Spatial Planning and Policy in Israel: The Cases of Netanya and Umm al-Fahm

150 Pages·2017·3.839 MB·English

by  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Spatial Planning and Policy
in Israel
The CaSeS of NeTaNya aNd Umm al‑fahm
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Spatial Planning
and Policy in Israel
THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL FAHM
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The
opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official
views of OECD member countries.
This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or
sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries
and to the name of any territory, city or area.
Please cite this publication as:
OECD (2017), Spatial Planning and Policy in Israel: The Cases of Netanya and Umm al-Fahm, OECD
Publishing, Paris.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264277366-en
ISBN 978-92-64-27735-9 (print)
ISBN 978-92-64-27736-6 (PDF)
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use
of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli
settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
Photo credits: Cover © Jeffrey Fisher
Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm.
© OECD 2017
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(CFC) at [email protected].
3
FOREWORD –

Foreword
How land is used affects a wide range of factors, from day-to-day quality of life
factors, such as the availability of food and clean water and the length of daily commutes,
to the long-term sustainability of urban and rural communities, including the possibility
for climate change adaptation and mitigation. How governments regulate land use and
address public and private investment, how competencies are allocated across levels of
government, and how land use is taxed, are critical for all of these things and more.
The importance of better understanding land-use policies has been underscored by a
wide range of developments, including the recent formation and subsequent bursting of real
estate bubbles in a number of OECD countries, the growth of renewable energy production,
changing demographics, the provision of public services including public transport,
environmental concerns, spatial planning, changes in lifestyles and tourism, and growing
concerns regarding food security. These examples illustrate the strong relationship that
currently exists between land-use policies, social development and macroeconomic trends.
The interactions between institutions and markets can heavily influence the supply,
availability, function and location of land. A major function of the planning system is to
balance property rights against the public interest by translating spatial development
processes into physical form. Land-use regulations and tax regimes create various
incentives and disincentives that are played out across landscapes. The interface between
these issues is complex and often contested, in particular on the fringes of urban and rural
areas, in brownfield redevelopment zones, and in areas of social deprivation. Any policy
interventions, therefore, need to be carefully designed to be effective. A major role of
planning is to proactively address and mediate these conflicts where they occur. This
requires strong public engagement and communication – hence a growing tradition of
collaborative and communicative planning.
Given the “nestedness” of spatial planning, it is no surprise that the multi-level
governance challenges involved are complex – determining the appropriate level of
planning, regulation oversight and implementation is difficult. Moreover, forms of land
governance are likely to depend on the institutional history of a country and are, for
example, often influenced by the country-specific evolution of the system of property
rights, land-use planning and land market institutions.
This report is produced by the OECD’s Regional Development Policy Committee
(and its Working Parties on Urban and on Rural Policy) as part of its programme of
research on the governance of land use. This study of spatial and land-use planning in
Israel is the fifth of several land-use studies that the OECD has undertaken. The report,
together with other governance of land-use case studies, has in turn informed The
Governance of Land Use in OECD Countries: Policy Analysis and Recommendations
(2017), which provides policy analysis and a synthesis of the main recommendations
from OECD work on land use. The OECD has also produced a companion volume to this
report – Land-Use Planning Systems in the OECD: Country Fact Sheets (2017) – which
provides a descriptive overview of land-use planning systems across OECD countries.
SPATIAL PLANNING AND POLICY IN ISRAEL: THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL-FAHM © OECD 2017
4
– ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements
Spatial Planning and Policy in Israel: The cases of Netanya and Umm al-Fahm
contributes to a larger multi-country study of land use in OECD countries. It was prepared at
the request of the Israeli Planning Administration within the Ministry of Finance. The report
was produced by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Local Development and
Tourism and its Regional Development Policy Division, led by Joaquim Oliveira-Martins.
The OECD Secretariat wishes to extend warm thanks to Karin Talmor and Noemi
Liebermann from the Israeli Planning Administration for project management, co-ordination
and review. This report benefited greatly from the expertise and guidance provided by the
Local Team in the Israeli Planning Administration: Zofia Santo, Idit Ben Basat, Haim
Fialkoff, Tzvia Efrati, Michal Amitai, Binat Schwarz-Milner and Shira Brand; the Local
Team in Netanya: Sara Gazit, Michal Avidan, Paul Vital, and Yaar Architects as well as Lior
Regev, Yehudith Shmidt and Guy Kaplan (Central Planning District); and the Local Team in
Umm al-Fahm: Halad Agbaria, Mahamid Suliman, Taufiq Gabarin, Enaya Banna (Local
Planning Committee) and Ronen Segal (Haifa Planning District) as well as Adeeb Daoud
Naccache. Special thanks also to the many experts who provided comment and review: Ofer
Raz-Dror (National Economic Council), Amit Yagor-Carol, Fabianna Schwartz, Sigalit Maze
and George Khun (Central Bureau of Statistics), Sivan Lehavi, Gal Hagit Romano, Shiri
Shanetski and Katya Barak (Local Government Administration in the Ministry of Interior),
Aiman Saif and Iris Cohen Frenkel (Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab,
Druze and Circassian Sectors), Kobi Braude (Bank of Israel), Eran Razin (Hebrew
University), and also officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Construction and
Housing, the Urban Renewal Authority, the Israeli Land Authority and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. The Secretariat is also grateful for the co-operation and support of the
numerous officials, experts and non-profit representatives in Israel who shared their insights
with the team during the study. In particular, the Secretariat thanks the participants and
co-ordinators of the thematic workshop held in Tel Aviv, organised by the Local Team of the
Israeli Planning Administration and the Tel Aviv Planning District.
This report was co-ordinated and drafted by Daniela Glocker, OECD, under the
supervision of Rudiger Ahrend, Head of Urban Unit, and Jose Enrique Garcilazo, Head of
Rural Unit. Additional contributions were made by Tamara Krawchenko. Valuable comments
were provided on various drafts of this report by Kate Lancaster, Alexander Lembcke, Karen
Maguire, Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Abel Schumann, Andrea Uhrhammer and by participants
of an OECD Regional Development Policy brownbag seminar. Special thanks also to Shay
Bialik (former delegate of Israel’s Permanent Delegation to OECD), Talia Kaufmann
(Northeastern University) and André Torre (National Institute for Agronomic Research).
Finally, many thanks to Joanne Dundon, Pilar Philip and Cécile Cordoliani for preparing the
report for publication.
SPATIAL PLANNING AND POLICY IN ISRAEL: THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL-FAHM © OECD 2017
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS –

