Question 32218 — town planning

Summary

Mr. Daniel Labaronne questions the Minister of Ecological Transition on the relaxation introduced by the ELAN law in the possibilities of building annexes, on land located in a natural zone by a municipal map. As a reminder, the authors of the ELAN law planned, in article 39, to relax the possibility of building in zone N, in particular by allowing the construction of annexes there. Precisely, the will of the authors of this law was good to allow the construction of annexes near an existing building in the non-buildable zones of the municipal maps. Article L. 161-4 of the town planning code thus provides that “the municipal map demarcates the sectors where constructions are authorized and the sectors where constructions are not permitted, with the exception of: 1° Adaptation, change of destination, repair or extension of existing constructions as well as the construction of annexes near an existing building (...)”. In other words, it is the construction of annexes which is authorized in areas defined by the municipal map as unbuildable. These annexes must obviously have been defined beforehand: it can be a swimming pool, a garage, an animal shelter. It must not be a new construction but rather a premises secondary, of reduced size, separated from the main building but in the immediate vicinity of the latter, and providing a complement to the functionalities of the main construction. Despite these relaxations, some owners warn of the position of community planning services which would refuse their request, considering that, to be authorized, the planned annex would have to be located in the same zone of the municipal card as the main residence, regardless of whether it is the same land unit. However, it is common ground that in town planning law, the land unit is defined as a “block in one piece composed of one or more plots belonging to the same owner or the same joint ownership” (CE, June 27, 2005, no. 264667). What counts for the definition of the land unit is not the administrative zoning, but rather the fact that these contiguous lands, in one piece, belong to a single owner. Usually, it is only for the application of town planning rules (land footprint, distances in relation to dividing boundaries, heights, etc.) that zoning will have all its importance: thus, for example, if a land unit is made up of two plots, one located in zone N and the other in zone U, the rules will be applied of land area corresponding to the regulations of the UC zone for the plot located there, and rules relating to the land area corresponding to zone U for the plot located in this zone (see for example on this point, the following ministerial response: min. rep., question no. 63549, OJ March 21, 2017; see also: CE. March 18, 1998, no. 70020). Furthermore, the annex is defined in relation to the main building of the land unit and not in relation to zoning as defined by the municipal map or the town planning document. However, in the absence of clarification on the taking into account of zoning and in the absence of case law allowing services to review their position, certain community services refuse any relaxation in this direction. Also, he asks him to please clarify the position of the State, responsible for monitoring the legality of planning authorizations, on this subject, in the face of legal uncertainty on this issue.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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