RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has granted authority to Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majed Al-Hoqail to stop imposing penalties for some municipal violations committed for the first time. Al-Hoqail thanked King Salman for his noble gesture. According to the royal directive, the penalty for such violations shall be restricted to serving a warning notice not to repeat the violation. The violator will be penalized in the event of ignoring the warning or repeating the violation. The penalty for the first-time violation will not be imposed only on the following conditions: The violation should not be a serious one — The violation should not be one of the violations previously committed by the violator — The impact, resulting from the violation, should not impact others. A warning notice in writing shall be served to the violator with regard to the violation with a directive not to repeat it. Also, the offender shall rectify the violation or return the situation to the level of what it was before its occurrence within a specific period of time. The minister noted that the decision aims to raise the contribution of the private sector to the development of cities. It also seeks to emphasize that the goal of imposing sanctions is to raise compliance rates, improve the investment environment in Saudi cities and raise their attractiveness, reflecting the contribution of the private sector to the development of cities, especially that of small and medium enterprises.