The court postponed the proceedings with the city of Brno due to a change in the zoning plan

Brno - The Regional Court in Brno today commenced the main hearing in the case of a lawsuit against the City Hall of Brno concerning the update of the zoning plan. Last June, it was approved by the city council, thereby changing a 20-year-old zoning plan. The court was approached by 15 plaintiffs led by the movement Nesehnutí. Their legal representative Jiří Nezhyba from the Ecological Law Service Frank Bold declared the update as unlawful and confusing. Judge David Raus heard the proposers and opponents and postponed the main hearing to Friday, January 23.
    "The court will decide whether further evidence will be needed. If so, we will continue with the evidence presentation. If not, final proposals will be heard," Raus said during the postponement.
    Nezhyba, in presenting the proposal, stated that the councilors received an extensive document a week before the session and did not have enough time to familiarize themselves with it properly. "It was beyond human capacity to read over 10,000 pages in a week. The council could not decide based on reliably established facts and act in accordance with the principle of legality," Nezhyba said.
    However, representatives of the city hall countered that the councilors voted on the possibility of postponing the discussion on the item to a later date at the meeting, but this proposal was rejected. "Therefore, there is no doubt that the councilors knew which document they were approving," stated Veronika Doležalová from the Department of Urban Planning and Development of the Brno City Hall.
    The plaintiffs point out significant procedural flaws. They are troubled by the process of approval of the update and claim that some changes were not explained by the preparer. "Certain specific areas designated for green space were changed to other functional areas without justification in the text," Nezhyba said. According to the proposers, it will be possible to build on areas designated for green space. They also criticize the document for increasing the floor area index, as well as legalizing illegal constructions. Changes to functional areas will occur because places where building was previously not allowed can now be built upon according to the new update. The proposers also argue that the document favors certain developers and landowners.
    However, Doležalová stated that the city hall acted in a way that does not violate the law. "The submitted proposal to annul the update mainly contains objections that the city hall has already dealt with in the past, but does not point out any specific violations of the law," added Doležalová.
    Doležalová also pointed out that Brno has a zoning plan from 1994 and has not undergone any significant amendment since then. "The update is intended for the benefit of the public, so that Brno does not remain without an updated zoning plan," she noted. A new one cannot be prepared due to the fact that the court annulled the Principles of Land Development of the South Moravian Region. Brno is required to comply with them. Until they are drafted, a new zoning plan for Brno cannot be created.