The demarcation principles that are used in functional zone and sub-zone are as follows.
1.Environmental conservation zones: To be demarcated by natural resources, ecology, landscape, disasters, and the deployment of corresponding disaster prevention facilities, shall be taken into account and areas shall be classified by their degree of environmental sensitivity.
A.Type 1: areas with abundant resources, important habitats, an exceptional landscape or susceptibility to disaster, and with an environment that is highly sensitive.
B.Type 2: areas with abundant resources, important habitats, an exceptional landscape or susceptibility to disaster, and with an environment that is weakly sensitive.
C.Other necessary types.
2.Marine resource zones: to be demarcated by the current states of internal and territorial marine, future developmental requirements, current conservation and utilization of marine resources, traditional use of such resources by indigenous people, and special and other uses, and to be classified according to the needs of the use of marine.
A.Type 1: areas with an exclusive use.
B.Type 2: areas with compatible uses.
C.Other necessary types.
3.Agricultural development zones: to be demarcated by the agricultural production environment, capacity to contribute to food security and quantities of existing agricultural improvement facilities, and to be classified according to the conditions of agricultural production resources therein.
A.Type 1: areas with excellent environments for agricultural production that can contribute to food security or have important agricultural facilities that have been improved.
B.Type 2: areas with decent environments for agricultural production that can contribute to food security and support agricultural diversity.
C.Other necessary types.
4.Urban-rural development zones: to be demarcated by the degree of urbanization and developmental needs, and to be classified according to the level of development.
A.Type 1: areas with higher levels of urbanization and higher concentrations of residential buildings or industrial activities.
B.Type 2: areas with lower levels of urbanization but with a certain concentration of residential buildings or industrial activities.
C.Other necessary types.
New or expansionary urban plans may be approved only if they are located in urban-rural development zones.

The land use principles that are used in functional zone and sub-zone are as follows.
1.Environmental conservation zones:
A.Type 1: areas where the natural environment is to be protected and other uses are prohibited or restricted.
B.Type 2: areas where the natural environment is to be protected as much as possible and conditional uses may be permitted.
C.Other necessary types: areas where various degrees of use control are imposed as determined by the characteristics of the environmental resources.
2.Marine resource zones:
A.Type 1: areas where public safety and welfare are to be protected or that meet the requirements for conditional exclusive uses, with other uses prohibited or restricted.
B.Type 2: areas designated as public access or compatible uses.
C.Other necessary types: areas not yet planning or used, where various degrees of use control are imposed as determine by the conditions of the marine resources.
3.Agricultural development zones:
A.Type 1: areas to be used for agricultural production and that have production and marketing facilities, with other uses prohibited or restricted.
B.Type 2: areas to be used for agricultural production and that have facilities for the development of a related industrial value chain with various degrees of use control imposed according to the characteristics of the industry and other uses prohibited or restricted.
C.Other necessary types: areas where various degrees of use control are to be imposed according to the conditions of the agricultural resources.
4.Urban-rural development zones:
A.Type 1: areas to be used for a high intensity of residential activities, industrial activities or other urban-rural development activities.
B.Type 2: areas to be used for a low intensity of residential activities, industrial activities or other urban-rural development activities.
C.Other necessary types: areas where various degrees of use control are to be imposed as determined by prevailing urban-rural development.

nce the implementation of a municipality or county (city) spatial plan has been announced, each competent authority shall act in a manner consistent with the functional zones at various levels and produce corresponding functional zone maps; define the land for designated use and present them to the central competent authority for approval and announcement, and enforce relevant regulatory measures.
In addition to establishing the functional zone maps, referred to in the preceding paragraph, except for enhancing environmental conservation that allowed to revise occasionally,the competent authorities of municipality or county(city) shall generate such maps within the period specified in the spatial plans, and present them to the central competent authority for approval and announcement.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations to designate the agencies that are responsible for producing the functional zone maps and defining the land for designated use referred to in the two preceding paragraphs, the method of their production, the scales thereof, review and revision procedures, and their announcement.

