Plzeň wants to postpone the effectiveness of the decree on territorial plans

Plzeň – Plzeň wants to postpone the effectiveness of the regulation of the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) regarding territorial plans until the new building law comes into effect. The city has turned to the MMR, the Chamber of Deputies, and politicians, seeking their help to persuade Minister Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) to delay its effectiveness. The biggest problem with the regulation, which is set to take effect on July 1, is that MMR forces cities and municipalities to standardize territorial plans, said Mayor Pavel Šindelář (ODS) to ČTK today. According to him, Prague, Brno, Ostrava, and the Union of Cities and Towns are supporting Plzeň. ČTK is inquiring about the MMR's reaction.

According to the mayor, the effectiveness of the new regulation would mean that with the first change to the territorial plan, they would have to completely change the entire plan. "If the representatives wanted to make a change in any locality in December after the elections, they would simultaneously have to overhaul the entire territorial plan of the city; Plzeň approved it in 2016, and it was evaluated as the Urban Project of the Year 2017. Everywhere we show it, they say it's a plan for the 21st century, but unfortunately, the ministry is going back," Šindelář stated. He believes this creates enormous uncertainty not just for cities, but for investors, citizens, and others. Once the building law is clarified, then the regulation can come into effect in compatibility with it, he added.

According to the mayor, all zones in standardized territorial plans would have to look the same, but a territorial plan cannot be made to be the same for all cities. "They cannot function the same because no two cities are alike. If you have red designated for housing somewhere, it will mean 100% housing in some places and mixed-use with offices, restaurants, and others in others. Territorial plans, which toy with what color each zone should have, would make changing a zone very complicated, requiring a complete overhaul of the entire plan," said the mayor of Plzeň.

According to him, a certain level of standardization of territorial plans is already valid today. "There must be the same rules. But in terms of how individual areas are utilized, that is not necessary at all. We simply address areas by determining what is permissible there and what is not. I am no longer interested in what color it has. But here we are going back to the territorial plans of the 1990s, to those colors, which are difficult to change because they cannot reflect everyday life. So you keep changing territorial plans, which means in a legislative environment two years," he noted.

Plzeň's representatives approved on Monday the demolition of the largest illegal structure in the city – Carimex, which is also related to a change in the territorial plan. "If we hadn't approved it yesterday and it had gone to the council in September, we could not have approved it as we did yesterday because we would have to simultaneously change the entire territorial plan, which is not a matter of months," the mayor stated. Because of this, he has already been in the economic committee of the Chamber of Deputies and met with Minister Bartoš. Paradoxically, according to Šindelář, the regulation was already approved by former Minister Klára Dostálová (for ANO) with an effectiveness starting on July 1. "And now we are waiting to see if the minister changes his mind in the next 1.5 months. We just want him to postpone its effectiveness, nothing more," he added.

The new building law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies last year. It is set to take full effect on July 1, 2023, but already at the beginning of this year, some provisions came into force to allow for the establishment of a new state building administration. However, the government wants to postpone the establishment of part of the state building administration by a year and keep some offices under the municipalities.