Subsection 2: Compulsory powers.

I. - The urban community exercises the following competences by operation of law, in place and stead of the member municipalities:

1° With regard to the economic, social and cultural development and planning of the community area:

a) Creation, development, maintenance and management of industrial, commercial, tertiary, craft, tourist, port or airport activity zones;

b) Economic development actions;

c) Construction or development, maintenance, management and running of cultural, socio-cultural, socio-educational and sporting facilities, networks of facilities or establishments, when they are of community interest;

d) Secondary schools and colleges under the conditions set out in Title I of Book II and Chapter I of Title II of Book IV as well as Article L. 521-3 of the Education Code;

e) Promotion of tourism, including the creation of tourist offices, without prejudice to the promotion of tourism which is a competence shared, within the meaning of article L. 1111-4, with the member municipalities of the public inter-municipal cooperation establishment with its own tax status;

f) Support and aid programme for higher education and research establishments and research programmes;

2° In terms of community spatial planning:

a) Territorial coherence plan and sector plan; local town planning and town planning documents in lieu thereof; definition, creation and implementation of development operations of community interest, within the meaning of article L. 300-1 of the town planning code; and after obtaining the opinion of the municipal councils, the creation of land reserves;

b) Organisation of mobility within the meaning of articles L. 1231-1, L. 1231-8 and L. 1231-14 to L. 1231-16 of the transport code, subject to article L. 3421-2 of the same code; creation, development and maintenance of roads; signposting; car parks and parking areas; mobility plan;

3° In terms of the social balance of housing within the community territory:

a) Local housing programme;

b) Housing policy; financial aid for social housing; actions to promote social housing; action to promote housing for disadvantaged people;

c) Scheduled housing improvement operations, rehabilitation actions and elimination of substandard housing;

4° In terms of town policy: drawing up a diagnosis of the area and defining the guidelines for the city contract; leading and coordinating contractual arrangements for urban development, local development and economic and social integration as well as local arrangements for crime prevention; action programmes defined in the city contract;

5° In terms of managing services of collective interest:

a) Wastewater treatment, under the conditions provided for in Article L. 2224-8, urban rainwater management within the meaning of Article L. 2226-1 and water;

b) Creation, management, extension and relocation of cemeteries and cinerary sites of community interest as well as creation, management and extension of crematoria;

c) Slaughterhouses, abattoirs markets and markets of national interest;

d) Fire and rescue services, under the conditions set out in Chapter IV of Title II of Book IV of Part One ;

e) Contribution to the energy transition;

f) Creation, development, maintenance and management of district heating or cooling networks;

g) Concessions for the public distribution of electricity and gas;

h) Creation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructures;

6° With regard to the protection and enhancement of the environment and policies for the living environment:

a) Collection and treatment of household and similar waste;

b) Combating air pollution;

c) Combating noise pollution;

d) Support for actions to control energy demand;

e) Management of aquatic environments and flood prevention, under the conditions provided for in Article L. 211-7 of the Environment Code.

7° Creation, development, maintenance and management of reception areas for Travellers and family rental sites defined in 1° to 3° of II of Article 1 of Law no. 2000-614 of 5 July 2000 relating to the reception and housing of Travellers.

When the exercise of the competences mentioned in this paragraph is subject to recognition of their community interest, this interest is determined by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the council of the urban community. It shall be defined at the latest two years after the entry into force of the decree pronouncing the transfer of competence or of the law having provided for the recognition of the said Community interest. Failing this, the urban community exercises all of the competence transferred.

By way of derogation from e of 1° of this I, one or more tourist municipalities classified as tourist resorts pursuant to articles L. 133-13 and L. 151-3 of the Tourism Code may request to regain the exercise of the competence "promotion of tourism, including the creation of tourist offices". The return of this authority is decided by joint decision of the deliberative body of the urban community and the municipal councils of all its member municipalities, under the majority conditions required for the creation of the establishment. The urban community retains, concurrently with the said communes and on its territory, the exercise of this same competence, excluding the creation of tourist offices.

In the event of loss of classification as a tourist resort, the deliberation of the municipal council by which the commune decided to regain the competence "promotion of tourism, including the creation of tourist offices" ceases to have effect and the competence is fully exercised by the urban community in place of the commune.

The council of the urban community and at least two-thirds of the municipal councils of the member communes representing more than half of their total population or at least half of the municipal councils of these communes representing two-thirds of the population may, within one year of the promulgation of Act no. 2022-217 of 21 February 2022 on differentiation, decentralisation, deconcentration and various measures to simplify local public action, or the creation of the urban community, to make all or part of the powers relating to the creation, development and maintenance of roads, referred to in b of 2° of this I, subject to recognition of their community interest.

The operation of an exclusive right-of-way public transport service entails the community interest of the public roads carrying this traffic and the pavements adjacent to these roads.

The urban community may delegate to its member municipalities, by agreement, the management of all or part of the facilities and services required for the maintenance of the roads for which it is responsible. The authority thus delegated is exercised in the name and on behalf of the urban community.

The agreement, concluded between the parties and approved by their deliberative assembly, specifies the duration of the delegation and the terms and conditions of its implementation. It defines the objectives to be achieved in terms of the quality of the service provided and the sustainability of the infrastructure, as well as the terms and conditions for the Urban Community's control over the delegated municipality. It specifies the human and financial resources dedicated to the exercise of the delegated authority.

II. - (Repealed).

III. - By agreement with the département, an urban community may exercise on behalf of the département all or part of the competencies which, in the field of social action, are attributed to the département by virtue of articles L. 121-1 and L. 121-2 of the code de l'action sociale et des familles.

The agreement specifies the scope and financial terms of the delegation as well as the conditions under which the corresponding département services are made available to the urban community.

IV. - By agreement with the département, an urban community whose mobility plan includes the creation of a segregated-lane public transport service using département roads, or provides for the creation of such a service, may, within the territorial jurisdiction of the mobility organising authority, exercise in place of the département all or part of the powers which, in the area of roads, are assigned to the département by virtue of articles L. 131-1 to L. 131-8 of the code de la voirie routière (road code). The departmental council's refusal to delegate all or part of these powers must be justified by a deliberation. The agreement specifies the scope and financial terms of the delegation of powers as well as the conditions under which the corresponding departmental services are made available to the urban community.

V. - The council of the urban community is consulted during the preparation, review and amendment of schemes and planning documents relating to development, economic development and innovation, higher education and research, transport and the environment, the list of which is set by decree in the Conseil d'Etat and which fall within the remit of the State, a local authority or their public establishments, when these schemes and documents have an effect or impact on the territory of the urban community.

The council of the urban community is consulted by the regional council during the preparation of the plan contract concluded between the State and the region in application of chapter III of title I of law no. 82-653 of 29 July 1982 on planning reform, in order to take account of the specific characteristics of its territory.