Key Benefits:
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PROPOSED LAW NO. 113 /X
Exhibition of Motives
In the Programme of the XVII Constitutional Government defines itself as a priority, for
print greater coherence to the instruments of territorial management, the conclusion,
approval and implementation of the National Programme of the Policy on Planning
Territory, which, together with the National Development Strategy
Sustainable, it should constitute the frame of reference for the various interventions with
territorial impact.
With the present proposal, which approves the National Programme of the Policy of
Spatial planning, aims to complete the normative building of
framing of the various sectoral policies with territorial and all incidence
the instruments of territorial management of national, regional and municipal scope.
The Law on Bases of the Politics of Territory Planning and Urbanism (Law n.
48/98, of August 11) sets out the National Programme of the Policy on Planning
Territory (PNPOT) as a pillar of the territorial management instruments, whose guidelines
and fundamental guidelines translate a model of spatial organization that will have in
account for the urban system, networks, infrastructure and equipment of interest
national, as well as the areas of national interest in agricultural, environmental and
patrimonial.
On the other hand, the Legal Regime of Territorial Management Instruments, approved
by Decree-Law No. 380/99 of September 22, comes, in development of the Law of
Bases, define the relations between the various types of instruments, as well as the
administrative procedure to which it is subject to its elaboration.
In 2002, the XIV Constitutional Government mandated the drafting of the PNPOT,
establishing the strategic objectives and guidelines, as well as the system of
follow-up to its elaboration, which was committed to the Directorate General of the
Spatial Planning and Urban Development (DGOTDU).
For this purpose, a project team to support the drafting of the PNPOT has been set up,
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designated by the Office of the PNPOT (GPNPOT), to be operated in the framework of DGOTDU,
to which it competed, inter alia, to carry out the necessary studies to the formulation of the
proposal of the PNPOT, promote the collection, analysis and handling of information
concerning the specific interests with the focal points, and collect and treat the
information on the statistical indicators necessary to ensure the
compatibilization of the PNPOT proposal with the options of the remaining instruments of
territorial and sectoral policy management.
To the phase of drafting and monitoring of the PNPOT proposal, which was completed
formally in April 2005, there followed a long period of concertation with the
public entities and civil society that have integrated the advisory committee and that, in the
scope of it, they formally disagreed with the proposal submitted by the GPNPOT.
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 41/2006 of April 27, adopted, to
effects of public discussion, the technical proposal of the PNPOT, as well as determined that
proceeded at the opening of the public discussion period of the proposal, which it has proceeded
between May 17 and October 31, 2006, there has been a strong participation of the
civil society, which greatly contributed to the enrichment of the proposal submitted to
public discussion.
Simultaneously and in fulfillment of the legal procedure provided for in the Decree-Law
n. 380/99 of September 22, the consultation of six institutions was promoted
university-level, which they issued opinion.
The final version of the proposal that now presents itself to the weighting made
by the Government of the results of the public discussion held, with the involvement and
consultation of the own organs of the Autonomous Regions in the framework of recognition
of the specificities resulting from their autonomic status.
PNPOT is an instrument of territorial development of a strategic nature,
that establishes the great options with relevance to the organization of the territory
national, substantiates the frame of reference to be considered in the elaboration of the remaining
instruments of territorial management and constitutes an instrument of cooperation with the
too many member states for the organization of the territory of the European Union.
Considering that national land use planning should translate and support the
major strategic options defined for the Country, in a building optics of
unity in diversity, PNPOT defines as strategic objectives to be realized
at the various levels of planning:
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a) Conserving and valuing biodiversity, resources and natural heritage,
landscaping and cultural, to use in a sustainable way the energy resources and
geological, and prevent and minimise risks;
b) To strengthen Portugal's territorial competitiveness and integration into the
Iberian, European, Atlantic and global spaces;
c) To promote the polycentric development of the territories and strengthen the infra-
structures of support for integration and territorial cohesion;
d) Ensuring the territorial fairness in the infrastructure and infrastructure
collective equipment and universality in access to the services of
general interest, promoting social cohesion;
e) Expanding the networks and advanced infrastructures of information and communication
and to encourage their growing use by citizens, companies and
public administration;
f) To strengthen the quality and efficiency of territorial management by promoting the
informed, active and responsible participation of citizens and institutions.
The programme of action integrating PNPOT develops and concretizes these objectives
strategic through a set of specific objectives, of priority measures
and of guidelines for the instruments of territorial management. The execution of that program
of action will be decentralised at the regional and sectoral level, relying on the
involvement and co-accountability of all the Ministries in the pursuit of the
common objective of ordering the territory of Portugal.
Thus:
Under the terms of the paragraph d) of Article 197 (1) of the Constitution, the Government presents
to the Assembly of the Republic the following proposed law:
Article 1.
Subject
1-The National Program of the Territory Planning Policy is approved,
abbreviately designated PNPOT, whose report and the programme of action are
published in annex to this Law, of which they form an integral part.
2-PNPOT is an instrument of territorial development of nature
strategic, which establishes the great options with relevance to the organization
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of the national territory, conforms to the frame of reference to be considered in the
elaboration of the remaining instruments of territorial management and constitutes a
instrument of cooperation with the remaining member states for the organization
of the territory of the European Union.
