Master planning process in stages

When a master planning process is initiated, we publish an announcement on the city’s website and in the Länsiväylä and Hufvudstadsbladet newspapers. Information on master planning is also provided in the annual planning review. 

The planners of the master plan prepare a participation and assessment scheme. It includes: 

• the starting points and purpose of the master plan; 
• the preparation and decision-making process;  
• information on how interaction and residents’ participation are organised during different stages of planning; 
• information on how the impacts of the plan will be assessed. 

During the starting stage, elected officials, interested parties and planners create a vision for the city’s future based on the Espoo Story. The City Board decides on the objectives of the master plan. 

During the starting stage, residents have the opportunity to participate in setting the objectives of the master plan, for example by responding to surveys or by taking part in events. 

We will publish the participation and assessment scheme on the plan webpage. The material can be examined for example at the City of Espoo Service Points or at the customer service of Urban Environment Sectors in Otaniemi. These locations have customer computers and staff available to help you. 

For the purpose of master planning, planners need to have information on the current situation and examine possible future developments. During the preparation stage, planners collect initial information and prepare the first draft of the future plan. At the same time, they assess the impacts of the master plan for example on: 

• people’s living conditions and environment; 
• the environment and climate, nature and natural resources; 
• the regional and community structure, community and energy economy;  
• transport and mobility; 
• the cityscape, landscape and cultural environments; 
• the business community. 

During the preparation stage, residents have the opportunity to participate in residents’ events and submit their opinion on the draft plan. 

The preparation stage is a good time to have your say on a master plan. Plans are preliminary, and there is room for new perspectives and ideas. When you give feedback, it also makes sense to mention the elements of the draft plan that you think are good. This will help ensure that these elements remain part of the plan during the next stage. 

The City Planning Committee decides on making a draft master plan available for public review. The draft plan will be available on the plan webpage for at least 30 days. The material can be examined for example at the City of Espoo Service Points or at the customer service of Urban Environment Sectors in Otaniemi. These locations have customer computers and staff available to help you.  

All interested parties can submit a written opinion to the city’s Registry Office by 15:45 on the last day of the public review period.  

• You can send your opinion by email to kirjaamo@espoo.fi or by mail to City of Espoo Registry Office, P.O. Box 1, 02070 City of Espoo.  
• Your opinion should include the plan name and the area number. You can also include your name, address and email address if you want.  
• Opinions can be signed by several people. 

Please remember that the content of opinions is public information. The sender’s personal information will not be published. If you are not able to submit an opinion in writing, you can contact the planners. 

Planners continue to work on the plan based on the interested parties’ opinions, authority statements and the impact assessment. They will prepare a plan proposal that consists of a land use map, plan regulations and a plan summary. 

During the proposal stage, residents have the opportunity to participate in residents’ events and submit an objection to the proposal. At a residents’ event, planners present the plan proposal. They tell about the results of the impact assessment and how the opinions of interested parties have been taken into account after the preparation stage. 

At the proposal stage, the planning process is well under way. Instead of new ideas, you should now focus on giving feedback on how the plan could be improved. 

The City Board makes the decision on making a master plan proposal available for public review. The plan proposal will be available on the plan webpage for at least 30 days. The material can be examined for example at the City of Espoo Service Points or at the customer service of Urban Environment Sectors in Otaniemi. These locations have customer computers and staff available to help you. 

All interested parties can submit a written objection to the city’s Registry Office by 15:45 on the last day of the public review period.  

• You can send your objection by email to kirjaamo@espoo.fi or by mail to City of Espoo Registry Office, P.O. Box 1, 02070 City of Espoo.  
• Your objection should include the plan name and the area number.  
• If you want us to send you a response to the objections, please also provide your name and postal or email address.  
• Objections can be signed by several people. In this case, we will send the response to the first signatory. 

Please remember that the content of objections is public information. The sender’s personal information will not be published. If you are not able to submit an objection in writing, you can contact the planners.

Planners compile the objections and authority statements and make the required revisions to the plan proposal. If substantial changes are made to the proposal, it will be again made available for public review. 

The planners write a response to the objections and statements, explaining how the presented points of view are taken into account in the plan. After the City Board has discussed the response, it is published on the plan webpage and sent to the objectors who provided their address. 

Master plans are approved by the City Council. You can file an appeal against the decision to approve a plan with the Administrative Court: 

• if the decision was made in an incorrect order, or  
• if the authority that made the decision has exceeded its powers, or 
• if the decision is otherwise illegal. 

You must file the appeal with the Administrative Court within 30 days of being notified of the approval decision. Natural and legal persons resident in a municipality are considered to have been notified of decisions seven days after the record of proceedings and decisions became available for inspection in a public information network. You can only appeal against a decision made by the Administrative Court if the Supreme Administrative Court grants you permission to appeal. 

The plan enters into force after the appeal period by an announcement published on the city’s website and in the newspapers the city uses for such purpose. These newspapers are Länsiväylä and Hufvudstadsbladet.

• If the plan has been appealed against, the plan can be announced and thus made valid only after the appeals against it have been rejected in court proceedings.
• If the appeals are not against the entire plan area, the City Board may order the plan to be partially valid for the areas not affected by the appeals.