Šantovka Tower in Olomouc will lose its zoning decision, according to the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court

Brno/Olomouc - The planned high-rise building Šantovka Tower in Olomouc will lose its zoning decision, according to today's ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS). It granted the appeal of the public ombudsman. The reason is the systemic risk of bias among Olomouc officials. The Olomouc branch of the Regional Court in Ostrava must re-examine the ombudsman's lawsuit and annul the contested zoning decision, the NSS ordered. Officials will then decide again, but in a location other than Olomouc. The NSS ruling is temporarily available on the official board. Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček stated that he welcomes the decision.

The residential building with 90 apartments, Šantovka Tower, standing at 74 meters, is to be part of the new district project Šantovka, which the development group Redstone, led by entrepreneur Richard Morávek, plans to build on a three-hectare area near the center of Olomouc; the project follows the functioning shopping center Galerie Šantovka. Representatives of the group declined to comment on the court's decision today. "We first need to familiarize ourselves with the NSS's decision and its reasoning; at this moment, we will not comment on the matter," said company spokesman Michal Folta to ČTK today.

The construction of the high-rise building is opposed by conservationists, as some experts believe it would damage the historical skyline. The lawsuit in the public interest was filed five years ago by the then-ombudsman Anna Šabatová, and later her successor Stanislav Křeček continued the dispute. The lawsuit, for example, stated that officials with systemic bias made decisions in the proceedings. "I welcome today's NSS decision, which recognized my arguments and concluded that the request for the placement of the building must first be assessed and decided by another unbiased administrative body. In decision-making in the public sphere, one cannot allow a connection between the deciding officials and potential investors," Křeček stated today in a press release.

The Regional Court previously rejected the lawsuit twice. The NSS now emphasized that the so-called critical threshold of systemic risk of bias was exceeded in the zoning proceedings, and therefore all the deciding officials of the building authority at the Olomouc magistrate should have been excluded for bias. A different building authority should have correctly made the decision about the placement of the building. "We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court and are awaiting the delivery of the verdict, including the reasoning. At this moment, we will not comment further and will wait for the matter to be discussed at the Regional Court," said Marek Černý, the secretary of the Olomouc magistrate, to ČTK today.

Systemic risk of bias exists in proceedings where an official is also an employee of a municipality or region and decides in transferred powers, i.e., on behalf of the state, on a matter concerning the municipality or region. Such a risk in the proceedings regarding the placement of Šantovka Tower existed according to the NSS, as Olomouc employees were deciding on an intention concerning which the city and the investor signed a cooperation agreement in 2010. In later years, the investor pointed to this agreement, called for cooperation from the city, and mentioned the possibility of seeking compensation for damages.

Bias is always assessed from the perspective of an independent external observer. "From the threat of potential liability of the city for damages, an external observer would infer the existence of a strong economic interest of the city in the outcome of the proceedings, which in itself intensifies doubts about the impartiality of the deciding officials as employees of the city," states the judgment. The court also pointed out the controversial nature of the building, its height, and its location near the historical core of the city. The related intense public debate must have been noted by the officials.

All circumstances, in summary, according to the NSS exceeded the so-called critical threshold of systemic risk of bias of the Olomouc magistrate and all its officials. The NSS outlined the next steps, stating that the regional court should annul the decision of the Olomouc office, and subsequently, the matter will be referred to another administrative body, which will deal with objections to the building again.