People today debated in the Chamber Hall about the proposal for a new urban plan for Brno

Brno – The Office of the City Architect of Brno (KAM) today presented the draft of the new urban plan at a public hearing in a nearly full Chamber of Deputies. Its representatives addressed the urban planning section, transportation, and the impact on sustainable development. A discussion followed, involving dozens of speakers. From today, people have another week to raise their objections and comments, said Jana Bartošová from the Urban Planning and Building Code Department of the Brno City Hall. The expected date for the release of the plan is the turn of this year and next, with its effectiveness slated for the first quarter of 2025.

The city is currently governed by an urban plan from 1994. It has been updated many times and for more than ten years, politicians have been saying it is outdated. "Together with students, tourists, and workers, the daily average of people present in Brno is 530,000. That's a lot and it's really noticeable," stated Pavel Šemora on behalf of KAM.

The city introduced the new proposal this February, which was primarily open for comments from affected authorities such as ministries, the regional office, or neighboring municipalities, as well as the public and city districts. It was published on the urban planning portal in June, from which date people could submit their comments, objections, and positions. The deadline is until August 7, inclusive.

Over 30 people registered for the discussion. Their questions focused on recreational areas in the Sadová district and the Žebětín city quarter, as well as gardens on Kraví hora. Former MP Miroslav Sládek expressed a protest. A resident of Bohunice also raised objections, claiming that the planned construction would devalue a large part of his garden. City representatives argued that it represents a consensus on the use of the area. Several attendees subsequently stated that such a discussion "is not worth it."

The current proposal primarily reflects the instructions of Brno representatives concerning the fact that the original document was not approved by the council in June 2022. Among other things, it establishes stricter conditions for stabilized areas, which further emphasize the protection of inner blocks or greenery in housing estates, tightens height regulations, and limits the construction of local landmarks. Additionally, a new type of functional area for individual housing has been added, specifically tailored for the peripheral parts of Brno with suburban development.

Experts have also verified the appropriateness of changing building areas to non-building. Therefore, dozens of hectares are once again designated for housing or mixed-use in the new urban plan, in contrast to the previous one. The new urban plan is expected to provide more apartments since the areas designated for housing are largely exhausted in the current plan, with new development hindered by, for example, non-existent flood control measures or connections to transportation engineering infrastructure. For the same reason, abandoned factory sites in the city center or former cooperatives in the peripheral areas cannot be developed.