3-The report describes the framework of the country in the Iberian, European and
world, proceeds to the characterization of the conditioners, problems, trends and
territorial development scenarios of Portugal, identifying the top 24
problems for spatial planning, which substantiate the options and the
priorities of the intervention in land use planning, and proceeds to the
diagnosis of the various regions, providing territorial strategic options for the
same and establishing a model of spatial organization.
4-The programme of action concretizes the strategy of planning, development and
territorial cohesion of the country, in coherence with other strategic instruments,
through the definition of general guidelines, an articulated set of objectives
strategic, which develop through specific objectives and measures
priority, and provides for the coordination of territorial management.
Article 2.
Territorial scope
1-PNPOT applies to the whole of the national territory, covering the territory
historically defined on the European continent and the archipelagos of the Azores and
Wood, as well as the territorial waters defined by law, without prejudice to the regime
insular autonomic.
2-PNPOT constitutes the reference normative framework of the management instruments
territorial of the responsibility of the Autonomous Regions.
Article 3.
Principles of decision
1-Plans and programmes with territorial incidence should orient themselves, among others,
by the principles set out in Law No. 48/98 of August 11, and by the framework of
reference and the strategic and specific objectives set out in the program of
action.
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2-PNPOT proceeds to the articulation and compatibilization of spatial planning
with the policies of economic and social development and sectoral policies
with incidence in the organization of the territory, as a result of an appropriate
weighting the public and private interests involved.
Article 4.
Relationship between instruments of territorial management
1-The PNPOT, the sectoral plans, the special plans for spatial planning and
regional land-use planning plans should translate a compromise
reciprocal of compatibilization of the respective options.
2-PNPOT prevails over all the remaining instruments of territorial management in
vigour.
3-PNPOT sets out the guidelines and options for the drafting of new plans
sectoral and regional planning plans, as well as the framework
strategic to be realized by the new municipal and inter-municipal plans of
planning of the territory.
4-PNPOT sets out the principles and guiding rules of the discipline to be defined
by new special plans for spatial planning and involves the amendment of the
special planning plans of pre-existing territory that with the same no
compatibilize.
Article 5.
Strategic guidelines for the national scope
1-The strategic orientations in urban system and acessibilities
defined for mainland Portugal find themselves translated spatially in the
constant territorial model in the report.
2-The following strategic objectives for Portugal are defined, which
constitute the referential framework of commitments of policies with incidence
territorial:
a) Conserving and valuing biodiversity, resources and natural heritage,
landscaping and cultural, to use in a sustainable way the energy resources and
geological, and prevent and minimise risks;
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b) To strengthen Portugal's territorial competitiveness and integration into the
Iberian, European, Atlantic and global spaces;
c) To promote the polycentric development of the territories and strengthen the infra-
structures of support for integration and territorial cohesion;
d) Ensuring the territorial fairness in the infrastructure and infrastructure
collective equipment and universality in access to the services of
general interest, promoting social cohesion;
e) Expanding the networks and advanced infrastructures of information and communication
and to encourage their growing use by citizens, companies and
public administration;
f) To strengthen the quality and efficiency of territorial management by promoting the
informed, active and responsible participation of citizens and institutions.
3-The guidelines for the elaboration of sectoral plans with territorial incidence
are identified in Chapter 2 and, in particular, in Table I-Priority Measures
by type of public intervention and in Table II-Specific objectives and domains
of the governing action, of the programme of action.
4-The frame of reference to be considered in the elaboration of the special plans of
spatial planning is identified in Chapter 3 and, in particular,
in Table III-Priority measures and instruments of territorial management, of the
programme of action.
5-The proposals for realization of the development and cohesion strategy
territorial for the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira shall be
consistent with the respective Regional Development Plans (PRODESA and
PDES).
Article 6.
Main guidelines for the regional scope
The guidelines for the regional scope, which substantiate the frame of reference to
consider in the elaboration of regional spatial planning plans, they are
identified in Chapter 3 and, in particular, in Table III-Priority measures and
instruments of territorial management, of the programme of action, without prejudice to the provisions of the
n. 5 of the preceding Article of this Law.
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Article 7.
Main guidelines for the municipal scope
The guidelines for the municipal scope, which substantiate the frame of reference to
consider in the elaboration of the inter-municipal and municipal planning plans
territory, are identified in Chapter 3 and, in particular, in Table III -- Measures
priority and territorial management instruments, of the programme of action, without prejudice to the
provisions of Article 5 (5) of this Law.
Article 8.
Execution and evaluation
1-Incumbent on the Government the development and delivery of the programme of action,
in particular through the implementation of the priority measures set out in the
even, owing to the respective implementation being decentralised at the regional level and
sectoral.
2-The Government will make the permanent assessment of the adequacy and delivery of the
PNPOT, notably through the Observatory of Territory Planning and
of Urbanism.
Article 9.
Review of PNPOT
The PNPOT can be changed or revised whenever the evolution of the perspectives of
economic and social development determine it.
Article 10.
Entry into force
This Law shall come into force on the day following that of its publication.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of December 28, 2006
The Prime Minister
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The Minister of the Presidency
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs