Brno representatives returned the proposal for the urban plan to the developer for revision

Brno - Brno city councilors today returned the draft urban plan for reworking. They were originally supposed to approve it, but after a long debate, they came to a different resolution. The reason is the issues the city is facing with the State Land Office. The plan involves changing the use of some plots that the city acquired from the state under the condition that their use would not change for ten years. Therefore, the urban plan from 1994 is still in effect, which, even after updates and adjustments, does not meet the city's needs. The urban plan defines development areas for various types of activities, determines the direction of building transportation routes and other infrastructure. Due to the ongoing lack of a new plan, various projects, including development and infrastructure projects whose approvals depend on the change in land use, are postponed indefinitely.

Thirty-five councilors voted to return the proposal for reworking, no one was against it, and six councilors abstained. The drafting of the urban plan was considered by the coalition of ODS, Pirates, KDU-ČSL, and ČSSD as a key priority right from its formation after the elections. The representatives of KDU-ČSL were responsible for urban planning and worked on it with the Office of the Architect of the City of Brno for the entire election period. Recently, some mayors of city districts criticized the urban plan for allowing higher density construction or insufficient protection of green areas. Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) stated that she was convinced it was the coalition's most significant task. However, she admitted that this was due to the old urban plan's expiration this year. The deadline has since been postponed to 2028, and therefore she suggested reworking and changing certain things, mentioning, for example, the lack of assessment of the construction's impact on stabilized areas.

The councilors approved six guidelines that the urban plan's processor must incorporate into the new proposal. They respond to criticisms that the urban plan has faced in recent weeks. It is necessary to clarify and supplement the regulation of construction in stabilized areas, particularly in courtyards, including defining their protected values by location. Furthermore, it is necessary to differentiate the type of areas for housing into individual housing and multi-family housing so that apartment buildings cannot be built where family houses should be. The processor must also supplement the assessment of the urban plan's impact on stabilized areas if construction were to occur within them. The justification and appropriateness of changes from building areas to non-building areas must be verified, and the comments from the public hearing of city districts must be thoroughly reviewed again. The delineation of plots transferred free of charge from the state to the city must be aligned with the agreements.

Deputy Mayor Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) stated that no one wanted responsibility for urban planning at the formation of the coalition. "It's a tricky topic, and you can't please everyone. However, we felt it was necessary to push it through, so we took it on. Now, however, it is becoming a political topic before the elections," said Hladík. The plan has also attracted criticism from coalition partners, but according to the deputy, these concerns only arose now, not in the more than three years prior. Therefore, Hladík proposed withdrawing the material, which did not pass. At the same time, he stated that the problem with the land office could be solved by amending the law. This would involve shortening the period from 10 years to five for land usage for the same purpose as when transferred. This would free Brno's hands regarding most of the acquired plots.

Currently, a nearly 30-year-old urban plan with several subsequent updates is in effect in Brno. In 2014, a major update was approved, which, however, was annulled by a court the following year due to the incomprehensibility of some decisions.