urbanisation – Syria Report

According to Announcement No. 853 on May 9, the Ministry of Local Administration and Services of the Syrian Salvation Government has started accepting objections, comments, and suggestions on the current zoning plan of the city of Idlib, issued in 2005. This initiative is accompanied by a topographic survey of the city, which has become the SSG’s administrative centre, in order to expand its zoning plan to accommodate the urban and population growth over the past years.

The current population of Idlib City is 374,000, based on the latest statistics from the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) of October 2023. This figure includes both original residents and displaced people. In 2010, the city’s population was estimated at around 165,000. The significant population increase has been the primary driver for revising the city’s zoning plan to meet the vital needs of the residents.

Since November 2023, the Urban Planning Directorate in the Ministry of Local Administration has been preparing planning studies and general and detailed zoning plans for cities and urban settlements in areas under SSG control in northwestern Syria. During this period, the directorate has completed new zoning plans for several cities and towns, including Harem, Sarmada, Salqin, and Dana, and has approved them after reviewing objections. The directorate is currently receiving objections to the zoning plan of Darat Izza in western Aleppo.

Announcements about the opening for objections to the zoning plans are posted on municipal notice boards, but they are not published on the municipalities’ social media pages. To object to the plan, a formal objection application must be submitted using an approved form available at central municipalities and their reception centres. The application must be accompanied by documents related to the subject property, including a cadastral plan, a real estate record proving ownership, and a handwritten letter explaining the objection, signed by the objector or their agent. All these documents should be compiled in one file, which should also contain the personal information of the objector.

Within the file, the objector must also submit a sketch showing the current status of their property within the zoning plan and another sketch with a proposed amendment to their property’s status, a correspondent for The Syria Report explained. Both sketches must clearly include the property number and coordinates at a 1:2000 scale. A survey committee approved by the Ministry prepares these sketches, and the objector bears the cost of their preparation.

Despite the deadline for objections to Idlib City’s zoning plan having officially ended on June 9, the Directorate is still accepting objections and applications.

Meanwhile, the Ministry will propose an expansion project for Idlib City’s zoning plan once the review of the current plan’s objections is complete. Mohammad Al-Ashqar, Director of the Urban Planning Directorate, told The Syria Report that there are no specific conditions for expanding Idlib’s zoning plan. Instead, urban planning standards regarding population density, public facilities, and streets will be used. The expansion work, including the review of objections, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

The proposed expansion will add 400 hectares to the current plan’s 800 hectares, resulting in a total urban plan area of about 1,200 hectares. Currently, there is no intention to expropriate new properties, but an expropriation plan may be considered after the expansion project is confirmed. According to Mr Al-Ashqar, the expansion of Idlib City’s plan is expected to accommodate about 150,000 people, equivalent to around 30,000 families.

Mahmoud Abadi, a structural engineering consultant, told The Syria Report that the expansion should accommodate population and urban growth for at least 40 years. Mr Abadi, a resident of Idlib, suggested that the expansion include the creation of residential suburbs on state-owned lands southwest of the town of Kafr Jales and Wadi Khaled in the city’s vicinity. He also proposed incorporating private agricultural lands bordered by the Idlib City Corniche into the residential areas within the expansion project. Alongside the expansion, building code in Idlib City should be revised to specify the allowed number of floors, lighting and ventilation conditions, structural safety, and adherence to the Syrian Arab Code for the Design and Implementation of Reinforced Concrete Structures.

Under Decision No. 991, issued on October 3, 2022, the Damascus governorate has agreed to grant “permits” for restoring, reinforcing, and rebuilding parts of licensed real estate properties in the Qaboun residential area. Recipients must implement these projects within six months of receiving their permits.

The governorate’s executive office stipulates that people wishing to obtain permits must meet certain conditions. They must obtain prior security approval and documents proving the structural soundness of their properties. In addition, they must provide ownership contracts and notarised pledges that they will not request any subsequent compensation should they be ordered to evacuate the area for zoning implementation purposes.

In June 2020, the Damascus governorate announced it had issued Detailed Zoning Plan No. 105 for the Qaboun residential area, in line with Planning and Urban Development Law No. 23 of 2015. The zoning plan was meant to be approved and issued by special decree, though this has yet to happen. In May 2021, some displaced residents were allowed to return to the Qaboun residential area after having met two conditions, i.e. submitting to a security investigation at the Air Force Intelligence branch in charge of the area and obtaining structural reports confirming their properties are safely habitable.

Interestingly, Decision No. 991 restricts restoration, reinforcement and reconstruction work to legally licensed properties, excluding any informally built structures. According to sources who spoke with The Syria Report, that leaves residents able to return to and restore buildings mainly in one area, a residential housing complex of apartment blocks and one-storey homes east of the Al-Ghufran Mosque. This area was not included in Detailed Zoning Plan No. 105, meaning it will not be re-zoned.

The buildings east of Al-Ghufran Mosque survived a wide-scale demolitions campaign carried out by regime forces after they had forcibly expelled residents and opposition fighters from the area in May 2017. These buildings are licensed, were built on previously zoned plots of land and were only partially damaged or not damaged by wartime fighting. Homeowners there also have official ownership documents. Sources told The Syria Report that the Damascus governorate would not grant restoration permits for damaged buildings in the area at risk of collapse, even if they were licensed or sit on previously zoned land.

Meanwhile, the conditions for obtaining security approval mean that the property owners who are eventually green-lighted to return home are those currently living in regime-held areas and are not wanted by the security services. If returnees have any family members who are wanted, they must commit to a “security settlement.” The settlements may include an extensive security investigation, arrest if there are unresolved search warrants, and military conscription for men who have yet to complete their military duty.

Appointed in July 2022, the new governor of Damascus set aside one day per week to listen to citizens’ complaints and petitions. Multiple delegations of Qaboun residents ended up visiting him. According to the preamble of Decision No. 991, which the governor signed, the decision came at the request of a member of the governorate’s executive office during a meeting held in late September. The decision had the unanimous support of the office at a meeting on October 3. Notably, October 3 was the last day the office met before the end of its term. Local administrative elections took place in September, with the new governorate council taking its constitutional oath and electing members of the new executive office on October 17. As a result, according to The Syria Report’s sources, the new office will be charged with following up on the implementation of Decision No. 991 without being responsible for issuing it.

One of the reasons for passing Decision No. 991 may be that the Damascus governorate needs more funds to start zoning the Qaboun residential area per Detailed Zoning Plan No. 105. This comes in light of the governorate’s failure in other zoning projects in Marota City and Basilia City, raising the new governor’s fears that unlicensed construction could restart in Qaboun if displaced residents are allowed to return. Meanwhile, the governor is trying to demolish unlicensed buildings across the capital city, following extensive, similar demolition campaigns he led during his time as governor of Hama. He is considered among the Syrian governors most keen on enforcing Decree No. 40 of 2012, which concerns unlicensed construction.

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