The Wet op de Ruimtelijke Ordening of 1965 set out the formal Dutch planning hierarchy, linking national policy, provincial regional plans and binding municipal zoning plans (bestemmingsplannen). It made the local zoning plan the legally decisive instrument for land use while embedding it within higher-tier guidance. The act gave statutory force to the country's strongly coordinated planning culture. It was thoroughly revised in 2008 before being absorbed into later reform.
The act codified the multi-level Dutch planning system that made municipal zoning legally binding within a national framework.
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