S.L. 552.13 Art. 13Determination of an application.

(1) Subject to the provisions of the Act and of these regulations, the Planning Board shall appoint the first sitting during which the application for a development shall be discussed by the

Planning Board within one hundred days from the validation date:

Provided that the above time period shall not apply to development applications falling within the provisions of Schedule 2: Provided that the above period shall be extended by further periods whenever an extension may be required under these regulations: Provided further that the Executive Chairperson may withdraw any application from the agenda for further review as deemed necessary.

(2) The terms established in sub-regulation (1) shall not be suspended unless:

(a) otherwise provided for in the Act; or

(b) whenever the Minister communicates to the Authority that a particular policy is being revised, and in such case, the Authority shall notify the public of such an intention by means of a publication on its official website and the Planning Board receives a request of an applicant within the period established in regulation 12(5). This suspension shall remain in force until the policy to be revised comes into force or unless the applicant withdraws the request for suspension.

(3) In the circumstances where:

(a) the Executive Chairperson is required to cause the proposal together with the name of the applicant to be re-published on the website of the Department of Information and also re-advertised by means of a notice affixed on the site, then the term established under sub-regulation (1) shall be automatically extended by a period of six weeks;

(b) the applicant makes a request, within the time-frame set out in regulation 12(5), for a deferral of the sitting of the Planning Board based on a valid reason, and such a request is upheld, the term established under sub-regulation (1) shall be automatically extended by a period of four weeks.

(4) (a) The Planning Board shall decide and determine any application during the first sitting, saving if a request for suspension or deferral has been upheld. During the first sitting, the Chairman of the Planning Board shall request each member of the Board present for the first sitting to express a provisional opinion on the recommendation of the Executive Chairperson. If the majority of members of the Planning Board present for the first sitting express a provisional opinion that, given no further clarification, their intention is to go against the recommendation if the Executive Chairperson, the Planning Board shall, in addition to the requirements of the Act, defer the determination of the application within a period not exceeding six weeks, propose a list of conditions or reasons for refusal, and add comments in the committee notes section of the report. The , the applicant, perit registered interested parties, the external consultees and, or other consultees shall be informed of the Planning Board’s proposal prior to the date of the deferred sitting: Provided that, for an application subject to the process of an Environmental Impact Assessment, the Planning Board shall also take into account the final report of Environment and Resources Authority, issued pursuant to the process of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

(b) The Planning Board may:

(i) request the applicant to file fresh plans and documents, in which case the Planning Board shall give reasons for such a request and provided that the request shall not constitute a material change;

(ii) request the applicant to furnish further information, in which case the Planning Board shall give reasons for requiring such further information; or

(iii) consult in terms of article 31 of the Act, in which case the Planning Board shall give reasons for requiring such consultation; in which case the Planning Board shall, during the sitting put off the decision on the application and establish a date for the next sitting for the determination of the application, such date being not later than six weeks from the date of the last sitting: Provided that any external consultees, and, or any other consultees and, or person who has made submissions on the application in terms of article 71(6) of the Act shall be informed that such fresh plans and documents, further information and replies to consultation in terms of article 31 of the Act have been so filed and shall also be invited to be present at the Planning Board’s sitting, as the case may be, when such application shall be discussed: Provided that any fresh plans and documents, and any further information and replies to consultation in terms of article 31 of the Act as above stated, have to be submitted at least fifteen days before the date of the next sitting and shall be directly referred to the Planning Board: Provided further that the Planning Board may also delegate to the Chairperson or any of its members, the power to endorse any revised plans or documents relating to any application under its consideration but shall not delegate such power to the Executive Chairperson.

(5) If the Planning Board imposes the payment of a fine, planning gain or any other contribution, or the provision of a financial guarantee or any other requirement, as a condition for the approval of a development application, the applicant shall, unless otherwise instructed by the Planning Board through the parameters as set out in any regulations relating to fees and contributions, make such a payment within a period of six months from the date of notification of a notice to this effect, failing which, the application will be dismissed.

(6) The Planning Board shall be authorised to amend the proposal of any application so as to better reflect the principle of the development without the need to comply with the provisions of regulation 6(1) to (5). However the amendments may not depart from the scope of the development or affect negatively the vested rights of the applicant.

(7) The decision notice shall be communicated to the applicant, the perit, external consultees, any other consultees and any registered interested party, within fifteen days from the date of the decision.

(8) For the purposes of these regulations:

(a) a copy of any approved drawings or documents shall be served by the Planning Board to the by perit electronic means;

(b) a copy of any approved drawings or documents shall be served by the Planning Board to the applicant by normal post to the postal address of the applicant as indicated in the application form. The term mentioned in article 13 of the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal Act shall commence from the date of publication of the notice of the decision on the website of the Department of Information in accordance with the provisions of regulation 6(6).