may not be classified or reclassified as urban or developable land for 30 years.
Likewise, they want to prevent new developments in areas with significant flood risk, "unless, in the absence of alternative locations, sufficient corrective measures can be implemented and the increase in flood risk to third parties is avoided." The group proposes occupancy criteria in flood-prone areas based on the safety and protection of human life, sustainability and adaptation to climate change, together with "clear and effective regulations to guarantee the safety of buildings in flood risk areas."
From Compromís, its síndic in Les Corts, Joan Baldoví, has described the project as "speculative and perverse," considering that it "further favors the PP model" and its Vox "accomplice." He also reproaches both formations for "leaving in oblivion" the right to "dignified" housing and accuses them of "leaving citizens unprotected" and of putting the territory "in the hands of speculators."
With its 80 partial amendments, Compromís seeks to "change the course" of territorial policies in the face of the PP's "low cost" urban planning, which, in its view, seeks to "change the legislation so that it is faster and easier to change the dynamic and there are fewer controls" and to consolidate an "expansive, developmental, deregulating model that recalls the real estate bubble."
The Valencianist coalition has circulated this Monday a 'map of urban speculation' in which it identifies the projects and macroprojects that, in its view, underpin the "perverse" and "speculative" Land Law. In addition, it pledges to repeal this law if it gains control of the Generalitat government after the 2027 regional elections.
JOINT GENERAL PLANS
Among its partial amendments, Compromís proposes that town councils be able to request the extension of strategic environmental and territorial declarations for an additional two years, as well as that different municipalities have the possibility of promoting joint structural general plans between two or more municipal districts.
In general terms, the coalition calls for environmental and territorial criteria to take precedence, such as the availability of water resources, population trends, the capacity of infrastructure and public services, and the preservation of green infrastructure.
Along these lines, it proposes prohibiting the classification of new developable land and the implementation of new urban developments in flood-prone areas, following the official mapping of flood hazard and risk. It also calls for territorial and urban planning to incorporate future climate scenarios and prioritize spaces that favor the natural attenuation of water surges.
VOX AMENDMENTS
On the other hand, Vox has registered 24 amendments aimed at "streamlining urban planning permits, boosting housing construction, protecting owners and developers and encouraging investment," as well as "eliminating bureaucratic obstacles, strengthening legal certainty and facilitating the development of urban, business and residential projects".
As the group details in a statement, some of its changes seek to reduce the duplication of administrative controls and give greater effectiveness to the Urban Planning Collaborative Entities (ECUV). To this end, it proposes that their compliance reports effectively replace municipal technical reports, reserving additional checks by town councils for exceptional cases.
Another of its lines of action is "to protect the rights of owners and legally established activities". Vox proposes that a later change in land classification should not automatically imply the loss of enabling titles or the suspension of activities that had been carried out legally.
In matters of housing, its intention is to facilitate the launch of new developments, including explicitly public protection housing, through the application of the basic license or of essential aspects to building actions intended wholly or partially for residential use.
As regards the attraction of investments, the group proposes to expand the scope of projects of autonomous community interest, providing the Generalitat with more instruments to promote business, industrial, and strategic initiatives.
In addition, it proposes replacing the auction of owners who do not wish to participate in an urban development action with a compensation system adjusted to the valuation criteria of state legislation. It also calls for the right of reimbursement to be expressly recognized for owners and developers who advance the cost of common public infrastructure and networks that, later on, benefit other urban development sectors.