LUCCA. It is an urban revolution that can affect hundreds of property owners: the Municipality is ready to give the green light to the transformation into residential (i.e. home) of premises on the ground or on raised ground, currently intended for commercial (i.e. shops) or office ( offices). A prediction which, with a series of limitations, will be valid both for the historic center and for the peripheral neighborhoods. News also regarding the minimum surfaces.
Houses on the ground floor
Good to recap. The operational plan adopted at the end of 2021 (during the Tambellini administration) places strict limits on the change of use for these types of properties. Both for the historic center and for the buildings located on the ground floor outside the Walls. Requirements that have caused more than one discontent, in particular among the owners of these premises who – in many cases – have been vacant for a long time and without a concrete possibility of finding an “occupant” quickly. The construction of houses could instead allow you to obtain an income, through sale or rental. Or – in other cases – there are the owners’ needs to obtain accommodation for personal use. Professional associations have also shown themselves on a war footing, starting with surveyors. And so several observations arrived at the Municipality asking for a change of gear, modifying the restrictions introduced.
Gear change that has arrived. First, in 2023, with the political indications from the council to the offices, which specifically asked them to evaluate the observations with the aim of making the change in use possible. And now the technicians have put down in black and white what will be the changes to be made to the operational plan which, after the approval from the planning commission, will go to the city council next week. As regards the city within the walls, the change of use of the ground floor and the mezzanine will be permitted in the presence of two characteristics. First of all, the premises must have access that is not on a public space: therefore they must be entered from loggias or courtyards. Secondly, the height of windows overlooking a public space cannot be lower than those required by the building regulations for homes. Amphitheater houses and tower houses remain excluded from these rules, where the ban on residential use is maintained.
As regards the peripheral neighbourhoods, the change of intended use will be permitted “in the presence of private or condominium common access spaces (such as gardens, loggias, entrance halls, etc.)”. Alternatively, as long as access to the venue is not directly from the public space.
Minimum measurements
Added to all this is another aspect which aims to rationalize the issue of the minimum surface area of real estate units, even in the case of splitting larger properties. As regards the historic centre, the operational plan will be modified so as to provide for a minimum of 80 m2 in monumental buildings (now it is 90). In the other buildings it will instead be 50 m2, while now it varies from 50 to 60. Even outside the Walls, most of the homes will have to have a minimum surface area of 50 m2, a figure that unifies values that now range from 45 to 60 m2. It goes up to 70 m2 in structures of architectural value and documented and goes down to 40 in the so-called “rural nuclei of historical layout”.
