Decision on preparation of planning document: Normative framework, characteristics, problems and proposals for improvement

In accordance with the valid normative framework in Serbia, the decision on preparation of a planning document is rendered by the authority competent for its adoption, upon securing the prior opinion of the authority responsible for professional control, i.e. the planning commission, except for the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia, for which the decision on the preparation is rendered by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, on the proposal of the ministry responsible for spatial planning. Although one of the initial ones, the decision on preparation of a planning document represents a very significant step in the planning process, which in practice very often focuses only on meeting formal conditions, without sufficient consideration of possible consequences in the further process of preparation and adoption of planning documents. In this sense, the paper discusses the normative framework for the decision on preparation of a planning document, it presents the basic characteristics with examples from domestic and foreign practice, and it points out the problems that arise, in order to provide proposals for improving the situation in this area in the concluding part of the paper.