Larger municipalities should be obliged to review their land use plans by 2030.
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13. November 2024
While the new Salzburg Housing Promotion Act and the accompanying implementing regulations are already in the assessment process, the state is already working on further steps to make housing more affordable. To this end, two key spatial planning initiatives are being prepared.
Specifically, “municipalities with a supra-local function” – these are essentially urban communities and regionally important market communities – should be obliged to review their land use plans by 2030 and to conclude a spatial planning agreement when re-designating residential building land of 2,000 square meters or more.
These measures will be incorporated into the amendment to the Spatial Planning Act, which is due to be reviewed at the beginning of next year.
Mobilization of building land reserves as a goal
State Councilor Martin Zauner: “The aim of the mandatory revision of the land use plans is to mobilize existing building land reserves. Undeveloped residential building land in central areas should be examined with regard to suitability for subsidized housing and subsequently suitable areas should be given the designation of ‘supportable residential building’.”
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Spatial planning contracts
Following the lifting of the ban on coupling dedication and spatial planning agreement in the Federal Constitution, municipalities with a supra-local function are also obliged to conclude a spatial planning agreement between the municipality and the landowner when re-designating residential building land of 2,000 square meters or more.
“The subject of the agreement can be the required amount of subsidized housing, price appropriateness, performance deadlines and quality criteria. In the future, the spatial planning contracts will also be part of the approval process for municipalities with a supra-local function and will therefore also be checked by the supervisory authority,” says State Councilor Zauner.
More space available
“So far, as of October 1, 2024, only two municipalities have made use of the option of designating residential building land in the subsidized housing category. With the amendment to the Spatial Planning Act, significantly more space will be available for subsidized housing in the future than before,” Zauner is convinced. The state of Salzburg wants to advise the communities as before and support them in implementation.
