Prague residents will be able to get acquainted with the proposal of the Metropolitan Plan starting in April

Prague – The residents of Prague will be able to familiarize themselves with the draft of the new Metropolitan Plan and submit comments starting this April. The plan has been discussed with all relevant state administration bodies. Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09) said this today in response to a query from ČTK. The plan will be presented for comments by the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). The plan will specify what can be built where and is expected to take effect from January 1, 2023. The current plan was approved in 1999.

"The main goal is to get the plan into public discussion. We will do everything we can to ensure that the discussion is conducted properly. If it becomes reasonably apparent that the plan needs further adjustments, we will address repeated public discussions. The deadlines set by law are incredibly short and harsh, it is seven days after the public discussion. Therefore, we have devised a system so that the documentation will be available for review multiple times longer, and people will be able to express their opinions for a longer time," said Hlaváček. According to him, the office will specify the exact dates later.

The magistrate has received positive opinions from the ministries of regional development, culture, and the environment, and an update of the assessment of the impact on the sustainable development of the area is currently being prepared. People became acquainted with the first version of the proposal in 2018, when they could also submit comments, of which thousands arrived. Subsequently, IPR gradually addressed and incorporated them as appropriate. The ministries and authorities raised objections at that time.

The plan will be published at the end of April at an exhibition at the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAMP) in the IPR complex in Emauzy. Information will be provided to interested parties at the exhibition, and they will also be able to submit comments directly there. This will also be possible to submit online through the magistrate's Portal Pražana. The proposal will also be presented in individual city districts.

The plan is one of the documents that determine construction in Prague. Unlike the current zoning plan, the metropolitan plan addresses height regulation, for example. It also does not only consider the functional use of the area but also looks at the character of the area and the urban neighborhood, meaning how it looks. The plan focuses on several key areas, including climate change, housing, public spaces, and public amenities.

There have been disputes surrounding the new plan in the past, which also led to the temporary dismissal of its main author, architect Roman Koucký. In the end, he returned to head the team preparing the plan after winning the tender. However, the preparation has been delayed. It was originally supposed to be in effect from 2020, but the Chamber of Deputies extended the deadline by three years. The preparation of the plan began under Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (independent, then TOP 09).