If you build it...

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
According to the 1965 Building and Planning Law, there are four types of bodies that are entitled to submit local outline plans and detailed plans: A "ministry, local committee or local authority, landowner," and as of 1996 "anyone who has an interest in the land." Once a plan is ready, it is submitted to the Local Building and Planning Committee, which is a municipal body made up of eight members of the city council and a private sector professional (architect/urban planner). Once a plan is approved by this committee, it moves to the Regional Building and Planning Committee, which is made up of eight ministry representatives (Interior, Environment, Housing, Health, Security, Transportation, Israel Lands Asministration and Agriculture). The plan is reviewed and if the majority of the Regional Committee is in favor of the plan, it is submitted for public review. This takes the form of a written announcement briefly describing the plan, which is published in newspapers, neighborhood noticeboards and government offices. The public has a "deposit period," or stage of public objections, of 60 days from the last day of the public announcement. During this time it is possible to submit a detailed written description an objection - accompanied by a lawyer's affidavit - to the Regional Committee. The building law states: "Anybody who is interested in the land, in the building or in any other planning detail, and sees himself hurt by a local or regional outline or specific plan, has the right to submit an objection." At the end of the deposit period, objections are discussed at a regional subcommittee hearing, at which any objector is liable to be summoned to present his or her arguments. If this committee decides to accept the public's claims, the plan is either amended or overturned. If the committee rejects the objections, the public can request the right to appeal to the National Planning Council. If the right to appeal is rejected, the public can petition an administrative court of law for the right to appeal. The appeals committee of the National Planning Council reconsiders the plan, after which it is passed on to the Minister of the Interiorfor final approval. If all else fails, a High Court hearing is held. - T.L.