Stropnický sent a letter to Krnáčová due to building regulations

Prague - Deputy Matěj Stropnický (Trojkoalice/Green Party) has today reached out to Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) in a letter, stating that he wants to know the authors of her version of the building regulations. The regulations, which Krnáčová unexpectedly presented to the council on Tuesday, do not regulate building heights, are milder regarding advertising regulations, do not take apartment lighting into account, and abolish the requirement for planting tree rows, according to Stropnický. "It gives me the impression that the developer's hand was not far from writing this text," the deputy said at a press conference. According to spokesman Vladimír Řepka, Krnáčová has yet to see the letter.
     The hotly debated building regulations have been of interest for several months. On Tuesday, the council, with votes from ANO and ČSSD, removed the preparation of the regulations from Stropnický's responsibility due to alleged incompetence and approved a proposal prepared by the mayor's secretariat. Long-simmering disputes within the Prague coalition have now flared up fully. Krnáčová speaks of Stropnický’s incompetence, while the deputy accuses old friends from ANO and ČSSD of collusion. The Trojkoalice club will demand a coalition meeting. The Green Party speaks of an infringement on Stropnický's powers, which they claim contradicts the coalition agreement.
     The version of the regulations approved by the council is, according to Stropnický, confusing and non-transparent in certain parts. In this context, he mentioned the requirement for sunlight or height regulation, which he finds vague. Stropnický is also bothered by the omission of the requirement to leave space for tree planting during the construction of new streets. "That was one of the good and innovative steps and even that requirement was omitted," he said. He also criticized the elimination of the requirement for spaces for electric cars in the case of garage construction and the new method of calculating the distance between individual billboards.
     Mayor Krnáčová reportedly has not yet read the letter. "The mayor has not yet seen the letter, but I found out that it has already reached us, and we will respond to the deputy and provide him with the list," said the spokesman for the city hall, Vladimír Řepka.
     After Tuesday's council meeting, Stropnický offered his position for availability at an extraordinary meeting of the Trojkoalice club. However, the club did not accept his offer. "I said it considering that none of the strategic documents I presented were accepted, so whether it makes sense for me to remain in the position," Stropnický said in response to a question from ČTK. At the moment, he does not intend to resign. "I feel bound by the club's decision," he added.
     The Ministry of Regional Development stated today that it is still waiting for a new version of the regulations and a resolution of its comments, which, according to the ministry, has not yet occurred. The ministry suspended the validity of the regulations passed last year at the beginning of this year. At the same time, it objected to being associated with the billboard lobby.
     The building regulations, which are implementing regulations to the building act, generally define the requirements for land use and technical requirements for buildings. The effectiveness of the original building regulations was suspended by the Ministry of Regional Development in January for 15 months. This happened under pressure from the advertising lobby. At the same time, the ministry proposed in the amendment to the building act that Prague lose its right to its own building regulations. Prague has had its own building regulations as the only city in the Czech Republic for more than 100 years. At the national level, the issue of building regulations is governed by decrees from the Ministry of Regional Development.