Planning

What you can do on the land is determined by the zoning. Planning is governed by legislation, various recommendations and decisions (e.g. the National Spatial Development Goals) and decisions taken by the City Council (e.g. the Land Policy Programme and the Building Regulations), with the overall aim of creating a safe, healthy and pleasant living and working environment for individuals, service providers and businesses.

The North Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment(ELY Centre) promotes land use planning in the municipality and ensures that national and important provincial issues are taken into account in land use planning, construction and other land use.

At the regional level, the Regional Association(Pohjois-Savo liitto) is responsible for land use planning and draws up the regional plan. The regional plan guides municipal planning when it is necessary to control large-scale impacts that affect several municipalities.

The city draws up general plans and zoning plans. The general planshows the main features of land use in large areas, while the zoning planshows how the land is to be used and built upon in more detail. These plans are prepared by the Technical Commission. The preparation, information and interaction procedures are carried out by the urban planning service of the technical division.