The subject of this analysis is public participation in the landscape audit process. The authors argue that, under the current legal framework, public participation is not a genuine instrument through which local communities can influence the process of developing planning documents and their final form, but is merely a facade that serves to justify the arbitrary actions of local authorities. This leads to the conclusion that legislative work is necessary to restore a balance between the actions of local governments aimed at carrying out tasks related to spatial planning and the actual oversight of these actions by local communities through the tools of public participation.