To grant a municipal commercial development plan

Service providers

• The service providers who will carry out the commercial development plan must be approved by the SPW Economy (The list of approved offices can be consulted on the website of the Department of commercial establishments).
• The service providers who will produce the environmental impact report do not need to be approved.
• The service providers are appointed by the Municipal Council.
• The service providers are appointed through a public contract.
• The Municipal Council may appoint the same person responsible for drawing up the draft plan and the report on environmental impacts.
• A municipality can call on a public-private partnership to draw up its commercial development plan. The private partner may under no circumstances be in conflict of interest with the work it finances.

Territory

• A commercial development plan does not need necessarily and systematically to cover the entire municipal territory. The options and recommendations for commercial development can be specified for all or part of the municipal territory.
• Several municipalities can work out, in consultation, a municipal commercial development plan. The municipal councils appoint the same person for the development of the draft plans and the report on the environmental impacts is common. The public inquiry and the consultations take place at the same time for the different schemes. Ultimately, these municipalities must adopt a commercial development plan for their own municipal territory. The municipal commercial development plans of neighboring municipalities will coordinate to pursue a common logic and policy. This approach can make sense when commercial equipment of a certain size influence the territory of several municipalities. Finally, this pooling could allow substantial economies of scale.

The approval of a municipal commercial development plan represents an added value for the municipality.

The municipal commercial development plan will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to grant or refuse a commercial establishment permit (or an integrated permit in that it takes the place of a commercial establishment permit).

The procedure for adopting the municipal plan consists of the following steps:

STEP 1: Who carries out the project?

The Municipal Council appoint, by public contract, the service providers for the realization of the commercial development plan and the report on the environmental impacts.

STEP 2: Provisional approval of the municipal commercial development plan project

The Municipal Council provisionally adopts the draft plan. It transmits this project to the Walloon Government.

STEP 3: The environmental impact report

The Walloon Government determines the minimum draft of the environmental impact report. He submits it to various bodies for their opinion. Based on these opinions, the Walloon Government definitively determines the information that the environmental impact report must contain. He forwards it to the Municipal Council.

STEP 4: Second provisional approval of the municipal commercial development plan accompanied by the environmental impact report

The analysis of the environmental impact report will probably have an impact on the municipal plan which will need to be modified accordingly. After reworking the scheme accompanied by the environmental impact report, it will once again be approved on a provisional basis.

STEP 5: Public inquiry and opinion

The draft plan and the report on the environmental impacts are submitted by the Municipal College to a public inquiry.

The two documents are also submitted by the College, for opinion, to:

• The Retail Observatory
• The Environmental Department of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council
• The delegated official
• The commercial establishment official
• The persons and bodies that it deems necessary to consult, such as, for example, the Consultative Commission for Regional Planning and Mobility of the municipality in question or the Commission for approval of the author of commercial plans

STEP 6: Declaration and final adoption of the municipal commercial development plan

As soon as the municipal plan and the environmental impact report are modified on the basis of the observations and opinions issued by the bodies and the public consulted, the Municipal Council adopts them definitively. The Municipal Council draws up an environmental statement which summarizes the way in which environmental considerations have been integrated into the plan. The City Council also determines the main monitoring measures for the significant environmental impact of the implementation of the plan.

STEP 7: Sending the municipal commercial development plan to the commercial establishment official

The Municipal College sends the plan, accompanied by the complete file (the decision on the adoption of the plan, the environmental declaration and measures adopted for monitoring the impacts), to the commercial establishment official.

STEP 8: Transmission to the Government

Within thirty days, the Commercial Establishment Official sends the plan to the Government and sends a copy of this sending to the Municipal College.

STEP 9: Possible amending documents

The Government can ask the Communal College to produce amending documents and an additional report on the environmental impacts of the plan.

These documents are subject to a new public inquiry and for advice to various bodies. However, the public inquiry is not necessary if these documents respond to a proposal made following the public inquiry or an opinion formulated by the official of commercial establishments or an advisory body.

These opinions are sent to the Municipal College.

The Municipal Council definitively adopts the amending documents and the additional report on the environmental impacts. The municipal council transmits the documents to the municipal college which sends them to the commercial establishment official.

The Commercial Establishment Official sends the documents to the Walloon Government and sends a copy of this sending to the Municipal College.

The Walloon Government can only ask twice to produce amending documents and the additional environmental impact report of the plan.

STEP 10: Government decision and sending of the decision

The government approves or refuses to approve the scheme.

The approval of the scheme takes place considering:

1. The regularity of the procedure
2. The compliance with the regional commercial development plan

STEP 11: Publicity measures

The decision to approve or refuse the municipal commercial development plan, the environmental declaration and the measures adopted concerning monitoring are published in the Belgian Monitor and on the environment portal of the Walloon Region site, as well as on the site of the or the municipalities affected by the effects of the plan.

STEP 12: Monitoring and review of the Municipal commercial development plan

The Municipal College periodically submits a report to the Municipal Council on the monitoring of the significant environmental impacts of the implementation of the municipal commercial development plan as well as on any corrective measures to be taken.

The public is informed.

If a commercial development plan needs to be revised, only the elements related to the revision must be entered in the application file.

• Decree of 5 February 2015 concerning commercial establishments - The municipal commercial development plan (Art. 16 to 26)

  http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/decret/2015/02/05/2015200758/justel...