Housing, construction and planning authority

The planning system

Local planning

A coherent and comprehensive unit

A local development plan applies to a defined area that forms a coherent and comprehensive unit, such as a district, a section of a district, street block or building cluster. A local plan sets out provisions regarding building permits, design specifications, and environmental layout.

In a local development plan, conditions are set regarding:

The settlement pattern and the typology of the environment, such as the size, location and use of houses.
The overall appearance of the settlement, such as the design and layout of buildings, detailing and material use.
Parks and public spaces such as streets, squares, playgrounds and public parks.

Plannig a smaller district

A district plan (e. hverfisskipulag) is a simplified version of a local plan that may be prepared for established residential areas where no major development is planned. Unlike traditional local development plans, district plans are subject to fewer formal requirements in terms of presentation and regulatory detail. They allow for greater flexibility in setting general rules and guidelines for building permissions, such as modifications or extensions to existing buildings.

Permits

Building permits and construction permits shall be in accordance with local development plans. The general rule is that building permits shall be based on a divisional plan, but permits may in certain cases be based on a main plan.

Local Plans in Force

Current local plans can be accessed on Skipulagsvefsjá

Information on ongoing planning projects can be found online, in the planning portal Skipulagsgátt.

Development

Responsibility

The municipality is responsible for the preparation of a local plan. The municipality's planning committee is responsible for the preparation of the local plan on behalf of and under the authority of the municipality council.

Cost

The municipality covers costs of preparing a local plan, except if a landowner or developer is authorised to prepare it at their own expense.

Digital plan

In addition to traditional planning documents, such as reports and drawings, a digital local plan must be submitted to HMS in accordance with the Planning Act. Digital data should be prepared alongside other planning documents and accompany them when the local plan proposal is sent to HMS for review.

Creating a digital local plan involves preparing planning data in a standardised manner within a geographic information system (GIS). The local plan is still presented in a planning report and on planning drawings, as before. More information about geographic data and digital local planning is available here: landupplýsingar og stafrænt deiliskipulag.

Process

At the beginning of the local development plan process, the municipality planning committee prepares a project description outlining the rationale for the planning work and how the planning process is intended to be carried out.
If a landowner or developer is responsible for the planning project, they prepare the description and submit it to the municipality.
The description is approved by the municipal council.
The description is then made publicly available, and the public is given the opportunity to submit comments to the municipality through the planning portal Skipulagsgátt, planning portal. At the same time, opinions are sought from HMS and other relevant consulting parties.

The local plan proposal is prepared in accordance with the project description, taking into account comments and suggestions received from the public and other stakeholders during previous stages.
As part of the planning process, environmental impacts are assessed, and the results used to shape the final proposal.
The local plan proposal must be prepared in consultation with residents and other parties of interest. The extent and nature of this consultation depends on the scope and character of the proposal.
Once the plan proposal is finalized, it is approved by the municipal council for formal public review. At that stage, the public and stakeholders have the opportunity to submit written comments through Skipulagsgátt, planning portal.

Once the public consultation period has ended, the municipal planning committee reviews the comments and submits the final proposal to the municipal council for approval.
The approved plan, along with its supporting documents, is then submitted to the National Planning Agency for review.
The plan enters into force once it has been approved by the municipal council and published in Section B of the Official Gazette.
If the local plan is not published in the Official Gazette within one year from the end of the consultation period, the planning process must be repeated, and the proposal re-advertised for public consultation and comments.
Final documents and decisions are made available through Skipulagsgátt, planning portal.