THE SCOT IS ESSENTIAL WHERE THE COASTAL LAW APPLIES

Coastal law and the SCOT

Articles L. 121-3 and L. 121-13 of the town planning code that an operation leading to the extension of the urbanisation of an area close to the shore can only be legally authorised if it is :

-limited in scope,

-and, on the other hand, justified and reasoned in the local urban development plan (PLU) in accordance with the criteria set out in the aforementioned articles.

However, when a territorial coherence plan (SCOT) contains provisions that are sufficiently precise and compatible with these legislative provisions, which specify the conditions for the extension of urban development in the area close to the shore in which the operation is planned, the limited nature of the urban development resulting from this operation is assessed by taking into account these provisions of the plan concerned.

CE, 21 avr. 2023, n° 456788, Mentionné aux tables du recueil Lebon

What you need to know (Coastal law and the SCOT) :

The Littoral law applies to more than 1,200 municipalities bordering the sea. But also large lakes, estuaries and deltas.

The aim is to reconcile preservation and development of the coastline.

Law no. 86-2 of 3 January 1986 on coastal development, protection and enhancement

1 - The objectives of the law are :

-. Preserving natural areas, sites, landscapes and the ecological balance of the coastline

-. Develop economic activities linked to the proximity of water

-. Graduated protection depending on proximity to the shoreline

-. Giving local decision-makers the means to achieve sustainable coastal development

-. Enable projects to be carried out that are proportionate and adapted to economic and environmental issues

-. Allow local decision-makers to adapt the law to suit local circumstances

-And finally, to strengthen research and innovation into the specific features and resources of the coastline.

La Coastlines Act, It applies not only to seaside municipalities, but also to those on large lakes, estuaries and deltas.

«Coastal municipalities» are defined by the’article L. 321-2 of the Environment Code like municipalities in mainland France and the French overseas departments:

-Seaside areas of seas and oceans, salt ponds and inland water bodies with a surface area of more than 1,000 hectares; ;

-estuaries and deltas when they are located downstream of the salt water limit and contribute to the economic and ecological balance of the coast. The list of these communes is set by decree in the Conseil d'État, after consultation with the municipal councils concerned.

2 - The territorial coherence plan (SCoT) :

The Territorial Coherence Scheme (SCoT) is an urban planning document. At the level of a project area, it determines the spatial organisation and broad development guidelines of a territory.

The SCoT is a strategic planning document which constitutes both :

 a tool for transcribing the regional project ;
 and a pivotal document for strategic, cross-thematic regional planning, linking the Regional Plan for Spatial Planning, Sustainable Development and Equality (SRADDET, supported by the Region), and municipal and inter-municipal town planning documents (communal maps, local town planning schemes and supporting documents).

The SCoT can be drawn up by :

-one public establishment for intermunicipal cooperation (EPCI) ;

-a mixed syndicate, a metropolitan cluster or a territorial and rural balance cluster (PETR) made up exclusively of municipalities and competent EPCIs within the SCoT perimeter;

-a mixed syndicate, provided that the communes and EPCIs with jurisdiction within the SCoT perimeter have all joined the mixed syndicate and transferred jurisdiction over the SCoT to it (in which case the specific voting conditions set out in the town planning code apply).