Olomouc City Hall currently has no information about the ombudsman's lawsuit

Olomouc – The Olomouc city hall will not comment on the lawsuit filed in the public interest by public defender of rights Anna Šabatová against the city council's decision regarding the placement of the approximately 74-meter-high building Šantovka Tower near the historical center of Olomouc. "We currently only have information from the media,” said the city hall spokesperson Radka Štědrá to ČTK today. According to her, no one has approached the city regarding this case and the lawsuit yet.

According to Šabatová, the city council violated laws such as the law on state monument preservation or the law on nature and landscape protection by its decision. The actions of the city council raise serious doubts about systematic impartiality, according to the ombudswoman.

"We are not aware of the content of the lawsuit, and the ombudsman's office has not requested any documentation from the city council in this matter, as is the case with other cases that the office investigates and decides on. The city council will, of course, provide all cooperation to the ombudsman's office if requested,” stated Štědrá.

The Olomouc building authority allowed the placement of Šantovka Tower based on unlawful binding opinions and in contradiction to the zoning plan, according to the ombudswoman. According to Šabatová, the high-rise building may irreversibly damage the historical panorama of the city’s monument reserve. The city council was fully aware of these facts, according to the ombudswoman.

Moreover, officials at the city council, whose impartiality can be questioned, decided on the matter because the city council, via the mayor, entered into a contract with the investor in which the city committed itself under the threat of sanctions not to impede the developer’s construction activities in the area, Šabatová noted.

"The city of Olomouc could have appealed against the issued zoning decision due to its illegality, but it did not do so. One reason may be the existence of a contract with the developer," Šabatová pointed out. She stated that this is a textbook example of the risk of systemic bias.

The zoning decision has already become legally binding, and the builder can apply for a construction permit and start construction. Therefore, the ombudswoman has requested the Regional Court in Ostrava for expedited proceedings on the lawsuit and also for the granting of a suspensive effect to the lawsuit.

The spokesperson for the Olomouc branch of the regional court, Michal Jelínek, told ČTK that the lawsuit was probably addressed to the Ostrava court, from where it will be forwarded to Olomouc. From the filing of the lawsuit, the court has 30 days to decide on the proposal for a suspensive effect.

The developer applied for a zoning decision for the placement of the Šantovka Tower building at the end of 2017. The building is to be located on land in the protective zone of the city monument reserve. The project is opposed by preservationists and some experts, who argue that it would damage the historical panorama of the city. The investor claims the opposite.