PA board gets two new members
Board is responsible for deciding major- scale development projects
The Planning Authority’s most important decision-making body, the Planning Board, has two new members: Stephania Baldacchino and Karen Zerafa.
The appointments - decided by Planning Minister Clint Camilleri - were announced in the Government Gazette.
Baldacchino will replace Martin Camilleri on the Planning Board.
Baldacchino, is, separately, the chairperson of the Planning Commission for applications within the development scheme, while Camilleri chairs the Planning Commission for applications in the outside development zone.
Zerafa will replace Saviour Debono Grech on the PA board.
Grech is the director general of the Rural Affairs Department, while Zerafa is the Chief Operations Officer at Transport Malta.
Both appointments came into effect on March 7, and are three-year memberships.
The PA board, chaired by Emanuel Camilleri, is made up of 10 members who are responsible for deciding major-scale development projects, including projects such as the proposed 140-bed hotel and 16 bungalows in Comino, Joseph Portelli’s Mercury Towers and Sliema’s Townsquare project.
Baldacchino was also appointed as a member of the authority’s executive council - in this case also replacing Martin Camilleri.
The administration of the PA is entrusted to the executive council and deals with management and day-to-day operations. The council also oversees policy updates and reforms.
Another appointment at the PA saw Aimee Brincat, a member of the Planning Board, who will now replace Carmen Buttigieg as a member of the executive council. Brincat is a representative of the Environment and Resources Authority on the Planning Board.
Architect Manuela Mercieca Sultana will replace architect Andrew Psaila as a member of the Planning Commission for the regularisation of permissions.
A PA spokesperson told Times of Malta that people are allowed to serve on the board for two terms and cannot be reappointed to the same position.