The South Moravian Region commented on the lawsuit regarding the zoning plan

Brno - The South Moravian Region submitted this week a statement to the Regional Court in Brno regarding the lawsuit that demands the abolition of the principles of territorial development effective since last autumn. The region suggests dismissing the lawsuit. Deputy Governor Martin Maleček stated four basic reasons today at a press conference, why he considers the lawsuit unfounded.

The lawsuit was filed two months ago by 15 municipalities and another two dozen associations or individuals. In contrast, 72 municipalities, including Brno, have sided with the region, striving to keep the regional spatial plan in effect, even though it has yet to definitively resolve the routing of the D43 motorway and the necessity of the Southwest Tangent, which could connect the D1 and D52 motorways.

The material, according to the plaintiffs, does not fulfill basic functions, that is, it does not address the over-limit burdens on certain areas and does not allow for realistic development of transport infrastructure. According to the proposal, it also unjustifiably restricts the development of municipalities and property rights of individuals through extensive spatial reserves.

However, according to the region, the lawsuit operates under the assumption that one of two routing variants for the D43 motorway will be realized. "However, we do not yet know where the corridors will lead," stated Maleček. Unlike the plaintiffs, the region claims that the territorial reserves used in the document are in accordance with the law and the Territorial Development Policy of the Czech Republic. The region also pointed to manipulation with some facts regarding air pollution in the Brno agglomeration. The last reason for the unfoundedness of the lawsuit is, according to the region, the absence of legal standing of certain proponents who have nothing to do with the affected Brno agglomeration.

"The proponents say that the region did not learn from the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court, which abolished the previous spatial plan. We, on the contrary, think that they did not learn," said Maleček.

The factual dispute has been revolving for several years around the fact that the current plaintiffs have sought for the region to not leave the transport network in the Brno agglomeration unresolved, but to definitively determine the routes of all future roads, including the problematic D43, and to comprehensively assess the environmental impacts. Instead, the region chose the path of spatial reserves and subsequent spatial studies, based on which the principles will be updated. It is now expected that the study will be completed in 2018 and the earliest update, which will provide a clear answer regarding the routing of the D43 motorway and the necessity of the Southwest Tangent, may be completed in 2020.

The court will now familiarize itself with the arguments of both sides of the dispute. It is unclear when the court will decide on the lawsuit.