Prague will exchange the problematic sections of the Prague building regulations

Prague - Prague will remove problematic sections from its building regulations and replace them with references to nationwide regulations. This complies with the comments from the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR). An informed source from the city hall told ČTK. MMR pointed out that Prague did not send information about the approval of the regulations to the European Commission. Prague will present the intent of the amendment to the ministry, and the Prague councilors will approve it on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) will meet with Minister Karla Šlechtová regarding this matter.
    "On Tuesday, the council will approve the proposal and we will send it to the ministry today," confirmed Deputy Mayor Matěj Stropnický (SZ) to ČTK. All city districts will also receive the new wording of the regulations for comments. The final version is expected to be approved by the council in January.
    According to ČTK information, the city councilors will exchange some passages that require so-called notification to the EC for parts, or references, from the "nationwide" regulations. These are valid and do not require any further adjustments. The process in the EC can take up to ten months, and in case of termination of validity and waiting for an EC resolution, the new regulations could not be in effect. As such, only nationwide regulations would apply in Prague - however, these as a whole are not applicable to the capital city.
    Prague's building regulations are implementing regulations for the building law and came into effect in October. They set the conditions under which construction can occur in Prague. Based on them, among other things, no new standalone billboards will be allowed, and once the current ones' valid building permits expire, companies will have to remove the oversized advertising structures and areas. This part of the regulations sparked a heated debate in recent months.
    Minutes from the meeting between the city and the ministry on November 18 indicate that even this solution through an amendment might not be final. According to the conclusions of the meeting, there is a risk of "great difficulty in identifying all such provisions." The EC might also require such an amendment for notification. However, according to Stropnický, the minutes are now outdated, and the MMR has already informed the city how to solve the problem to avoid further issues.
    In contrast, several prominent architects, including Ladislav Lábus, have taken a stand in favor of preserving and amending the regulations. They sent an open letter to the city leadership, requesting that the Prague building regulations not be abolished. "We urge you not to succumb to media pressure to abolish the Prague building regulations," reads the letter, stating that abolishing the regulations would lead to chaos in Prague.
    Due to the building regulations, the billboard company Bigboard launched a strong media campaign before this year's elections, criticizing former mayor Tomáš Hudeček (independent). If the regulations are not abolished, the state faces arbitration. Conversely, the new building regulations have been welcomed by professionals and developers.