Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, March 28 2024 - The Green Guarantor continues its activities of listening to citizens and associations, discussing highlighted or current issues with the Administration and the competent offices.

The Guarantor has started a fruitful dialogue with the Lombardy Region to monitor the evolution of the legislation on land consumption in order to safeguard the green and permeable areas still present in the municipal territory. In the absence of a national framework law on the reduction of land consumption, the regulatory reference is what was established in 2011 by the European Commission (COM/2011/571) which, setting the objective of zeroing net land consumption by 2050 , directs Member States to act on two main elements with territorial policies: the limitation of land occupation "limit land take" and the limitation of soil sealing "limit soil sealing". The two elements express complementary concepts that aim at the same objective of protecting the "soil" resource and reflect the approach adopted in reading land consumption respectively by the Regions and by the "National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA)/Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)”.

Furthermore, the Green Guarantor monitors with great interest the developments of the Bill currently in Committee in the Senate, which contains provisions on "Urban regeneration and sustainable use of land". In particular, it highlights with positive judgment the content of the art. 3 paragraph 1 which states: “From the date of entry into force of this law, consumption or waterproofing of new soil for any intended use is not permitted”.

Furthermore, it favorably highlights the contents referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the art. 7: “The regions, within one hundred and eighty days from the date of entry into force of this law, in compliance with the national plan referred to in law 14 January 2013, n.10, define criteria and methods for implementing the greenery and free surfaces plan urban and urban reforestation, which must be adopted by each municipality within twelve months of the date of entry into force of this law"; “The Municipalities have the obligation to equip themselves and approve, within one year from the date of entry into force of this law, the Green Plan as a preparatory planning tool for the drafting of the General Master Plan, which must be updated on the basis of the first within the first available deadline and must contain a strategic vision of green infrastructures and an organic program for the development of the urban and peri-urban green system in the medium-long term, which provides for planning based on ecosystemic, structural, morphological, aesthetic and environmental aspects of every green type, on its relationship with the built environment, as well as on the social demand from the community".

The Green Guarantor, also in light of this Bill, expresses satisfaction with the Administration's recent declarations of wanting to define the Green Plan with a process parallel to the revision of the PGT in progress, through a procedure that harmonizes the contents of the two plans, to protect and safeguard the soil and greenery.