Investors planning construction or reconstruction in St. Petersburg must consider the strict restrictions of Russian and international legislation for the protection of cultural heritage sites. These restrictions can roughly be divided into two levels: (1) those stipulated by Russian legislation for the protection of cultural heritage sites and (2) those stipulated by UNESCO legislation.
Penalties for non-compliance can be high. For example, those who breach protection regulations and fail to comply with restrictions within cultural heritage site protection zones could be charged an administrative fine of from EUR 2,400 to EUR 60,000. The fine is up to EUR 240,000 for highly valuable cultural heritage sites and those on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Another penalty is withdrawal of the cultural heritage site for failing to comply with the requirements to preserve it or for taking actions that jeopardize its preservation or cause it to lose its significance.
Russian law grants the city of St. Petersburg the special status of a historical settlement of federal significance. A recent change has made the regulation of the construction/reconstruction process less controversial: this summer, the boundaries of the historical settlement and the list of protected elements of St. Petersburg as a historical settlement were legally defined.
St. Petersburg’s entire historic centre is within the boundaries of the historic settlement of St. Petersburg, which is divided into several zones with specific parameters of permitted construction (e.g., height, number of floors). Some other St. Petersburg territories outside the historic centre are also classed as cultural protection zones with certain construction requirements (e.g., the territory near Pulkovo Observatory).
There is a list of protected elements of the historic settlement of St. Petersburg. It lists sites’ characteristics that must be preserved: not only the cultural heritage sites themselves but also compositional and visual connections (panoramas), views of the urban landscape and the main visual directions (e.g., the panorama of the Neva River water area, the view of Peter and Paul Cathedral from the Birzhevoy ramp to the Neva River, the view of Palace Square and the Winter Palace from the General Staff Building, the panorama of the circular view from the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral).
Key practical requirements for construction/reconstruction within the historic settlement of St. Petersburg and other cultural protection zones outside of the historic settlement include the following:
- the need to obtain a conclusion from the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks (the “Cultural Protection Committee”) on compliance with the requirements for construction within the cultural heritage protection zones (both for the historic settlement and for other cultural protection zones);
- the need to obtain approval for the architectural and urban planning appearance of the real property from the Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (both for the historic settlement and for other cultural protection zones);
- the need to obtain a conclusion from the Cultural Protection Committee on compliance with the section of the design documentation containing architectural solutions, the subject of protection of the historic settlement and the requirements of urban planning regulations to architectural solutions in relation to the territory of the historic settlement where construction works are planned (for the historic settlement only);
- the need to obtain approval from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for the site development plan and the site survey plan (the "Planning Documentation") in cases where Russian Federation laws require that Planning Documentation be developed (for the historic settlement only).
Protection of historic settlements also means that they absolutely cannot deviate from certain parameters. These include the maximum parameters of permitted construction/reconstruction of capital facilities in terms of the maximum number of stories, the maximum height of buildings, and requirements for architectural solutions for capital facilities within the boundaries of such territories. As for land plots located outside of a historic settlement, owners may apply for a variance from the maximum parameters of permitted construction/reconstruction.
It is inevitable that Russia’s protective laws will continue to evolve and become stricter considering that the condition of historic sites deteriorates every year.
Thorough due diligence of the land plot for a planned investment project is needed to grasp all of the subtle aspects of the rules for various territories, whether there are specific requirements for construction/reconstruction, and to avoid potential liability and financial losses.
By Arina Dovzhenko, Specialist Partner, and Zara Russkikh, Associate, Borenius