If lands in other functional zones meet the demarcation principles for environmental conservation zones, then not only will control be imposed according to the land use principles that govern such zones, but also the use of such lands will be prohibited or restricted, as determined by its resources, ecology, landscape, and the characteristics and magnitudes of potential disasters.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations concerning functional zones ,sub-zones and land for designated use; and shall establish regulations concerning converting and scales , the constructible land and building intensity, items, conditions, procedures of land use whose use must be approved only after an application, land use items which do not need an application for approval, prohibited or restricted land use, and land uses to be placed under control. However, areas that are covered by urban plans or national park plans shall be subject to the Urban Planning Law, the National Park Law and related regulations.
If any of the regulations to be established by the central competent authority, referred to in the preceding paragraph, affect the land or sea area that belongs to indigenous people, then Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law shall apply and the central competent authority shall work with the central competent authority for indigenous peoples to establish such provisions.
Depending on actual local needs, the competent authorities of municipalities or counties (cities) may act by guidelines that have been set forth in corresponding the National spatial plan to establish control regulations and present them to the central competent authority for approval.
The land use for national defense, important public facilities and public utility projects may be approvaled following application in any functional zone.

The land use complying with the principles set forth in Article 21 concerning functional zones and sub-zones, that are special and of scale up to a certain threshold, should apply the permits. The application for permits , shall include the documents and plans that are specified in Article 26. The central competent authority shall establish the criteria for determining the aforementioned area and properties of land use.
Applicants who have received land use permits, referred to in the preceding paragraph, may not change the functional zone and sub-zone; land reclamation shall be permissible only in urban-rural development zones and must meet the requirements for coastal and marine spatial planning.
Applications for use permits, referred to in Paragraph 1, shall be filed with the competent authority of the relevant municipality or county (city). Land use permit applications that involve environmental conservation zone or marine resource zone shall be forwarded to the central competent authority for review and other types of applications shall be reviewed by the competent authorities of municipalities or counties (cities). However, applications that involve areas that span more than two municipalities or counties (cities); applications for approval to use land for national defense, important public facilities or public utility projects that involve two or more functional zones and therefore concern different competent authorities, and applications that involve land reclamation, shall all be reviewed by the central competent authority.
Applications for change of use in a plan that has already been approved by the competent authority shall be processed as specified in Paragraphs 1 and 3. However, these procedures may be simplified if the change applied for is not complicated.
All competent authorities shall review land use permit applications according to Article 7 and charge review fees. The central competent authority shall establish the regulations regarding such fee charging.
After obtaining permits from the competent authority, except for projects that involve reclamation for which applications are processed according to Article 30, applicants shall start using the land in the specified period. Once the specified period expires, the permit shall become invalid. Land use permits for applicants who do not use the land according to approved plans, violate relevant regulations, fail to make improvements within the specified period or have their plans annulled by the relevant authority of specific purpose, soil and water conservation or environmental protection shall be revoked.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding use permit application procedures, application requirements, review procedures and timelines, conditions for changes to be made to approved land use permits and application procedures, invalidation and revocation of the permits and related matters as referred to in Paragraphs 1 and 3 to 6.

Having accepted a land use permit application and confirmed that the application meets the pertinent requirements, the competent authority of a municipality or county (city) shall publicly exhibit for 30 days the submitted documents and plans at the office of the township (town, city, district) that has jurisdiction over the location with which the application is concerned; this competent authority shall also hold public hearings before reviewing the application. However, documents and plans that are submitted with applications to be reviewed by the central competent authority, as specified in Paragraph 3 of the preceding article, shall be publicly exhibited for 30 days and public hearings shall be held after the applications have been confirmed as meeting the corresponding requirements and forwarded to the central competent authority by the competent authorities of the relevant municipalities or counties (cities).
The time, location and procedure of each public hearing, referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall be posted on the Internet as well as in government gazettes, newspapers or through other appropriate channels for public access. The owners of the land referred to in the land use permit application shall also be notified in writing unless the public hearing has already been held under other regulations and relevant information has already been posted on the Internet for public access, with the landowners already notified in writing thereof.
During the public exhibition period, private individuals and groups may present opinions to the competent authority, providing their names or titles and addresses. The competent authority shall compile such opinions within 30 days of the end of the public exhibition period and present them with the application and submitted documents and plans for review.
The central competent authority shall establish the regulations regarding the procedures for the public exhibition and public hearings, referred to in the three preceding paragraphs, as well as the procedure for dealing with opinions from private individuals.