Table of contents
Acronyms and abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 7
Executive summary ........................................................................................................................... 9
Assessment and recommendations ................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 1. Land use and spatial planning in Israel ...................................................................... 25
The planning system in Israel ........................................................................................................ 26
The practical application of the planning system .......................................................................... 36
Towards a more flexible planning system and how recent efforts compare
to OECD countries ........................................................................................................................ 41
Summary and outlook ................................................................................................................... 50
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 52
References ..................................................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 2. The housing crisis as catalyst for policy reforms ....................................................... 59
The housing crisis .......................................................................................................................... 60
Governmental strategies to address the housing crisis .................................................................. 66
The main challenges of immediate policy programmes targeted at quickly increasing
housing supply............................................................................................................................... 73
Summary and outlook ................................................................................................................... 80
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 81
References ..................................................................................................................................... 82
Chapter 3. Land use and spatial planning in Netanya, Israel ...................................................... 85
Setting the scene for Netanya ........................................................................................................ 86
Planning in Netanya ...................................................................................................................... 95
Towards a new Local Comprehensive Plan for Netanya .............................................................. 96
Main challenges for plan implementation in Netanya ................................................................. 100
Planning challenges within the broader regional context ............................................................ 105
Key findings and recommendations ............................................................................................ 108
Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 110
References ................................................................................................................................... 111
Chapter 4. Land use and spatial planning in Umm al-Fahm, Israel ......................................... 115
Overview of the Arab minority sector in Israel ........................................................................... 117
Setting the scene for Umm al-Fahm ............................................................................................ 121
Planning in Umm al-Fahm .......................................................................................................... 130
Towards a new Local Comprehensive Plan for Umm al-Fahm .................................................. 133
Main challenges for plan implementation in Umm al-Fahm ....................................................... 135
Key findings and recommendations ............................................................................................ 138
Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 142
References ................................................................................................................................... 143
SPATIAL PLANNING AND POLICY IN ISRAEL: THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL-FAHM © OECD 2017
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– TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tables
1.1. The evolution of statutory district master plans in Israel ................................................... 36
2.1. Programmes and policies promoted and supervised by the Israeli Housing
Headquarters and the Housing Commission to increase the supply of housing units ....... 69
2.2. Examples for fiscal instruments for managing development ............................................. 78
3.1. Municipal tax rates for different types of property (“Arnona”) ......................................... 91
3.2. Quantitative objectives defined in Netanya’s local comprehensive plan ........................... 99
4.1. Socio-economic ranking 2013 of similar-sized cities in Israel surrounding
Umm al-Fahm ................................................................................................................ 129
4.2. Main characteristics of local authorities in the Wadi Ara planning area ......................... 132

