Council of State puts the brakes on demolitions with Scia
From Palazzo Spada first decision related to the Milan operations. The neutrality of the built volume with respect to the existing one is decisive
by Giuseppe Latour and Sara Monaci
temporal coincidence between demolition and reconstruction. And neutrality from a town-planning point of view: there cannot be, that is, a greater volume. These are the two limits that, according to the Council of State, qualify a building intervention as simple renovation, and for which a Scia is sufficient to start work. In other cases, on the other hand, one must speak of actual construction, for which a permit to build or an implementation plan is required to assess the needs of the neighbourhood.
The two elements - temporal contextuality and volumetric neutrality -, according to Council of State ruling no. 8542/2025, did not occur in the Milan project in Via Fauchè, one of the many involved in the maxi-investigation on Milan town planning.
What the ruling says
The judgement, which is very broad and analytical precisely on the subject of demolition with reconstruction, is a watershed in the administrative qualification of these operations. The Council of State's ruling is that, in essence, the renovation of sheds could not be done through a Scia but needed an implementation plan and a building permit, in line with what the Prosecutor's Office had argued.
The Council of State thus creates a decisive reference, not only for the actions of the Municipality of Milan, but also for the choices that the legislature will make in the near future to clear up the chaos that has arisen in Lombardy. Although - it should be remembered - only part of the Milan Public Prosecutor's investigation focuses on administrative irregularities. There are other aspects, starting with thecorruption, not addressed by the judges of Palazzo Spada (and even on the criminal front the issue is complex, given that the gip and the review court have expressed diverging opinions).
The case of via Fauché
Let us summarise the case of Via Fauché. A ruling by the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court had annulled the measure with which Milan City Council had certified the building and town-planning conformity of the demolition and reconstruction work in question. After Palazzo Marino's appeal, comes the Council of State's decision (the first on the cases linked to the Milanese enquiry) that espouses the Tar's line, confirming the fact that the Scia is not the appropriate instrument. And which, in fact, indicates which stakes should be respected. Starting, however, from one point: these regulations are the result of decades of stratification, with respect to which there is a need for clarity.
