Activists will file a lawsuit against Plzeň due to the unannounced referendum

Plzeň - The preparatory committee for the referendum on the construction of a large shopping center in the center of Plzeň will file a lawsuit at the regional court on the morning of Monday, October 8. This is meant to trigger a public vote that the representatives of the regional city rejected three weeks ago. The court will then decide on the calling of the referendum and its date within 30 days, said Martin Marek, the representative of the civic associations that gathered nearly 20,000 signatures for the referendum. Activists proposed to hold it simultaneously with the presidential elections in January 2013, which would ensure greater participation in the referendum, for which at least 35 percent of voters from Plzeň must come.
According to Marek, there are angry reactions from thousands of people on social networks due to the representatives' rejection of the referendum, some of whom called for a demonstration. "The main argument of the lawsuit is that the representatives did not make any decision regarding our proposal on September 17. The law states that they must either decide to announce it or not, and they did neither," he stated.
Activists aiming to prevent the construction of the shopping center proposed two questions. The first is a general one - whether the city of Plzeň should immediately take all steps to prevent the construction of a massive building on the site of the demolished cultural center. The second concerns a change in the land use plan of a ten-hectare area between the Radbuzou, Americká Street, and Sirkova Street from mixed-use area to city greenery and park. The second question was considered controversial by some lawyers, but the representatives rejected the plebiscite on the first question as well.
"We believe that the referendum will definitely take place. At least on the first question, which is not disputed by anyone, but we think also on the second one. The court assesses each separately," said Marek. There will be no oral hearing; the court will only decide when and what will be voted on in the referendum.
According to Marek, the representatives allowed the investor, the development company Amádeus, to gain more time to prepare the construction of Corso Americká for 2.5 billion crowns by rejecting the referendum. Amádeus submitted a request for a land-use decision only in mid-August.
On September 17, the representatives rejected the referendum mainly because they feared billion-crown claims from investors and 11 landowners. "However, they cannot argue this way, and the court will not consider economic reasons at all. They can then explain this to the citizens after the announcement of the referendum date and campaign, just as we will invite people to the referendum. They can only deny the referendum if the question is unvotable," stated Marek.