Lebanon's Zoning

Zoning is the process of planning for land use by a locality to allocate certain kinds of structures in certain areas. Zoning also includes restrictions in different zoning areas, such as height of buildings, use of green space, density (number of structures in a certain area), use of lots, and types of businesses. Some think that zoning is being adopted as an attempt to control people’s lives, and a violation of property rights. But the reality is that zoning protects real estate buyers. In fact, if people buy a house in a residential area, they do not want a loud or polluting factory to be opened next door to them. Zoning seeks to protect public health, safety and welfare by regulating the use of land and controlling the type, size and height of buildings. Some goals of early zoning codes were to prevent overcrowding and limit incompatible uses. Goals of modern zoning codes include transit-oriented development, pedestrian-friendly commercial corridors, and preservation of the historic fabric of neighborhoods.

What are zoning maps?

Every parcel of land in the City has a zoning classification ranging from residential to commercial, industrial, and special purpose districts.

What will happen to my neighborhood? Will it be remapped?

The goal of zoning reform is to fix what is broken with the code, and to preserve what is best about our City and our neighborhoods. Changes to the zoning maps will only occur where needed, and will be done using the community-driven process.

How are the zoning laws issued in Lebanon?

The process of issuing a law in Lebanon is anything but simple: it is a chain of event that must be found compatible for the law to be approved. It can be initiated by multiple factors:

1. The Municipality
2. The Ministerial council
3. The President of the Republic

Those three components have a say in the district’s zoning: from the municipality to the president of the republic, the influence on that decision is ascendant.

Multiple factors are taken into consideration when determining the zoning law of an area:

1. History: Lebanon is known for its rich history and historic regions. The zoning of such areas is done in a way to preserve those sites, and to reflect its true identity.

2. Its positioning: In general, the zoning in virgin lands limits your investment ratio, and that is to preserve the environment. Your investment is optimized in the city where the lands available are becoming more and more rare, and their cost is sky rocketing. On the other hand, as an example, an area can’t be zoned as industrial if it is located near a residential area.

3. Emerging projects in a virgin area: Sometimes, the first project developed in an area can label the whole area, and influence the zoning of the region. For example, if a pattern of villa construction appears, it is most likely that area will be zoned as residential single family, luxury.

4. Urban planning: The zoning of an area is also done for social convenience. Planning the area’s development is essential to preserve the three mandatory components for a fair life: water, air and soil.

What does the code stand for?

The Lebanese code is simple to understand. When you buy a land its characteristic are displayed as follow in that example:

Land for sale in REGION, area (in square meter), 60 (horizontal investment percentage)/ 0.9 or 90 (total investment rate or percentage), plot characteristic (number and region), retreat (in meter).

Please find below the full explanation of the description above:

In our case study, we are entitled to build on 60% of the property and the total project size must not exceed 90% of the land size. For example, if you are executing a building on this 1000 square meter land, that building must not cover more than 60%*1000=600 square meters of the area. The sum of the closed areas of each floor must not exceed 90%*1000=900 square meters. So if each floor covers 300 square meters, you can build 3 floors as an upper limit.

Sustainable development: why is it so important?

Zoning is a very important part of what we call urban planning that will be essential to ensure sustainable development. Sustainable development is a concept that creates a balance between green, concrete and industry to preserve human kind existence as well as providing a life where everything is accessible. Sustainable development means that the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development entails integrating three objectives - environmental, social and economic.

That is why planning the development of a city is a necessity: the zoning code finally adopted is the result of a deep study that considers sustainable development.