Representing client in legal dispute over a comprehensive plan failing to determine the principal purpose of land use and noise category

RASK attorneys Sandra Kaas and Villy Lopman are representing a client in a legal dispute regarding the new comprehensive plan for Tartu municipality. Specifically, the issue at stake is whether standard levels of ambient noise apply to land areas designated with no principal purpose.

The client’s property is situated next to a factory, whose operations generate significant noise disturbances, which exceed permitted limits. Under Tartu’s new comprehensive spatial plan, the client’s property was categorised as a land area with no principal purpose. However, noise sensitivity (including applicable noise standards) is directly linked to the principal purposes established by the comprehensive plan, as noise categories are determined according to the principal purposes of land use rather than the intended purpose listed in the land register or the actual use of the land.

Legally, a land area designated with no principal purpose falls outside any noise category, meaning it is not considered a noise-sensitive area to which the standard levels of ambient noise outlined in Regulation No. 71 would apply. Consequently, the adoption of the comprehensive plan neglected the client’s rights and interests.