Communities have long been waiting for the return of communal land outside communal settlements. Only in this case will they be able to realize the opportunity to plan the development of their territories in their own interests with the participation of local businesses and the public independently.

UAC emphasized this in its statement to the President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov and Chairman of all parliamentary factions and groups. The public union called on the authorities to adopt the bill №2194 "On Amendments to the Land Code of Ukraine and other legislation to improve the management and deregulation of land relations” which was approved in the first reading on November 14, 2019 and provides for the transfer of land to communities immediately.

"In matters of land (which are outside the settlements) management of communities, there are many problems that hinder the development of democracy on the ground and discredit the state in the eyes of the local population. Such problems include, in particular, the distribution of land to third parties without taking into account the interests of the community, the impossibility of simply and legally establish the boundaries of communities, burdensome, non-transparent and corrupt procedures for approving land management documentation and establishing land boundaries,” – the statement empathizes.

In particular, the bill №2194 provides:

• resolving the issue of land ownership, simplifying access to land resources for the population, business through the abolition of unnecessary permits and duplication of procedures for verification of land management documentation;
• providing information on land management documentation of the status of public, open and publicly available data;
• reducing the cost of work and the length of time which can be spend on procedures related to land management;
• establishment of borders between the territories of communities by agreement of communities;
• approval by local councils of detailed plans of the territory within and outside the settlements;
• the ability to publicly monitor the fate of the land from the moment of granting permission for its allocation;
• consolidating the boundaries of land plots with the consent of their land owners without unnecessary bureaucracy, etc.

Therefore, UAC asks the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the draft law №2194 in the second reading as soon as possible.