Saaremaa residents risk losing coastal building exemptions

Residents of Saaremaa could lose existing exceptions that allow construction closer to the coast, as the island municipality prepares a new comprehensive plan, ERR reports.

Former municipalities in Saare County secured permission for construction closer than the 200-metre coastal building exclusion zone generally in force on the islands. Saaremaa has more than 110 such areas, covering nearly 1,000 hectares.

The Environmental Board says the exceptions may not automatically carry over to the new plan. Under the Planning Act, the previous comprehensive plan will be cancelled when the new one takes effect, and the municipality must review the earlier reductions and submit applications for them again, said Kaili Viilma, head of the board’s Nature Use Department.

If valuable species or habitats have since appeared, or the coastline has changed, the board may decide that the earlier assessment is no longer valid and that granting construction rights would harm natural habitats, Viilma said.

Saaremaa Municipality Deputy Mayor Priit Riim said the municipality would ask for all current exceptions to remain in place. He said residents had bought property on the understanding that, in some cases, the exclusion zone had been reduced by 100 metres, and that restoring the full 200-metre restriction would seem unfair.

The Environmental Board will also review reductions approved through detailed plans. However, if construction has already begun in a reduced zone, the board says it will take that into account and will not reverse the earlier decision.