The State Authority of Urban Planning and Construction

In the office with the Chief Director of Construction, Roman Skorka.

In November 2022, I was appointed by the Slovak government to the position of vice-president of the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic. The Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic was established on June 1, 2022, based on a decision of the Parliament. From the day of its establishment, it carries out all the activities necessary to ensure the proper operation of the office and the transfer of rights and obligations in the field of spatial planning, construction and expropriation according to the existing generally binding legal regulations from the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic to the office from January 1, 2023.

My key role is to oversee the preparation process of secondary legislation and other regulations related to spatial planning. This involves ensuring the integration of the needs of ministries, public, private, and non-governmental sectors into the content of the regulations, creating positive alliances among partners in the spirit of reform. The goal of this reform is not only to accelerate and streamline construction and planning but also to achieve a better balance between economic, social, and environmental development requirements.

In the first year, we successfully developed and, after inter-ministerial consultations, published the ordinance on spatial planning documentation in the official collection of laws. We are also preparing another ordinance on spatial-technical regulations and a methodology for spatial plans. Our efforts are focused on 2024, as this is such a fundamental change that these documents will need to be periodically updated to reflect new practices after decades of stagnation.

During my tenure as Vice-Chair until July 12, 2024, I was responsible for spatial planning and the development of related legislation. I successfully brought the following to completion—publication in the collection of decrees of the Slovak Republic:

1. The Decree No. 392/2023 Coll. on the content and methods of processing spatial planning documentation, on spatial planning materials, and on general requirements for spatial organization and land use.

2. The Decree No. 49/2024 Coll. - Decree of the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic, establishing the content and form of the application for registration in the register of professionally qualified persons and the method for verifying professional qualifications.

3. The Decree No. 54/2024 Coll. establishing the templates for forms used by the spatial planning and construction information system.

4. The Decree No. 69/2024 Coll. - Decree of the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic on Territorial Technical Requirements for Construction.

5. The Decree No. 153/2024 Coll. of the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic on Standards and Methodology for Processing Spatial Planning Documentation and Spatial Planning Materials.

A special project I initiated and contributed to was the popularization of construction legislation through a limited series podcast titled Fér Plan. Over the course of five episodes, we explained the most significant changes introduced by the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic between 2022 and 2024.

You can listen to the podcast here: