Olomouc wants to modify the zoning plan due to the court's ruling

Olomouc - The Olomouc City Hall is preparing to amend the new zoning plan due to a court ruling last week that annulled the height regulation for buildings in the protective zone of the city’s heritage reserve. The city council is expected to decide on the change of the plan and its content, said the mayor’s deputy Aleš Jakubec (TOP 09) to reporters today.
The district court last week annulled the height regulations in the protective zone of the city’s heritage reserve. However, the city hall has until the end of this year to better justify the height regulations for new buildings in this part of Olomouc. The city was sued by the development company Office Park Šantovka. The new zoning plan, approved by the city council last autumn, restricts the planned construction of the 75-meter high Šantovka Tower and other buildings in its vicinity due to the height regulations.
"The court annulled the height limits because the Ministry of Culture inadequately justified why these height limits were set. We have already initiated the amendment of the zoning plan for this specific area. The process will begin. All relevant authorities will be contacted again and will provide their opinions on it," Jakubec stated.
According to Jakubec, the Ministry of Culture should justify the height limits again. "It is up to them to provide us with the justification for the height limits and whether they might eventually change these height limits," noted Jakubec, adding that the city council should decide on the amendment of the zoning plan without unnecessary delays, as the city only has until the end of this year. After that, the height regulation will be abolished.
According to the court, the city hall should properly justify again why the new buildings in the former Milo factory area, where the construction of the Šantovka Tower is planned, need to be height regulated so as not to negatively affect the view of the historical center of Olomouc. "This was not adequately justified in the zoning plan. Primarily, however, the zoning plan adopted the binding opinion of the heritage conservation authorities, which was indeed binding for it, but was not properly justified and therefore did not serve as a valid and adequate basis for the zoning plan," said Judge Jiří Gottwald.
Investor's lawyer Rostislav Pekař argued in court that the city's management had known about the heights of the planned buildings in the Šantovka complex since 2008 and had expressed support for these plans under the condition of "high architectural quality." According to him, the original zoning plan did not regulate the height of new buildings in this part of the city, and the city hall was informed that the investor wanted to build houses up to 29 meters high and the high-rise building Šantovka Tower.
Therefore, the development company initiated a project worth ten billion crowns, which includes a new shopping center, a high-rise building, administrative buildings, and residential apartments. However, the Ministry of Culture banned the construction of high-rise buildings in the protective zone of the heritage reserve, which is reflected in the new zoning plan, allowing a maximum height of 23 meters for new buildings in this area. Some experts, alongside heritage conservationists, also oppose the construction of the Šantovka Tower, claiming it would damage the skyline of the historical center. The investor has a contrary opinion.