Landowners and developers should not enjoy all of the windfall profits from local authority rezonings, while local authorities should face tougher spending controls, the Progressive Democrats' local election manifesto has declared.
"We do not believe that ownership of land entitles the owner to capture all the development potential of the value that arises from a rezoning decision. This has resulted in windfall and lottery-like, arbitrary profits for some landowners and for people who speculate in land before rezoning decisions.
"Where Compulsory Purchase Orders are used by local authorities to buy land, the price should not include the full value of development potential value. Only a portion of the proceeds of the development potential auction price should be allocated to the landowner," the manifesto said, without specifying a percentage.
"There is a real widespread public concern about some developers apparently holding on to development land without proceeding to build houses."
Developers should, therefore, be forced publicly to disclose such options, which would be declared null and void if they were not declared.
Speaking yesterday, the Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Harney, left open the possibility of a competition authority investigation into "the tiny few" owning land banks.
Local authorities also needed to plan developments better and to improve the standards of each new building: "I have to express huge concern about the quality of many of the buildings being erected in this very city. It is not good enough. We do not want to see modern-day slums 20 years from now.
"We have to place a greater emphasis on the quality of planning as much as on where things are built. We don't need quick-fix solutions. It is not being nanny-statish to say that we do have to have rules about the type of buildings, the design, the façade of buildings particularly where they are trying to fit in with existing streetscapes. That is not being done in my view in the capital city, but also in many, many towns around the country," the Tánaiste declared.
Existing planning laws should be enforced rigidly: "Enforcing planning law and decisions is critical to public confidence in local government. Enforcement starts with the political direction and political will from elected representatives. Progressive Democrats local representatives will give this leadership," the manifesto promises.
Pointing out that just 20 auditors examine the spending of the State's 207 local authority bodies, Ms Harney said: "We have to ensure that public money is wisely spent and that the public is getting value-for-money."
Independent auditors should be appointed to examine each local authority's spending, though this should not create "a huge new bureaucracy".
"Our planning system for quite some time now has been brought into disrepute," said the Tánaiste, who added that the Government would be anxious to take the Mahon tribunal's final recommendations on board, though it could not wait until then to take action.
Proposing an independent agency to oversee planning rezoning decisions, she said: "Whilst I do strongly believe that planning and the rezoning of land is a function for local decision-makers and locally-elected people, I do believe that there needs to be some independent input about the amount of land that needs to rezoned and where it should be. It is incompatible with the Government's National Spatial Strategy not to have independent analysis of what is required in terms of land."
