Important Knowledge for Developers: New Law Clarifies When to Follow Noise Limit Values and When to Follow Target Values

This March, the Riigikogu passed amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act aimed at clarifying when noise limit values and when noise target values should be applied in the planning of new buildings. Sandra Kaas and Villy Lopman, co-heads of the environment, land use, and planning department at law firm RASK, explain the background of the legislative amendments and why this issue has caused much confusion to date.

With regard to noise spreading in outdoor air, two standard levels are distinguished: limit values and target values. A noise limit value is the maximum permitted noise level, the exceedance of which causes significant environmental nuisance and entails an obligation to implement noise reduction measures. A noise target value is a more stringent standard level than the limit value, aimed at ensuring a better living environment. Until now, the target value has been treated in legislation as the maximum permitted noise level in so-called areas with new master plans.

This very definition has caused practical confusion. The Chancellor of Justice drew attention as early as 2023 to the fact that the term "area with a new master plan" is unclear—that is, it is not clear when the noise target value should be applied. All municipalities have master plans, and therefore it is not possible to cover "new" areas with a master plan in the sense that the law presupposes. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has taken the position that noise target values have been established to prevent health risks to people, and health risk does not depend on whether it is an area with a new master plan or not.

Legal clarity in the application of noise standards is, however, important, as they are directly related to several fundamental rights. On one hand, applying noise target values in planning helps reduce residents' health risks. On the other hand, the applicable noise standard may determine whether it is even possible to plan residential buildings or, for example, buildings with mixed functions on a certain area. If a noise target value must be applied, the planning of a building with residential spaces may become impossible even in cases where the noise limit value is not exceeded. Thus, noise standards, on one hand, give residents the right to reject noise exceeding the standard, but may also restrict the property owner's fundamental right to property.

What changes with the new law?

With the legislative amendment that comes into force on April 20 this year, the concept of noise target value and the conditions for its application have been clarified. A noise target value is now defined as a more stringent standard level than the limit value, aimed at improving or maintaining the living environment in noise-sensitive areas.

The most important changes concern the planning process itself. Going forward, noise target values will be applied only during the preparation of a plan if the plan changes the main land use purpose and if the noise target value has not already been exceeded in the planning area.

In addition, it was clarified that a noise-sensitive area is an area to which a corresponding noise category has been assigned in the master plan based on the main land use purpose. In certain cases, the person organizing the preparation of the plan may apply the limit value instead of the target value if there is an overriding public interest in the construction of the noise-generating building.

Thus, the planning solution must ensure an outdoor air noise standard in the planning area, which is determined and becomes binding when the plan is adopted. The plan is, in this regard, the central instrument through which noise-related conflicts must be resolved before they materialize in building permit or use permit proceedings. If a noise standard level is set in the detailed plan, it applies automatically in subsequent permit proceedings. Compliance with the same standard level continues in all subsequent stages.

If outdoor noise increases after the plan is adopted, depending on the location and noise source, additional mitigation measures must be implemented, for which the owner of the noise source is responsible.

Application problems with noise standards are not limited to the choice of standard level alone

The amendment to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act brought clarifications regarding the application of noise target and limit values. However, it does not solve all application problems related to noise standards, particularly those related to the failure to determine main land use purposes in master plans.

The application of noise target and limit values is closely connected with the master plan. Pursuant to the Planning Act, a municipality or city determines noise standard level categories in the master plan, based on the needs of the local area and the objectives of the plan, and guided by the noise categories established in the Atmospheric Air Protection Act. This means that the local municipality has extensive role and responsibility in shaping spatial solutions related to noise.

Noise standard levels do not depend on the actual use of the land or the intended purpose recorded in the land cadastre, but on the main land use purpose determined for the land area in the master plan. In practice, this has caused confusion and disputes, as in many newer master plans, the main purpose has been left unspecified for land areas in dispersed settlements, even though these areas may contain dwellings or other noise-sensitive uses in the existing noise environment.

Legally, such a situation is problematic. A land area without a main purpose does not correspond to any noise category and cannot be treated as a noise-sensitive area to which noise standard levels arising from legal acts would apply. Therefore, it is not possible to unambiguously determine which noise standards apply in such a land area. This complicates the protection of individuals' rights and the making of development decisions.

In one recent dispute, a court partially annulled a master plan on the grounds that the local municipality had failed to determine the main land use purpose for a specific property, and consequently the noise category and related standard levels also remained undetermined. The court emphasized that the municipality must determine the main purpose for the property so that it is clear which noise category applies to the property and nearby noise sources can take this into account. Thus, in case law, the right of individuals to determination of a specific main purpose has been recognized, as the absence of such determination significantly complicates the protection of rights in terms of noise standards.

The role of master plans in noise-related decision-making is strengthening over time

In summary, recent case law and the legislative amendment coming into force soon confirm the central role of local municipalities in resolving spatial conflicts related to noise.

The noise categories determined by municipalities are in substance land use conditions that inherently fall within the regulatory scope of the master plan. Local municipalities are best acquainted with the characteristics of their region and the needs of their residents, and therefore they are entrusted with the responsibility to shape plans in a manner that takes into account local conditions and creates a legally clear basis for the application of noise standards. As a result, the master plan preparation process is gaining increasingly greater significance for landowners, developers, and the local community. The master plan process establishes the foundations from which noise issues are addressed in subsequent proceedings. In subsequent proceedings, the transformation of choices made in the master plan is already legally limited.