A contribution to the judicial review process of the development plans: A guide proposal for planning criteria and the principles of urbanism
Koray ÖzcanZoning plans can be said to be technical legal documents composed of written and visual materials for determining the spatial characteristics and functional identity of urban settlements. In the other words, the objective of zoning plans is to describe the spatial, ecological, sociocultural, and economic necessities of an urban settlements and to also be the regulatory documents that will help make a healthy livable settlement. In this context, zoning plans depend on the relationships between legislative knowledge, which is necessarily composed of formal obligations, and the planning criteria and principles of urbanism, which consist of subjective and objective qualifications. Therefore, planning criteria and the principles of urbanism principles can be viewed as the criteria for a subjective and objective review of zoning plans as one of the main tools of regulatory documents regarding property rights. According to the literature on the judicial review of zoning plans, zoning plans are seen to have been examined in terms of plans types, special purpose plans, the hierarchical order between plans and authority, responsible procedures, and the principles of urban planning. The source of these judicial reviews is based on the knowledge of national legislation alongside the status of council decisions regarding the national dimension, as well as internationally on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. This paper attempts to determine and detail the contexts and content of planning criteria and the principles of urbanism by benefitting from the literature on legislative knowledge, urban planning, and law. In this framework, the study is designed to be a systematic guide regarding planning criteria and the principles of urbanism for resolving disputes related to zoning plans. It is considered that this guide as a criteria set can be contributed subjectively, objectively, and technically to resolving disputes related to zoning plans.
İmar Planlarının Yargısal Denetim Sürecine Katkı: Planlama Esasları-Şehircilik İlkeleri İçin Rehber Önerisi
Koray Özcanİmar Planları, kentsel yerleşmelerin gelecekteki mekânsal karakteristik ve işlevsel kimliğini belirlemek üzere yazılı çizili ve görsel materyaller eşliğinde tasarlanmış teknik ve hukuki belgeler olarak tanımlanabilir. Daha geniş bir ifadeyle, kentlerin mekânsal, çevresel, sosyal kültürel ve ekonomik gereksinimlerinin karşılanarak, sağlıklı ve yaşanabilir kılınmasına yönelik düzenleyici yasal onaylı belgedir. Bu kapsamda “Mevzuat gereklilikleri” ile “planlama esasları-şehircilik ilkeleri” olarak tanımlanan biçimsel gereklilikler ve işlevsel içerikler ile öznel ve nesnel niteliklerin birlikteliğine dayandığı söylenebilir. Dolayısıyla, planlama esasları-şehircilik ilkeleri “mülkiyet düzenine müdahale edici yasal düzenleme” olarak imar planlarının öznel ve nesnel denetimine yönelik temel araçlardan biri olarak görülmelidir. Bu yönüyle, idari yargı sürecinde “düzenleyici işlem” olarak imar planlarının amaç ve konu yönünden denetiminde temel sorgu konusu olarak değerlendirilmektedir. İmar planlarının yargısal denetimine ilişkin araştırmalar irdelenirse; imar planlarının konu kapsam açısından öznel nitelikleri, plan türleri, özel amaçlı planlar ve plan hiyerarşisi/kademeleri ile yapma yaptırma ve yetki onay süreçleri/usulleri açısından ele alındığı, idari işlem niteliği açısından ise Mevzuat içerikleri, Danıştay kararları ve Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi kararları bağlamında ele alınarak, esas itibarıyla hukuki yönden değerlendirildiği görülmektedir. Bu çerçevede, araştırmada yargı denetim sürecinde imar planlarının planlama esasları-şehircilik ilkeleri açısından değerlendirilmesine esas olmak üzere mevzuat bilgisi ile şehircilik ve hukuk bilimi literatürlerinin birlikteliğinden oluşan sistematik bir “ölçütler seti” oluşturulması hedeflenmiştir. Araştırmada önerilen “ölçütler seti” niteliğideki rehber ile imar planlarına ilişkin uyuşmazlıkların çözümüne öznel, nesnel ve teknik yönden katkı sunulacağı düşünülmektedir.
Zoning plans can be said to be technical legal documents composed of written and visual materials for defining the spatial characteristic and functional identity of urban settlements. In the other words, the priority aim of zoning plans is to afford an urban settlement’s spatial, ecological, sociocultural, and economic necessities. Zoning plans are also regulatory documents that assist in making healthy livable settlements.
In this context, zoning plans depend on the relationships between legislative knowledge, which is necessarily composed of formal obligations, and the planning criteria and principles of urbanism, which consist of subjective and objective qualifications. Therefore, planning criteria and the principles of urbanism principles can be viewed as the criteria for a subjective and objective review of zoning plans as one of the main tools of regulatory documents regarding property rights.
According to the literature on the judicial review of zoning plans, zoning plans are seen to have been examined in terms of plans types, special purpose plans, the hierarchical order between plans and authority, responsible procedures, and the principles of urban planning. The source of these judicial reviews is based on the knowledge of national legislation alongside the status of council decisions regarding the national dimension, as well as internationally on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
This paper attempts to determine and detail the context and contents of the planning criteria and principles of urbanism by benefitting from the literature on legislative knowledge, urban planning, and law. In this framework, the study is designed to be a systematic guide regarding planning criteria and the principles of urbanism for resolving disputes related to zoning plans.
As a result of this paper, a guide has been created regarding planning criteria and the principles of urbanism composed of seven criteria based on the planning literature and on the legal knowledge of planning criteria and the principles of urbanism. The first criterion entails that zoning plans should be prepared in terms of the eligibility of the planning methods and techniques in the context of legislative obligations and the planning literature. These methods and techniques should be composed of successive stages that involve the design of the scenario, including vision and strategies, survey and analysis, synthesis, planning implementation and monitoring, controls, and revision. These stages are referred to as the spatial planning process in the urbanism literature. The second criterion is that integrity and continuity should exist among a zoning plan’s plan, legend, plan report, and plan notes. This also pertains to the integrity and continuity of plan decisions in the context of land use and the transportation system regarding the density in zoning plans.
The third criterion is that zoning plans should provide knowledge on the required details with respect to the function and scale differentiation of the plan. In this framework, the decision contents of zoning plans regarding the different scales and types should show the differences in terms of their scales and types of plans. The fourth criterion states that zoning plans should have a hierarchical order from the upper scale to the lower scale between zoning plans. In the other words, lower scale plans should be prepared in accordance with the upper scale plan’s decisions. The fifth criterion states that the distribution of sociocultural services and technical infrastructure in zoning plans should be balanced and also should meet the sociocultural requirements in the context of legal obligations. The sixth criteria states that zoning plans’ spatial, functional, and demographic decisions should be in accordance with the site-specific conditions of the planning zone. Lastly, the seventh criterion states that all decisions in zoning plans should be objective in terms of how they distribute public services on private property. It is considered that this guide as a criteria set can be contributed subjectively, objectively, and technically to resolving disputes related to zoning plans.