Justice Ayala Procaccia was critical of the government’s handling of the reform process so far, stating, “What’s the rush to advance this legislation? Why not wait until the next parliamentary session? War hasn’t broken out. The proposed changes are substantial and worthy of thorough preparation. What’s the panic? Why not give time for the public to digest the bill and present its objections?”
Despite these strong words of the Supreme Court Justices and the 5,000 public objections submitted, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation went ahead and on March 11 approved the bill for first reading.
No emergency
Justice Ayala Procaccia pointed out that a 21 day period for review, analysis and response to a 241-page legislative proposal of 585 clauses is impracticable.
“The schedule the government set is not sacred; there is no emergency here,” added Justice Procaccia.
IUED, SPNI and the coalition of social and environmental NGOs protesting the government’s conduct of the planning reforms have asked for the public review period to be extended to a much more workable 90 days.
Background: Petition to High Court on Planning Reform
The High Court of Justice issued on March 5 a temporary injunction stopping the government's ministerial committee from reviewing proposed planning reforms until court hears the petition on March 10. The injunction came as a shock to the government and as a welcome move to IUED and its NGO partners.
"We are asking for 90 days to respond in full," says IUED land use attorney Eli Ben Ari. The court injunction against the government was welcomed by citizens who have filed over 5,000 objections to the bill, to date.
IUED petitioned the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice asking that the government be ordered to extend the period for filing objections to the proposed bill from 21 days to 90. The proposed Planning & Building Bill runs to 241 pages, 585 clauses and 96 pages of explanatory notes. Our petition argues that in light of the complexity and importance of such a major overhaul in the planning framework, the public response period of 21 days is clearly unrealistic.
The High Court of Justice issued on March 5 a temporary injunction ordering the government to cancel a scheduled ministerial review of the proposed Planning & Building Law, and to cease any actions related to the reform until the court hearing scheduled for March 10. The court's response was unusually swift, and its injunction preventing the government discussion was even more unusual. The Finance Minister responded in the press that he was 'shocked' at the injunction.
The petition was prepared by IUED’s land use team (Eli Ben Ari, Nirit Lotan, lawyers and Yael Dori, urban planner) together with SPNI on behalf of the six-member coalition of NGOs united in slowing the reform process.
Over 5,000 individuals filed objections to the legislative proposal during the first week of March. Moreover, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has written to the government expressing profound concern over the gap between the stated goals of the planning reform and the actual measures presented in the memorandum outlining the proposed provisions in the new Planning & Building Law.
“…Development needs to be measured and balanced…”
Minister Erdan’s comments were very much in tune with those expressed by IUED and SPNI in the High Court of Justice petition. He said, “Israel is the most crowded country in the developed world, whose population is expected to grow substantially. As such, development needs to be measured and balanced and ensure the conservation of open spaces for the good of the public, the environment and future generations.”
