The draft construction law is, according to the leadership of Prague, unfinished

Prague - The draft building law needs to strengthen the role of self-government, resolve the issue of so-called affected bodies, and property rights. This was stated to reporters today by councilor Hana Marvanová (for STAN). According to her, the draft is incomplete. The new building law is being prepared by the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR), which claims it will shorten the permitting process. In recent weeks, opponents of the draft have included nature conservationists and representatives of KDU-ČSL, in addition to Prague.

According to Marvanová, the issue of the so-called affected bodies, which express opinions on projects, is still unresolved. She states that it is unrealistic to incorporate all the competencies of the affected bodies into a single decision by the building authority. Therefore, Prague would like to keep some of the affected bodies outside the building authority. "In this respect, the government proposal is not at all well-developed,” said Marvanová.

Prague also wants to further strengthen the influence of self-government within spatial planning and decision-making on construction permits. "The idea that a municipality will have no influence at all in the building process is nonsense. It should have influence just like any other participant and be able to express its opinion. Of course, the building authority will make the final decision,” Marvanová said.

She also questioned the so-called assumption of consent, whereby inactivity of the authority within 30 days is to be considered as a consenting opinion. According to Marvanová, there is a risk that the proceedings could end up in court and come to a halt. Other comments from Prague concern the protection of property rights. "I believe it is unacceptable for the building process to resign on the protection of affected owners,” Marvanová stated.

If the government does not take these comments into account, there could be chaos, according to Marvanová. The city supports the acceleration of construction, but the government proposal needs to be refined, she added.

In addition to Prague, the Czech Union for Nature Conservation opposes the draft law. According to them, the proposal denies public interests such as nature protection and heritage care as well as the rights of neighboring property owners. According to KDU-ČSL, the proposal is incoherent and because it was prepared by the Czech Chamber of Commerce, it favors investors. The People's Party has also stated that it does not take into account the protection of the environment or monuments.

According to MMR, the new building law is supposed to reduce the average permitting process for constructions from the current 5.4 years to one year. The territorial proceedings, building proceedings, and EIA will be merged, and a Supreme Building Authority is also to be established, which will be part of the state administration. The proposal includes that if the relevant authority does not express its opinion within 30 days, the so-called assumption of consent will apply. It will not be possible to grant a permit retroactively.