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Part Five - The Economic Plan

Municipal Building Reform (2/3)

Reform in the construction process

Adoption of a DPA in place of descriptive municipal plans will create a network in which building limitations will be able to conform themselves to changing market demands. In order to allow cities to flourish and develop naturally in accordance with the needs of the population, this process must be completed by allowing developers to respond quickly to changing demands and building without unnecessary delay. For this purpose, a uniform and orderly process of building approval is needed, which will enable the preservation of public safety and municipal infrastructure without subjecting developers to arbitrary demands or unnecessary bureaucratic foot-dragging.

Zehut will act to implement a comprehensive reform of the construction process, which will make the process simpler and more uniform, thus reducing administrative costs to developers, shortening the period of time until occupancy of the building, and reducing the uncertainty resulting from over-regulation. The reform will make construction more cost effective for developers and will reduce costs to consumers.

The process of obtaining a building permit

A developer who wishes to build a building on land that he owns will inform the local authority and will be assigned a website in a standard format for monitoring the construction. The architect who designs the building will manage the site and enter the required information: the dimensions of the building, its location, the precise manner in which the building will connect to the municipal infrastructure[18] and the planned load, the intended use of the building, the construction standard, details of all the private supervising companies, and the names of the engineers, supervisors and professional consultants.[19] The published details will have to conform to the details in the construction plan, which the architect must complete before entering the information. In addition, the District Plan Agreement that the construction will be subject to will be marked, if there is such a plan, as proof that the architect is familiar with the plan and the restrictions specified therein. Each of the consultants, and all of them together, shall have the legal responsibility for planning.

Each construction project will be accompanied by an insurance company. The insurance company will bear financial responsibility for any damage caused by improper or incorrect construction from the start of construction until many years after the building is occupied and functioning. The details of the insurance company that insures and accompanies the construction will also be published.

The developer will also publish on the website a survey of the environmental implications of the building. The company that conducts the survey will also be exposed in the future to claims for improper disclosure. The law will require the appointment of professional consultants – similar to the existing situation.

The information that the developer will have to publish is all the information required to ensure that the building will not cause damage to the building's visitors, the general public and municipal infrastructures. Unintentionally providing false information on the Web site will constitute a crime that will be strictly enforced and the offenders will be severely punished.

The day the information is done being published on the Internet, the contractor will announce the completion of the planning to the municipality and will publish it in advertisements in the press and in wall posters on the buildings adjacent to the designated building site.[20] Within 60 days from the date of publication (120 days for a large building) residents, or municipality, will be able to to delay the construction if they have just grounds. The delay will be carried out through a petition to the court.

If no objection to construction is filed during this period, the developer will automatically receive a building permit. This reflects a complete change of perception compared to the current situation. Currently, any construction is prohibited unless expressly approved. After the reform, any construction will be permitted unless there is a valid reason to oppose it.

Objection and appeal to the court will be a rare phenomenon, since there will be few grounds that justify opposition relative to the existing situation. The court will have the authority to award compensation for the delay in favor of the developer in case of unjustified opposition and even force the opponents to deposit guarantees for the purpose of such compensation, which will protect developers and their clients from frivolous objections. The main justified reasons for opposing construction will be:

Supervision of construction

Those who are most likely to be harmed if damage to a person or property is caused due to building defects are the insurance company that insures the building and, of course, the customers themselves. Both the insurance company and the customers will have an interest in employing supervisors to oversee the construction process. These inspectors will be an important part of the building supervision system.

Contractors will be required to build according to internationally recognized safety standards and to employ private testing institutes throughout the project,[23] which will also be part of the supervision system.

The website where the information about the construction project will be presented will be open to all: neighbors, the municipality, the insurance company, buyers' consultants, or anyone else. Each stage and every deviation during construction[24] will be reported on it, along with the approvals and comments of the engineers and private supervisory bodies. Private inspectors who notice irregularities will be required to report them.

Even after the reform, as today, there will be no direct supervision by the municipality of the construction itself. The municipality will inspect the building at the end of the construction, before the occupancy permit is given, and during the construction, will rely on the private consultants and the information published on the site. During construction, the municipality will supervise matters relating to the use of public infrastructure, such as connection to the sewage and water systems, construction that runs into public areas, and proper removal of building waste. The building department of the local authority will monitor the website and verify that the contractor is inputting and updating the details. A building code violation, failure to publish information as required, or failure to comply with the requirements of the law may lead to a halt to construction by the municipality or even a ban on occupancy.