Land use permit applications that are filed according to Article 24 shall be submitted with the following documents and plans.
1.The application and land use plan.
2.Proof of consent of owners of land and buildings inside the area that is covered by the land use plan, unless the applicant may apply for expropriation of the area or re-demarcation in accordance with the Rural Community Land Readjustment Act.
3.Proof of consent of other competent authorities if such consent is required according to other regulations.
4.Proof of consent from the relevant authority.
5.Other required documents.
When reviewing land use permit applications, the competent authority shall consider the suitability of the land use, the service level of transportation and public facilities, as well as the carrying capacity of the natural environment and manmade facilities. Applications that meet the following requirements shall be approved in accordance with the characteristics of functional zones.
1.Environmental conservation zone and marine resource zone: Plans ensure environmental protection, natural conservation and disaster prevention and include effective measures to restore that is caused to the ecological environment by the proposed use.
2.Agricultural development zones: The integrity of the agricultural production environment and water resources is maintained and fragmental use or uses likely to affect other agricultural production environments are avoided. If agricultural facilities must be built, they must be related to local agricultural production and management.
3.Urban-rural development zones: Urban growth management, the linkage impact of development trends, public construction timelines, and the completeness of water, power and gas supply telecommunications systems.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding the required contents and formats of documents and plans to be submitted with land use permit applications, referred to in the two preceding paragraphs, and the conditions of their approval.

Once a land use permit application has been approved according to the preceding article, the competent authority shall issue the land use permit and publicly exhibit the submitted documents and plans in the offices of the relevant municipality or county (city) governments and townships (towns, cities, districts) for no less than 30 days. At the same time, the competent authority may also publish the outline of the spatial plan in government gazettes, newspapers, on the Internet or through other appropriate channels for public access.
Land for designated use, land use allocation, land use items and the intensity, in the approved land use plan shall be considered as the basis for land use control in the area of concern.

The central competent authority shall collect environmental conservation fees from any applicant who receives land use permits to cover expenses related to the environmental conservation. The competent authorities of municipalities and counties (cities) shall also collect impact fees from applicants, which shall be used to improve or construct public facilities. Impact fees may be paid in the form of constructible land inside the areas that are covered by land use permits.
After collecting the impact fees stated in the preceding paragraph, the competent authorities of municipalities and counties (cities) shall use these funds in a certain period for the purposes specified in the preceding paragraph. If they fail to do so, applicants may request the competent authorities of municipalities and counties (cities) to return the impact fees.
The collection of impact fees, referred to in Paragraph 1, is intended to support the implementation of spatial plans, or similar fees are to be collected under other regulations, then the impact fees may be reduced or not collected.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding the collection, the rates, periods in which the funds must be used, usage, reduction and exemption of impact fees and return of impact fees, the payment of impact fees with constructible land, and related matters of environmental conservation fees and impact fees, referred to in the three preceding paragraphs.
Each competent authority of municipality or county (city) may set up a fund of the collected impact fees and shall establish regulations with respect to the administration and utilization of the fund.

