Prague urged senators and deputies not to approve the new construction law

Prague – The Prague City Council urged senators and deputies not to approve the new construction law, which passed in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday. The law should be redrafted and discussed by the political representation that will emerge from the autumn elections. City councilors made this decision late Thursday evening. They also resolved that the law has shortcomings and lacks support across the political spectrum. The city leadership has long argued that the regulation goes in the opposite direction of what is desired, namely towards state centralization instead of greater involvement of local authorities in construction permitting and urban planning. Moreover, according to Prague politicians, it will not speed up the construction process either.

The law was criticized by councilors from all political clubs. Opposition councilor and mayor of Běchovice Ondřej Martan (ODS) called it "a piece of trash and a monstrosity." "The goal of this law was to remove local authorities from having any say in the construction process," he said. According to him, only development companies can benefit from it.

Prague and other local authorities particularly criticize that construction offices will be entirely moved under the state and will operate similarly to, for example, tax offices. They currently operate under the so-called transferred competence of the state administration, meaning they are organizationally part of municipal offices. The law also did not include the request from local authorities to have full control over the preparation of urban plans.

The city also demanded that Prague and potentially other large cities could have their own building regulations. "The issue of urban planning is serious and we will continue to face it," said the mayor's deputy Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09).

Councilors added to the original resolution a proposal from opposition councilor Ondřej Prokop (ANO) for the city leadership to prepare a timeline for the preparation of the Metropolitan Plan, which is to replace the current urban plan starting in January 2023. "So that we have a clear timeline and plan of what will happen if the recodification of the law either passes or does not pass. Otherwise, we are putting Prague at risk," Prokop said.

The new law is intended to replace the existing one from 2006 and, according to representatives of the Ministry for Regional Development, is supposed to simplify and expedite the construction process. After being approved by the lower chamber on Wednesday, the law will be sent to the Senate for discussion, and if approved, it is set to come into effect on July 1, 2023, with the state beginning to hire officials according to it as early as January next year. The approved form has been criticized by opposition parties, environmental organizations, and the Czech Chamber of Architects. In contrast, the law has been labeled a step in the right direction by the Association of Developers and the Chamber of Commerce.