Planning a peculiar charge: the compulsory cession without compensation of protected greenfield land in the municipal regulations of Valencia

Abstract

Sustainable urban development is the backbone, to a large degree, of the Act 4/2004, of June 20, of the Generalitat Valenciana, on Spatial Planning and Landscape Protection. This Act and its future regulatory development contain a wealth of specific manifestations of this leading idea. One of these consists in that urban planning should set aside greenfield land in equal proportions to land development that the plan provides for. In this context, is, when greenfield land is developed, landowners will have to cede to the public authorities an equal amount of protected greenfield land in a transaction which will have the character of a public endowment. The purpose is to provide to the public areas containing natural values, thus contributing to a better quality of urban live. In those cases in which, exceptionally, this cession may not be realised because no protected greenfield land exists within the municipality, the cession may be realised in another municipality or be substituted by an economic equivalent that will be allocated to the financing of programmes and projects for sustainability and quality of life. Specific administrative techniques as provided for by the legislator are being studied.