The São Paulo Court of Justice overturned the injunction, by majority vote, and upheld the validity of article 162 of
Law 16.402/16
(current Zoning Law of the City of São Paulo), guaranteeing the so-called “right to protocol”.
The article stipulates that the licensing processes for works, buildings, and activities, as well as the land parceling projects filed with the São Paulo City Hall up to the date of publication of the law, will be examined according to the legislation in effect at the time of the filing.
The injunction had been previously granted in a Direct Unconstitutionality Action filed by the Public Ministry, but was overturned with the recent decision, dated 05/16/2018, bringing peace of mind to companies that may continue with their projects approved under the old Zoning Law, as long as they have filed their project prior to the publication of the new law, published during the administration of Fernando Haddad, former mayor of the city of São Paulo.
Such a decision is of great importance, because with it real estate entrepreneurs and all other interested parties who filed enterprise projects under the old Zoning Law will be able to proceed with their works according to the legislation in force at the time of the protocol, without having to adapt their enterprises, often already in the finalization phase, to the current Zoning Law.