Effective Spatial Planning Needs Effective Tools

The progressive loss of open landscape to sprawl must be curbed. Spatial planning can only fulfill its legal mandate of economical land policy if it is equipped with the appropriate tools. The following topics are currently under political discussion:

Building zone restrictions. Since 1980, spatial planning has been obliged to separate building zones from non-building zones according to spatial planning law. However, despite regulations, building zones in Switzerland have been continuously expanded over the past three decades. New legislation should be put into place, which permits new zoning only under increasingly specific conditions and reduces the amount of oversized and overdesigned building zones.

Land management. There is sufficient building zone area available in Switzerland; nevertheless, many communities want more. Many undeveloped building zones are located in areas where there is a lack of demand or inadequate public transport links. In contrast, many well-developed, construction-ready building lots are not available as the owners refuse to sell. In such cases there should be some form of intervention using land management tools: building obligations to prevent hoarding of building plots, more compact developments for improved utilization of building zones, transfer of building zones to avoid further land consumption (i.e. rezoning into farmland as compensation for new zoning of building land).

Additional land value levy. Through planning (zoning and rezoning) and the building of infrastructure (railroads, streets, utility installations, water, electricity, etc.) public authorities create additional value for individual landowners, without the owners having to contribute. Therefore, at least a partial levy on this added land value is necessary. This income gives public authorities the chance to offer compensation for decreased land value in the case of rezoning, maintain and expand public infrastructure, as well as create and improve open spaces for the general public.