Brno faces criticism over the preparation of the land-use plan

Brno - Brno is facing a battle over a key document that will significantly influence the urban development of the city. The city council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the proposal for the urban plan for the years 2010-2020. The plan determines what can be built in which parts of the city and will address issues such as the controversial R43 road project or the reconstruction of the railway hub.
A number of civic associations criticize the city hall for not sufficiently informing the public about the urban plan and for its dismissive stance towards the comments from environmentalists. However, the councilors believe that all criticism is unfounded.
"We expected Brno to be progressive like European cities that listen to their citizens and ask what kind of city they want. However, Brno does not explain, does not promote, and does not invite citizens to dialogue about the urban plan," said Antonín Buček, an expert in landscape engineering from Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry.
"We are doing the promoting of the urban plan instead of the city hall, through panel discussions, sociological research, surveys, or competitions. We are also preparing an exhibition. However, we are funded by outside sources, and that is not enough for Brno to address the suggestions of experts," added Hana Chalupská, coordinator of the project "As Brno Calls, So It Echoes from Brno."
The city council does not accept the criticism. According to Mayor Richard Svoboda, they have done more for the promotion of the plan than necessary. In full compliance with the law, the proposal has been publicly displayed, the city hall has prepared a series of debates with experts, utilized the city bulletin, and the relevant municipal department has dealt with thousands of comments. The draft urban plan is still available for download on the website www.brno.cz. "If someone criticizes us after all this, it is unfounded and false criticism," the mayor told reporters. According to Deputy Mayor Radomír Jonáš, environmentalists are "disturbing elements". The deputy did not rule out that they are trying to gain political capital from the urban plan issue.
Environmentalists acknowledge that the city hall is not acting unlawfully; the legislation for involving citizens in the creation of similar documents is reportedly very limited. However, they are disappointed that the city did not take into account a single one of the comments made by an independent expert group that worked under the auspices of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation after a year of activity on the proposal for the urban plan. "Unfortunately, the city hall has discarded our comments except for one. And even with that one comment, they handled it to our disadvantage," Buček said. “The approach of the city hall in Brno is surprising. Instead of utilizing the brainpower of local experts and active citizens who have dedicated a lot of time to preparing competent remarks, they ignore their year-long work. This approach feels a bit like mockery,” added Jasna Flamiková from the Veronica Foundation.
Representatives of environmental associations and civic initiatives want to attend the city council meeting on Tuesday and invite the public as well.