The Chamber of Architects and the Nationalist Party in separate statements on Monday urged the government to reform the planning system on the basis of updated studies .
The calls were made as environmental NGOs warned last week that revisions to the way that building heights are interpreted in the current regulations could give rise to additional floors being allowed.
The Planning Authority is currently running a public consultation to amend a policy in Development Control Design Policy, Guidance and Standards, a controversial document commonly known as the DC15.
Previously, height limitations for buildings were set by the number of floors that could be built in any given area, as set out by the local plans. However, an annexe included in DC15, Annexe 2, laid out a table in which the maximum allowable heights of buildings previously indicated as floors, had now been converted into metres.
Should the amendments to policy 35 of DC15, which regulates allowable building height, be accepted, it will formalise this interpretation of the guidelines.
The Chamber of Architects said that the proposed amendment does not bring a material change to the status quo, provided that the building height for UCAs and villa/bungalow areas remains untouched.
Nevertheless, it was of the firm opinion that the planning system required a major reform to move away from its dependence on development control policies to regulate development, and in favour of masterplans that produce comprehensive, researched, and thorough strategic plans for each of Malta's towns and villages.
Moreover, the development control process itself required extensive reform. Poor quality buildings should not be approved, regardless of their compliance with the quantitative parameters in the various policy documents.
The chamber called on the government to enter into discussions with it on reforming the practice of architecture by forming a joint initiative to: develop a national architecture policy; set up design review panels to allow for projects to be assessed purely on architecture merit; develop an urban design development strategy and mandatory architectural design competitions for all publicly funded projects
The PN said DC15 had weakened the design process by opening policies to dangerous precedents and suspect interpretations. It was one of the reasons for an unplanned sharp increase in building density which harmed the environment and raised property prices.
The current exercise would make the current situation worse because it was based on an outdated spatial strategy that lacked important updated studies on the type of permissible development, carrying capacity, parallel infrastructure development and the social impact.
The government should therefore carry out and publish the necessary studies and consequently review the Development Ċontrol Design Poliċy, Guidance and Standards 2015’ to reflect updated local plans.
MDA supports amendment
The Malta Development Authority, meanwhile, said it rejected all allegations that the proposed amendment intensified development.
"The proposed amendment only seeks to clarify what was already established in the Local Plan of 2006 as followed by the DC15 document which reflects how the height of buildings is to be interpreted, i.e. in metres as opposed to floors. It is also completely untrue that Policy P35 of DC15 amends what was approved in the Local Plans established in 2006," the association said.
"What is perhaps commonly misinterpreted as intensification is the situation relating to the semi-basement maisonette which is nowadays no longer permitted as there has been a shift that habitable spaces have to be built at street level. With this shift in mind, the height of the floors had to be reduced accordingly so that the height limitations established in the aforementioned local plans are respected and so the overall height of the building remains the same," it said.
The proposed changes should provide a clearer direction for the property market, benefiting all stakeholders by ensuring consistent and predictable development guidelines, it said.
The MDA said it fully supports this amendment and looks forward to its implementation