Spatial Planning Documentation at Regional Level
Abstract: Spatial planning documentation is a basic and binding tool for guiding development in the territory and decision-making in the territory. Spatial planning documentation prepared for the entire territory of the Czech Republic - the territorial development plan - and the territory of individual regions - the principles of territorial development play a key role in this; these set the initial framework for follow-up spatial planning activities of municipalities. By their nature, which is defined by legislation through a hierarchy of spatial planning documentation, these are conceptual tools, which correspond to their scale of processing and level of detail. Both of these spatial planning documentation must not contain details belonging to the master plan, regulatory plan or subsequent decision, otherwise there would be unreasonable (disproportionate) interference in the independent competence of municipalities, and thus a fundamental violation of the principle of subsidiarity in cases falling within their competence. In the light of the given issue, it is appropriate to ask the question whether these theoretical starting points and other statutory requirements and guidelines are applied in practice, respectively applicable. By deciphering this question, it is then possible to assess whether the territorial development plan and principles of territorial development really represent conceptual tools that provide the state, regions, municipalities and eligible investors with sufficient legal certainty and flexibility to coordinate and implement private and public interests (especially by transport and technical infrastructure), or these are rigid tools that are not able to respond flexibly to current demands for land use change. In the second case, there is a potential for a reduction in the possibility of effective direction of development in the territory and poorer coordination of spatial planning activities of municipalities, which is in fact dependent on the superior, and at the same time make the decision of the relevant administrative authorities more difficult. However, the ability to effectively direct the development of the territory is an elementary feature of advanced societies and a basic prerequisite for meeting the goals of sustainable development.
