Zoning and building perspectives of the logistic development in France

The warehouse market in France has developed significantly in recent years. In the 70s and 80s, warehouses were mainly implemented in peri-urban areas for the supply of supermarkets. In recent years, the development of e-commerce has promoted the deployment of warehouses close to major cities to offer deliveries in more extended and precise time slots. These new warehouses are thus built much closer to cities.

Land-use planning in France

In France, town planning law is regulated on a national scale, within the framework of the French town planning code, which sets the general rules, and on a local scale, within the framework of local town planning plans, which define the building rules (use, height, parking spaces, etc).

A building permit must be applied for prior to any construction. The building permit can only be issued if the contemplated project complies with the provisions of the local town planning plan.

Within the framework of the local town planning plan, the municipality draws up the urban areas or areas to be developed and the natural or agricultural and forest areas to be protected. The local town planning plan may specify the use of the land according to the main uses that can be made of it or the uses that are allowed on it and also provide for the prohibition of construction.

The various uses of buildings are defined by the French town planning code. The French town planning code thus specifies that the uses of buildings are: agricultural and forestry exploitation; housing; commerce and service activities; facilities of collective interest and public services; and other activities in the secondary or tertiary sectors. Warehouses fall within the scope of “other activities in the secondary or tertiary sectors” use.

The construction of warehouses in the local town planning plan

The determination of uses in an area of a local town planning plan is carried out at two levels, that of the general authorization of uses, then that of the specific rules determined for certain uses. The local town planning plan can thus define areas in which the construction of warehouses is authorized and areas in which such constructions are prohibited.

The regulations may also set specific constraints on warehouse construction. They may thus specify that warehouses shall only be authorized if they are ancillary premises to commercial premises or if the plot of land does not include dwellings. These provisions enable the municipalities to determine the districts intended to receive warehouses and to prevent these warehouses from being built near housings.

The regulations may also set specific rules regarding parking spaces, access or height applicable to the construction of warehouses.

Authorizations specific to the setting up of warehouses in the Île-de-France region

The Île-de-France region is Europe's leading logistics region in terms of economic intensity, flows and real estate.

In order to fight the “depopulation” of certain regions arising from the concentration of activities in the Paris region, the French government instituted two additional mechanisms in 1955 and 1960:

1. A prior approval for any construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or extension of any premises used for industrial, commercial, office, or storage in the Île-de-France must be obtained before the submission of the application of building permit; The construction of more than 5,000 sq.m to be used as warehouse is subject to a prior approval. Projects involving more than 24,000 sq.m of warehouse space must also be subject to a traffic study to assess the specific impact of the project on existing and planned infrastructures. The aim is for the study to assess the project's impact on traffic. For the issuance of the approval, the Prefect must take into account a balance between housings and constructions for economic activities.
2. A specific tax is due by the owner in the region of Ile de France in case of construction of premises dedicated to offices, retail and warehouses. The rate for 2020 (the rate changes every year) for this tax is EUR14.63 per square meter of warehouse created;

Grand Paris warehouse planning by Plaine Commune

Environmental constraints

Since 2019, the French town planning code imposes special environmental constraints on building permits for the construction of premises for industrial or warehouses with a footprint of more than 1,000 sq.m. The constructions subject to the obligationmust include:

• a process for the production of renewable energy on the roof;
• or a green roof.

The French town planning code does not specify the type of renewable energy to be installed. However, the renewable energy targeted is a priori only photovoltaic, the only one that can in practice be installed on the roof of a warehouse or industrial building. Thus, the warehouses must have a green roof or photovoltaic panels on the roof.

This constraint applies to all buildings permit applications submitted as from November 2019. It therefore does not apply to existing buildings. Investors are being asked by specialized companies to install photovoltaic roofs on the warehouses currently being built (for which building permits were filed before November 2019). However, the management of these installations is particularly constraining as it involves a specific technical installation on the roof and the conclusion of a second lease for the management of the photovoltaic panels.