Build first, apply for a permit later was the maxim that the planning law enacted in 2010 sought to stamp out.

Until then it was not unheard of for developers to go ahead and build, only to apply for a permit to sanction the illegality when the planning authority clamped down with an enforcement notice.

The practice was particularly objectionable when the illegality happened outside a development zone, which prompted the creation of the sixth schedule that included a list of developments that could not be sanctioned.

The daily fine will replace the list of developments that cannot be sanctioned

But what the planning law tried to do four years ago is likely to be reversed if a proposal to delete the sixth schedule goes through.

The proposal is one of more than 100 suggestions included in the consultation document For an efficient planning system released on Tuesday as part of the process to split the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Drafted by architect Robert Musumeci, the government’s planning consultant, the proposal is to introduce a daily fine on developments where an application to sanction has been filed.

The daily fine will replace the list of developments that cannot be sanctioned. It will apply from the date of submission of an application to sanction to the date of permission, if granted.

The document also proposes an increase in fines but does not quantify the amount.

This reversal in policy may raise eyebrows, more so when the new planning authority is expected to issue “warning notices” before issuing stop and enforcement notices.

Enforcement notices will also be suspended for “all cases” when an application to sanction has been submitted. However, this will not apply to stop notices.

But the document also proposes curtailing the authority’s power to order the removal of an illegal development during the processing of an application when no enforcement notice has been issued.

Another significant proposed change to the 2010 planning law is the reintroduction of the outline permit. This had been removed to eliminate the confusion over what developers could or could not do once the planning authority had granted them such a permit.

This became glaringly obvious last year when the Mepa board had no legal option but to approve the full development permit for the building of hundreds of apartments on Xemxija ridge.

The project had an outline permit that was subject to reserved matters and given that it had been scaled back – not significantly enough according to green groups – Mepa had no option but to give the green light.

However, the document is suggesting that the full development application would have to be submitted within a time limit that is not specified and failure to do so would nullify the outline permit.

Contrary to what used to happen in the past when excavation works could start, the document proposes that no development may start without a full development permit.

The government is also proposing that permissions granted after August 3, 2006, and which have expired, would be renewed until March 31, 2015.

A significant development will be the creation of an Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. This will be set up under a distinct law and apart from applicants and registered objectors, statutory authorities such as the new Environment and Resources Authority (see below) will be able to appeal the planning board’s decision.

The consultation period on the Mepa demerger, as it is officially known, closes on April 22.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com