Court orders more time for comment on planning reform

"The timetable set by the government is not sacrosanct; there is no emergency here."

10 March 10 20:24, Michal Margalit

Environmental organizations have won a victory in their campaign against the government's plans for planning reform. The High Court of Justice told the state today that it must recommend to the ministerial legislation committee that it should extend the time allowed for comment on the proposed changes to planning and building law, and found that the timetable set for examining the bill, which runs to 241 pages, was impossible.

The High Court of Justice session followed a petition filed last week by six environmental organizations, among them Adam Teva V'Din and The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

The time set for examining the bill is 21 days. The judges said, "To give 21 days for comment on such a quantity of material of such complexity is impossible. The timetable set by the government is not sacrosanct; there is no emergency here."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 10, 2010

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