Major urban planning reversal after 25 years

The bill submitted to Parliament, which will be voted on under the emergency procedure, brings about a major reversal in urban planning with the effective abolition of purely residential areas. The provisions on Building Cooperatives and Private Urban Planning have been withdrawn from the bill and will be submitted separately.

The bill turns things upside down by abolishing a regime that had been in place for over 25 years and prohibited other uses in purely residential areas. Now, hotels, bars, restaurants, cafes, conference centers, sports facilities, and more can be developed.

In detail, the bill, which provides for 18 types of land use, refers to areas where there are residences:

Residential (K1): In areas where only residential use is permitted, exhibition centers, banks, restaurants, cafes, bars, entertainment centers, hotels, and other tourist facilities, parking lots, gas stations, car repair shops, professional workshops, etc. Properties located on main and secondary roads, boulevards, and the main road network (e.g., those located on Kifissias Avenue) cannot be used for K1 residential purposes.

Neighborhood-level housing (K2): In residential areas with a neighborhood character, at least 50% of each building must be designated for residential use. These neighborhoods will also allow for social welfare facilities, nurseries, retirement homes, orphanages, nursing homes, institutions for people with special needs, institutions for the chronically ill, public hostels, shelters, educational buildings (schools, tutoring centers, etc.), sports facilities, religious sites, medical clinics, health-related stores, commercial stores, etc.

Intermediate level residence (MK): All uses of neighborhood-level residential areas are permitted, but… they are extended to more square meters. Thus, special education, gyms, sports schools, libraries, cultural event halls, museums, art galleries, theatres, cinemas, conference centres, shops, etc. are permitted in an area of up to 1,500 sq.m. Hospitals and hotels may have 100 beds, and cafes, restaurants, and bars may cover an area of 400 square meters.

It also includes uses such as urban planning centers, tourism, recreation, second homes, public utility facilities, open spaces, urban green spaces, wholesale trade, public transport facilities, urban public utility infrastructure facilities, low and medium nuisance production activities, urban redevelopment production activities, technology parks, freight centers, high-impact production facilities, special uses, designated settlements, main urban road networks.

For residential areas proposed for urban planning, maximum building coefficient limits are set in advance as follows:

* For areas designated for primary residence, the building coefficient cannot exceed 0.8.

* for the areas that are intended for use as an urban planning center the coefficient of construction may not exceed 1.2.

* for areas designated for tourism and recreation, the building coefficient may not exceed 0.6.

* For areas designated for use as vacation (second) homes, the building coefficient cannot exceed 0.4.

* For areas designated for public utility facilities, the building coefficient may not exceed 1.2.

The 18 land uses permitted by general spatial and urban planning are classified into the following categories:

1. Residence (K1)

2. Residence level neighborhood (K2)

3. Intermediate level residence (MK)

4. Urban planning center (PK)

5. Tourism – recreation – vacation (second) home (TA)

6. Public utility facilities (PUF)

7. Open spaces – Urban Greenery (PR)

8. Wholesale trade (WT)

9. Public Transport Facilities (PTF)

10. Public Utility Infrastructure Facilities (PU)

11. Low and medium nuisance production activities (LMNA)

12. Productive activities of urban redevelopment (BE)

13. Technology Park (TP)

14. Freight center (FC)

15. High-impact production facilities (HIF)

16. Special uses (IX)

17. Delimited settlements (ΟΟ)

18. Main Road Network of Cities (KOD) – See more at: