The proposal for the new building law is also criticized by nature conservationists

Prague - The Czech Union for Nature Conservation (ČSOP) is also opposed to the proposal for a new building law. According to them, the proposal denies almost everything, from public interests, such as nature protection and heritage care, to the rights of neighboring property owners. The union therefore recommended rejecting the presented material plan as a whole during the commenting process. Jan Moravec from ČSOP informed CTK about this today. According to environmental organizations Arnika and Zelený kruh, the new building law undermines the rights of municipalities and citizens. On Tuesday, the opposition KDU-ČSL criticized the law. According to them, it is inconsistent and favors investors.

"The amendment is largely heading in the wrong direction. And given the fact that its author is de facto the Czech Chamber of Commerce, there is serious suspicion that this is not a coincidence. That the purpose of the entire recodification is not to simplify the process in terms of transparency, removing unnecessary bureaucratic barriers, but ‘simplification’ in the sense of removing all potential opponents. Whether they are from the offices defending the public interest or from citizens defending their rights in favor of a single entity – the builder or investor," the protectors stated.

They mainly criticize the transfer of competencies from specialized state bodies, which defend public interests, especially environmental protection including the EIA process and heritage, to the building office. "It is hard to imagine that one office independently defends several often conflicting interests," the protectors believe. In the case of the EIA process, the proposed changes are also likely to be in conflict with European legislation, according to them. They do not like the proposed change that the currently binding opinions of the affected offices would be considered non-binding expressions.

They are also against the fiction of consent, where the inaction of an office within 30 days is to be considered as a consent statement. "The fact that delays are 'punished' by affecting the public interest or the rights of other participants in the proceedings (for example, the owners of neighboring plots) is unacceptable," stated ČSOP. According to them, these provisions also have considerable corruption potential. It is definitely easier to achieve that the relevant office "forgets" to issue a decision than to issue a consent decision based on false, easily disputable data, believe the nature protectors.

Organizations Arnika and Zelený kruh welcome that instead of nine ministries, which conduct building proceedings on behalf of the state, only one will lead them. However, they believe that this positive step is undermined by the proposal, according to which the newly created Supreme Building Office will replace the competencies of existing ministries and decide everything itself. In addition, the decisive influence in the construction of highways, railways or even nuclear waste storage facilities will be lost by regions and municipalities. Routes and locations will be determined by ministries, and the building office will decide on them without agreement with regions, municipalities, or local residents, stated the environmental organizations.

According to the Ministry for Local Development, the new building law should shorten the approval process for constructions from the current average of 5.4 years to one year. Territorial proceedings, building proceedings, and EIA will merge into a unified approval process. A Supreme Building Office should be established, which will be part of the state administration. The proposal includes that if the relevant office does not express its opinion within 30 days, the so-called fiction of consent will apply. Construction cannot be approved retroactively. The commenting period for the draft of the new building law is coming to an end these days.