Figures
1.1. Israel’s planning system ..................................................................................................... 27
2.1. House and rental price development, 2008-2015 ............................................................... 61
2.2. Structure of local revenues and expenditures in Israel ....................................................... 62
2.3. Municipal income and spending patterns in Israel, 2014 ................................................... 63
2.4. Development of household size in Israel and number of rooms in dwellings,
1980-2014 ......................................................................................................................... 65
2.5. Change in housing expenditure in Israel and share of persons by housing tenure,
2005-2012 ......................................................................................................................... 65
3.1. Change in the use of land in Netanya ................................................................................ 87
3.2. Areas for public amenities (m2 per capita) – Netanya and its Israeli peers, 2014.............. 88
3.3. Commercial and industrial area in relation to residential area: Netanya
and its Israeli peers, 2014 .................................................................................................. 91
3.4. Property taxes in Netanya – charged and collected, 2008-2014 ........................................ 92
3.5. Socio-economic-index – Netanya and its Israeli peers ...................................................... 93
3.6. Socio-economic characteristics of neighbourhoods in Netanya, 2008 .............................. 94
4.1. Satisfaction of Israel’s population with their area of residence ...................................... 117
4.2. Change in the use of land in Umm al-Fahm .................................................................... 122
4.3. Areas for public amenities (m2 per capita) – Umm al-Fahm and its Israeli peers ........... 124
4.4. Commercial and industrial area in relation to residential area – Umm al-Fahm
and its Israeli peers, 2014 ................................................................................................ 125
4.5. Property taxes in Umm al-Fahm – charged and collected 2008-2014 ............................. 126
4.6. Socio-economic-index – Umm al-Fahm and its Israeli peers .......................................... 128
4.7. Socio-economic characteristics of neighbourhoods in Umm al-Fahm, 2008 .................. 129

SPATIAL PLANNING AND POLICY IN ISRAEL: THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL-FAHM © OECD 2017
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS –

Acronyms and abbreviations
BoI Bank of Israel
CBS Central Bureau of Statistics
DMP District Master Plan
ILA Israel Land Administration
IPA Israeli Planning Administration
ILS New Israeli Shekels
LCMP Local Comprehensive Plan
LMP Local Master Plan
NPP National Master Plan
VATMAL National Planning and Building Committee for Priority Housing
Areas
SPATIAL PLANNING AND POLICY IN ISRAEL: THE CASES OF NETANYA AND UMM AL-FAHM © OECD 2017