The association against the giant house in Plzeň has 75% of signatures for the referendum

Plzeň - More than three quarters of the required signatures against the construction of the giant multifunctional building Corso Americká in the center of Plzeň have been collected by five civic associations in less than three months. They aim to promote the declaration of a local referendum that could prevent the construction costing 2.5 billion crowns on the site of the Cultural House Inwest. The required 13,500 signatures will be collected by the end of February at the latest, said Martin Marek, spokesman for the associations, which significantly strengthened their signature campaign starting today.
    "We will direct the approval of the referendum to the February, at the latest the March city council meeting of Plzeň," said Marek. The association originally aimed to have the signatures by early January. "But that doesn’t matter at all, because the intent hasn't progressed anywhere. The investor hasn’t submitted a request for a zoning decision. They don’t even have a demolition order yet (for the cultural house)," he added.
    According to the development company Amádeus, which wants to build the Corso Americká project, preparatory work is continuing intensively. "The demolition order has been issued, but it is not yet legally binding. We have adjusted the documentation for the zoning procedure in accordance with the city’s regulatory conditions, and it will now be reviewed by the relevant authorities. After that, we will immediately apply for a zoning decision," said company representative Jan Petřík. He does not see any fundamental problem in the several-month delay of the preparation of the construction.
    The association has prepared "mini sheets" for signatures, which they started to distribute in Plzeň today into 8,000 mailboxes. The sheets, which will be put into the mailboxes by the association’s members for about a week, are for five signatures.
    According to Marek, this is the most successful attempt for a referendum in Plzeň in 22 years. "Over 10,000 signatures in less than three months, that’s very successful. Because it’s not a petition, it can’t be on the internet, but must be physically signed and only by Plzeň residents over 18 years old, which is more demanding," he added. Opponents of the project want to use the referendum to push for a change in the zoning plan of the area from the current mixed urban area to urban greenery.
    Given that the investor still does not have the demolition order, they cannot start demolishing the cultural house. "They are dismantling it inside, but for the skeleton they wanted to start working on long ago, they do not have permission from the construction department," said Marek. Petřík also confirmed the work inside the house. The association also argued that there is asbestos, which according to Marek will delay the demolition. However, according to an ecological audit from 1997, there is no asbestos there, Petřík stated.
    The Czech development company Amádeus received a positive assessment regarding the environmental impact of the construction (EIA) at the beginning of December, which is a prerequisite for issuing a zoning decision. The investor wants to build a new center for shops, leisure, housing, culture, and administration by 2013. Following public input, the investor included, for example, a sports center, bike paths, and a cultural hall that they want to offer free of charge to the organizers of the event Plzeň - European Capital of Culture in 2015. They are also working on a transportation solution to minimize the burden in the area.