Chamber: The new building law does not favor large developers

Prague - The new construction law does not favor large developers, as some of its critics claim. The so-called fiction of consent, which is included in it, does not allow space for potential corruption. The statements of the relevant state administration authorities, such as firefighters or conservationists, will not be restricted. This was stated today by the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Dlouhý, at a press conference. The material intent of the construction law, aimed at speeding up and simplifying permit processes, was approved by the government today.

"I welcome constructive criticism, but I must clearly distinguish myself from non-constructive criticism. It is not true that the law favors large developers. I even assert that this is a lie. It will benefit the whole society, from small entrepreneurs to large companies. Furthermore, it will help people who want to build a house, or the state in infrastructure construction. The current situation is desperate," said Dlouhý.

The Chamber of Commerce assisted the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) in preparing the law. However, according to Dlouhý, the final responsibility lies with the ministry. "Dozens of experts in administrative and construction law from the academic community, the legal profession, and the judiciary, as well as experts in urban planning, architecture, security, ecology, and construction preparation participated in the preparation. Anyone who wanted to express their opinion had the opportunity," he added.

The law anticipates that the average current permitting process for construction will be reduced from 5.4 years to one year. The proposal assumes that the territorial proceedings, building proceedings, and environmental impact assessments (EIA) will be merged into a single permitting process. A Supreme Construction Authority is to be established, which will be part of the state administration. According to MMR, an important component is also the digitalization of construction administration, from urban planning documents to a digital technical map, project documentation of buildings, and electronic files of building authorities.

Alongside the new construction law, the MMR is preparing an amendment to the existing one, which introduces the so-called fiction of consent. This means that if the office does not respond within a thirty-day period (in more complex cases, 60 days), the request will be considered resolved. Some critics see this as a space for corruption, as they believe officials would not need to act intentionally.

Dlouhý rejected this. "We are talking about the fiction of delivery. In the case of the law on speeding up the construction of transport infrastructure, it has been functioning for a year and has proven successful. Moreover, officials will be accountable for their decisions. If officials intentionally create a file and do not attend to it, it means they will be responsible for such actions," he stated.

According to the Association of Ecological Organizations Green Circle, the proposal is not in accordance with EU legislation, has not resolved hundreds of substantive disagreements, and could worsen the current situation in permitting construction. For example, the Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) claims that the proposal favors developers' interests at the expense of heritage protection. They fear that the statements of the relevant state administration authorities will be restricted.

"Again, this is not true. The positions of all those who have provided positions so far will continue to be included in the decision of the building authority. The difference is that only one binding position will be issued, which will encompass all affected parties. And it will be up to the building authority to resolve contentious points," Dlouhý said. According to ICOMOS, however, Dlouhý omitted the integration of heritage agendas in protective zones into the decision-making of building authorities. "This means that conservationists will no longer issue binding opinions on their protection, and precisely in the protective zones, members of the Chamber of Commerce want to build their largest projects. This is in stark contradiction to the rules for the protection of monuments listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List," said Jan Štoll from ICOMOS to ČTK.

The schedule anticipates that the textual changes to the law should be prepared by the end of this October. After addressing comments in the inter-ministerial proceedings and discussing the proposal with the legislative council, the government should approve the bill by the end of June 2020. After being discussed by both chambers of Parliament, it should be approved by the president in November 2020. It is expected to come into force in 2021. However, some experts argue that such a plan is not realistic.