Special legislation on land and space planning has been launched, and land and urban and rural planning will become history

“In the past, planning had to go through procedures, and land use had to go through procedures, and at least two departments had to go back and forth. In order to speed up progress, some companies actually have two sets of teams, and one team is running Planning, a team is running for land, and it is miserable.”

At the press conference of the State Council Information Office on September 20 last year, Vice Minister of Natural Resources Zhao Long used the above example to illustrate. Problems existing in the planning approval process in the past. “One certificate is required for planning permission, and another certificate is required for land use approval. Enterprises seem to have obtained several certificates, but the effectiveness of these certificates is the same.”

In the same month, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued the "Concerning the "Notice on Promoting the Reform of "Multiple Examinations into One and Multiple Certificates into One" for Planned Land Based on "Multiple Regulations into One", trying to make the masses and enterprises feel the real benefits through the "multiple reviews into one, multiple certificates into one" reform convenience.

Zhao Long said that this move is intended to achieve two effects. First, it is to facilitate and benefit the people, optimize the business environment, and reduce the institutional transaction costs of enterprises; second, it is to reduce the waste of administrative resources and enable everyone to have more resources. More energy will be devoted to policy formulation and implementation of supervision.

Too many original plans

Problems such as too many types of plans, overlapping and conflicting contents, complicated approval processes, and local plans changing day and night have been criticized by the industry for a long time, but they have not seen any substantial results for many years. Reform, why can we now promote "multiple trials into one, multiple certificates into one" with great fanfare?

A big background is that the central government has recently issued "high-standard" documents on the construction of the land and spatial planning system, pointing out the general direction for this.

In May 2019, "Several Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Establishing a Land Spatial Planning System and Supervising its Implementation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") were issued.

According to the "Opinions", territorial spatial planning is a guide for national spatial development, a spatial blueprint for sustainable development, and the basic basis for all types of development, protection and construction activities. Establish a land and space planning system and supervise its implementation, integrate main functional area planning, land use planning, urban and rural planning and other spatial plans into a unified land and space planning, achieve "multiple plans into one", and strengthen the guidance of land and space planning on various special plans constraint effect.

On October 31, 2019, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee called for accelerating the establishment and improvement of the overall coordination and management system for land spatial planning and uses, and the overall planning and implementation of ecological protection red lines, permanent basic farmland, and urban development boundaries. and other space control boundaries and various sea area protection lines.

Zhao Long said at the above-mentioned press conference that before the institutional reform, since planning responsibilities were divided into different departments, the administrative counterpart needed to apply for urban and rural planning permission and construction land approval from the two departments respectively, which contained many contents. They are highly similar. Objectively, there are problems such as multiple approvals for similar matters, repeated examinations, cross-examinations, and complicated processes, which increase the burden on enterprises and the public and affect the efficiency of investment implementation.

“This institutional reform integrates the main functional area planning, land use planning, urban and rural planning and other spatial planning into a unified territorial spatial planning, achieving ‘multiple planning into one’, and providing a basis for the reform of planning permission and land use. Approval creates conditions," Zhao Long said.

Revisions of laws have also begun to support the advancement of territorial spatial planning.

Article 18 of the new version of the "Land Management Law" that came into effect on January 1, 2020 stipulates: The state establishes a land spatial planning system. Land spatial planning approved in accordance with the law is the basic basis for all types of development, protection, and construction activities. If a land spatial plan has been prepared, the overall land use plan and urban and rural planning will no longer be prepared.

Special legislation is also advancing. According to the 2019 Legislative Work Plan of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Spatial Planning Bureau studied and drafted the Land Space Development and Protection Law. At the same time, the Ministry of Natural Resources actively cooperates with the relevant special committees of the National People's Congress to carry out legislative work such as the Land and Spatial Planning Law.

Although the direction is clear, who will implement it? Previously, the main functional area planning was led by the National Development and Reform Commission, the overall land use planning was led by the former Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Planning was mainly responsible for urban and rural planning. Multiple branches of government inevitably affected efficiency and authority.

Beginning in 2018, a new round of government institutional reform established the Ministry of Natural Resources, which will assume the responsibilities of “integrating multiple regulations into one”, establishing a spatial planning system and supervising implementation.

Three Red Lines

In November 2019, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the "Guidance on Coordinating the Delineation and Implementation of the Three Control Lines in Land and Space Planning" "Opinions" requires the overall planning and implementation of three control lines: ecological protection red lines, permanent basic farmland, and urban development boundaries. By 2035, by strengthening the implementation and management of land spatial planning, strictly observing the three control lines, and guiding the formation of a scientific, moderate and orderly land spatial layout system.

What is the relationship between these three control lines and territorial spatial planning? Why do we need overall planning?

To understand simply, from the land and space planning, what the outside world sees is the development goals and vision, which mainly solves the problem of how to do it; and from the three control lines, what the outside world sees is the bottom line and red line of development. Mainly ask questions about what not to do.

Similar to the original multi-door planning policy, the three lines of control were previously demarcated by different departments, which brought many disadvantages.

Liu Guohong, director of the Land and Spatial Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said at a press conference interpreting the above guidance that before the institutional reform, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection took the lead in delineating terrestrial ecological protection red lines. The Ministry of Agriculture jointly organized the delineation of permanent basic farmland, the former Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly delineated urban development boundaries, and the former State Oceanic Administration took the lead in delineating marine ecological protection red lines.

As of November 2019, the ecological protection red line delineation plan for 11 provinces and cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Economic Belt and 15 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has been approved by the State Council. There are 1.55 billion acres of permanent basic farmland designated across the country, and the above map has been stored in the database and implemented in households. The demarcation of development boundaries has been completed in 14 cities including Beijing, and preliminary results have been achieved in some other cities.

Liu Guohong said that the three control lines were delineated separately, and there was a lack of unified standards in delineation procedures, technical specifications and management regulations. There was also insufficient overall coordination of the delineation work, and there were overlaps and difficulties in implementation. Subsequent standardized management and strict supervision have caused many contradictions and conflicts; it is difficult to avoid occupying ecological red lines for construction related to the implementation of major national strategies, and the lack of clear management and control rules is not conducive to the seriousness of maintaining the three lines of control.

After the reform of national institutions, the newly established Ministry of Natural Resources assumed the responsibility of “unifying multiple regulations into one”, establishing a spatial planning system and supervising its implementation. The management responsibilities of the three lines of control that were originally scattered among relevant departments were , also implemented uniformly by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

How should we deal with conflicts among the three lines of control in the future?

“When there is a conflict between the three control lines, the ecological protection red line must ensure the systematicness and integrity of ecological functions, the permanent basic farmland must ensure a moderate and reasonable scale and stability, and the urban development boundary must avoid important ecological functions. , occupying no or less permanent basic farmland, distinguishing core areas of nature reserves and general control areas, and determining whether to withdraw based on the impact on ecological functions," Liu Guohong said.