Land is necessary for the people’s social need. The State, based on the mutual reliance and mutual interest relationships of geography, population, resources, economic activities, etc., and according with the national economic development and environmental protection policy, shall make land use and conservation plans to accord with social need. The Regional Planning Act is a law enacted to reasonably coordinate the various needs of land use and balance the interests of all people (See J. Y. Interpretation No. 444). For carrying out the non-urban land use control and the public policy of environmental conservation, Paragraph 1 of Article 15 of this Act provides that after a regional plan has been announced and implemented, for the non-urban lands other than those prescribed in Article 11, the relevant municipal or county (city) governments shall draw the non-urban land use zoning map according to the non-urban land use zoning plan, designate the lands for various uses, and implement the control after reporting to the upper-level authority concerned for review and recording. The procedure of alteration is the same. The control regulations shall be provided by the central authority concerned. Based on this delegation, and according to the provision of zoning in Article 13 and the provision of designating in Article 15 of the Enforcement Rules for the Regional Planning Act, the Ministry of the Interior therefore sets the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations and implements the control in accordance with the designation and nature of land uses in order to advance the reasonable use of non-urban lands.
Item 1 of the Outlines (these Outlines were issued on September 16, 1994, by the Taiwan Provincial Government with the letter 83 F. J. Y. T. No. 161184; on August 4, 1999, this Provincial Government proclaimed that the Outlines would no longer apply from the date retroactive to July 1, 1999, with the letter 88 F. F. T. No. 157924.) provided that said Outlines were set according to the provisions of Articles 12 and 17 of the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations, but they were actually the supplement to the implementation of the Regional Planning Act and the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations by the Taiwan Provincial Government due to its authority as the authority concerned. Therefore, what the Outlines can provide shall be limited to those minor matters of details, techniques, etc., for implementing the Act. Items 2 and 3 of the Outlines provided that people who are going to apply for alteration of the non-urban lands in mountain slope conservation zones, scenic zones, or forest zones belonging to Type D building (kiln) lands for non-industrial (kiln) use shall comply with one of the following requirements: (1) the factory land is located within the vicinity of water stored in a water reservoir or a water quality and quantity protection area, and the Government actively assists in moving the factory; (2) lands are set aside for public facilities or for administrative agencies. Besides, the landowners shall submit documents that conform to the preceding requirements. Paragraph 1 of Article 15 of the Regional Planning Act provides that the non-urban lands shall be designated for their respective use in each zone, the way of use shall be restricted and the control shall be implemented. The Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations therefore provide that once a parcel of land has been designated for certain use, it shall be used according to the way allowed (Paragraph 1 of Article 6); application for alteration of designation in each designated parcel of land belonging to a certain zone shall be limited to the alteration within the original zone (Paragraph 1 of Article 10). Accordingly, Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the Regional Planning Act provides that after the regional plan has been announced and implemented, the agency which made the plan shall comprehensively review the plan every five years and make necessary alterations, depending on the actual development. This Article also provides that if there is an occurrence of or need to avoid a serious disaster, institution of important development or construction undertakings, or suggestion from the Regional Construction Advance Committee, the agency may review or alter the regional plan at any time. If there is a designated land plan to be altered for another use, according to Paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations, the applicant shall prepare the implementation plan and this plan shall be approved by the authorities concerned with the implementation, including the authorities both before and after the alteration. Paragraph 2 of the same Article further provides that if the land referred to in the preceding paragraph is larger than ten hectares, before the authority concerned with the implementation after the alteration makes the decision to approve the plan implementation, the land use plan shall first be approved by the agency which originally made the regional plan. Subparagraph 1 of Article 17 moreover provides that if the designation or alteration of designation of the land was based on the plan which was approved by the authority concerned with the implementation, and the plan implementation has been cancelled or revoked, this portion of the land on which the designation has been altered according to the law shall be designated for other suitable use according to the nature of the use; the other portion shall be designated for the use designated before the alteration. The aforesaid Outlines have created other requisites for the alteration of designation on the land belonging to the non-urban land use zoning in the Regional Planning Act and the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations. These Outlines not only violate the intent of the Act to designate lands for their respective use in each zone, restrict the use and implement the control, but also add restrictions on the people*s right to use their land. This is more than just a supplement to the matters of details and techniques for implementing the Act, and this is in conflict with the principle of power reservation prescribed in Article 23 of the Constitution. Therefore, these Outlines shall no longer be applied.