After receiving a land use permit from the competent authority, each applicant shall undertake the following before beginning to use the land according to the approved plan.
1.Delineate areas to be registered as for public facilities and belonging to the municipality or county (city) or township (town, city, district) and transfer the ownership of such areas to the municipality or county (city) government or township (town, city).
2.Pay the environmental conservation fee to the central competent authority and the impact fee to the competent authority of the municipality or county (city).
3.Change the land for designated use according to the land use plan.
Public facilities shall be completed in stages according to the land use plan and must pass inspections before the applicant can obtain use permits for these facilities; the applicant must also register such facilities as the property of the municipality or county or township (town. city) before the competent authority may issue use permits for buildings in areas that are not for public facilities. However, applicants who have offered to provide services in place public facilities and have obtained the consent of the competent authorities of municipality or county (city) or the building authority, are excluded.
Article 25 of the Land Act shall not apply when an applicant constructs public facilities in the land for public facilities, as stated in the preceding paragraph.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding the procedure to be followed after applicants have been given permission to use the land, the means of operation, the undertakings, public facility items and related matters.
If relevant provisions in other regulations apply, then the registration of ownership of the land for public facilities and of the facilities thereon, as stated in Paragraphs 1 and 2, shall be conducted accordingly. If the ownership is to be transferred to the municipality or county (city) or township (town, city), then the applicant may register such transfers by presenting the permission documents that are specified in Article 27. The registering agency need not issue an ownership certificate when processing such a transfer of registration but is required to notify the relevant municipality or county (city) government or township (town, city) office after the registration has been completed.

As set forth in Article 24, after applications for land reclamation permits are obtained, applicants shall present their land reclamation engineering plans and pay the bond within the specified period. After the competent authority of the concerned municipality or county (city) has approved the plans and the land reclamation has been completed accordingly, the applicant may proceed with the undertakings specified in Paragraph 1 of the preceding article.
If a land reclamation plan involves national defense or is deemed by the central competent authority as raising public safety issues that are likely to affect municipalities or counties (cities), then the approval of the central competent authority shall be required.
If an application for land reclamation, as stated in Paragraph 1 is not filed, a land use permit that has been obtained under Article 24 shall lose its validity. If a land reclamation plan is rejected or not approvaled , then the reviewing agency shall ask the central competent authority to revoke the land use permit that was obtained by the applicant under Article 24.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding the contents of land reclamation engineering plans, the formats of documents and plans to be submitted, the application timeline, extensions, bond amount, reduction and exemption, payment, expenditure, return, land reclamation engineering management, and related matters.
Application for land reclamation shall comply with other regulations that include relevant provisions. Otherwise, applications shall be filed according to the timeline specified in Paragraph 1.

The provisions in Articles 25 and 27 regarding public exhibition, public hearings and the public announcement shall not apply if the contents of the land use plans involve national secrets or contain information that is designated by other laws and regulations as confidential or restricted.

After announcing a functional zone map, the competent authority of each municipality or county (city) shall act according to the regulations set forth in the Act and impose land use control. Besides reparation of existing legal buildings and facilities or buildings and facilities that were built before the implementation of regional plans, or facilities that are not subject to the land use control provisions set forth in Paragraph 2 or 4 of Article 23, no new construction or reconstruction may be conducted. If necessary, the competent authority of the municipality or county (city) may assess the situation and order a change of land use or require that the users of existing legal buildings and facilities to relocate, providing appropriate compensation for costs incurred from relocation. Before ordering a change of land use or relocation, the competent authority of the municipality or county (city) may allow uses that were permitted before the implementation of regional plans, original legal uses, or change the use of such buildings and facilities to that is less against to the purposes.
When changing constructible land to non-constructible land in a spatial plan, the competent authorities of municipalities or counties (cities) shall provide compensation for damage thus incurred.
The central competent authority shall establish regulations regarding compensation referred to in the two preceding paragraphs, and related matters.

If the government deems necessary the acquisition of land, buildings or facilities to enforce environmental protection and ecological conservation, then the relevant authorities shall act according to the other law and appropriate funds to purchase or expropriate such properties.

If an applicant for a land use permit violates this Act or orders that have been established in accordance with this Act, and the competent authority is negligent in supervision, then citizens or public interest groups whose rights and interests had been violated may present written statements that include detailed descriptions of such negligence to the competent authority. If the competent authority still fails to take necessary action under law within 60 days of receiving such written statements, the said citizens or public interest groups may file with the Administrative Court lawsuits against the competent authority for negligence in the execution of its duty.
The Administrative Court may order the defendant, the competent authority, to pay the lawyer’s fees, appraisal costs and other litigation expenses of the plaintiffs.
The central competent authority shall define the format of the written statement that is referred to in Paragraph 1.