Planning levels

Planning is governed by the Land Use and Building Act (LUBA), the Land Use and Building Decree (LUBD) and national goals for land use.

The national goals for land use are part of the system implemented by the Land Use and Building Act for land use planning. The goals constitute the Government’s view of the use of an area out of national interest. The most important task of the goals is to ensure that issues of national interest are considered in land use planning.

Regional land use plans

• Prepared  by the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia
• includes several municipalities
• shows the location of the most important parts of the landscape such as urban and central areas, the main roads and regional green areas
• controls the preparation of local master plans and local detailed plans

Local master plans

• prepared by the planning department / public works committee
• approved by the municipal council
• can cover the entire municipality or only parts of the municipality
• presents / shows the main areas of use of an area, i.e. residential zones, commercial zones, green zones
• controls the preparation of local detailed plans

Local detailed plans

• prepared by the planning department / public works committee
• approved by the municipal council, with the exception of plans with minor impacts on surroundings which can be approved by the public works committee
• the size / scope of the local detailed plan varies
• shows detailed area use; the number of plots, purposes of use and building rights