Failure to comply with procedures and laws will also constitute grounds to appeal to the court to stop construction. If the petition is accepted, the court may order the cessation of construction and in certain cases may prohibit occupancy.

Almost all the issues that are currently overflowing the city building committees and causing unexpected delays of months and years in the construction process will not be an obstacle in the absence of a City Building Plan. The developer will be free of the current necessity to negotiate the addition of construction areas, the number of rooms, the number of parking spaces and balconies, and dozens of other issues, b ut will be required to comply with the few legal requirements that are likely to remain. The degree of arbitrariness in the demands of contractors and developers will be immeasurably smaller than today, but the degree of personal responsibility imposed on the developer to avoid failure will increase. Of course, when contractors are no longer required to circumvent arbitrary and restrictive planning and building laws, they will not demonstrate the degree of disdain they currendly have today for the more important laws and the temptation to violate them will decrease.

Changing the use of an existing building

It is not only new buildings that will be able to take advantage of the easing of construction. In the new era, there will be no legal impediment to adding floors to a building, carrying out work to strengthen the building, or converting residential apartments to offices, clinics or vacation apartments - subject to the DPA and engineering feasibility. There will be no need for prior permission or other involvement of the local government. The only limitation will be the agreement between the owners of the apartments in the building, which is joint property. In the absence of another contract, a simple majority[25] of apartment owners in the building will suffice to allow different use of existing apartments or to add floors to the building - in return for compensation from the contractor or in exchange for work to improve the structure. Such consent means a change in the rules for condominiums. Such a change will be registered in the Land Registry so that any purchaser of a future apartment in the building will know about it. The tenants' ability to initiate changes and improvements in the building will allow them to respond to changing market demands and to earn directly, through compensation from the contractor, or indirectly, by increasing the value of their assets.

The right to object to land use

We seek to prevent a situation in which frivolous objections by neighboring property owners impede construction projects or cause developers to incur unexpected expenses. However, we are aware that construction projects and changes in land use can cause tangible damage to neighboring property owners and that they should be protected from such damage or allowed to demand compensation. Therefore, Zehut's construction reform includes a new, simple and clear, definition of the right to object to the use of land.

To this end, three types of nuisances resulting from the use of the land will be defined and may affect the neighboring landowners:

A nuisance stemming from public use: a nuisance deriving from construction work in a public area, from a change in the use of the area, or from the public's use of the area or the buildings thereon. Examples of such inconveniences include the expansion of an existing road, the construction of a new road, or an increase in traffic congestion due to the development of the area. Such nuisances will not be grounds for demanding compensation or cessation of construction work from the state or the local authority. Anyone who purchases a plot or property that borders on public land will have to take into account that in the future there may be development work that will affect, for better or worse, the value of his property. The assumption is that such an possibility will be taken into account in the price that buyer pays for the plot or property.

A passive nuisance on the part of the neighbor: a nuisance that is created when building on a neighboring lot has an adverse effect on the enjoyment of natural resources, for example, when it hides the landscape or blocks sunlight. Passive nuisance will not be grounds for opposition to construction. In our view, natural resources do not become the property of those who enjoy them and therefore they have no right to demand that they continue to enjoy them. Whoever buys an asset or a plot will have to take into account the possibility that his neighbors will develop their property so that his enjoyment of the natural resources will be harmed.

An active nuisance on the part of the neighbor: Unlike a passive nuisance, which prevents pleasure, an active nuisance is a nuisance that causes tangible damage to the neighbors and their property. Common active nuisances are noise, bad smells, smoke, and pollutant emissions. An active nuisance will constitute grounds for opposition to construction and will allow the court to stop construction, order the restoration of the situation to its previous state, or award compensation to the neighboring landowners.

Guidelines whose function is to prevent an active or passive nuisance may be part of the conditions and restrictions specified in the DPA. The right to object exists in addition to such guidelines and requires the owners of neighboring properties and lands wishing to object to present a tangible, well defined, quantifiable and quantifiable hazard.

[18] Water, sewage and the like.

[19] Such as electricity, construction, parking, fire, and the like.

[20] Similar to the manner in which changes in the City Building Plan and new projects are published under the Building Planning Law.

[21] Further details on the adjustment of municipal infrastructure to construction projects will be included later in this chapter.

[22] Details of the types of damage that justify resistance to construction will be included later in this chapter.

[23] A procedure that exists today - for example, the requirement to hire a laboratory that checks and confirms the quality of the concrete.

[24] This means deviating from the details reported by law. The contractor may make other changes provided they do not deviate from the standard.

[25] The majority will be an ordinary majority or a privileged majority of up to 75% of apartment owners.

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