The representatives of Olomouc did not discuss the height regulation of buildings again

Olomouc - The Olomouc City Council today, after a long discussion, again did not address the long-prepared change to the zoning plan, which was intended to set height limits for buildings in the vicinity of the city's historic center, thereby preventing the planned construction of the 76-meter-high Šantovka Tower. The representatives did not approve the proposal to reject several objections from the investor of the controversial high-rise building against the prepared change to the zoning plan.

In the area designated for the construction of Šantovka Tower, which lies within the protective zone of the urban monument reserve, there will continue to be no height limits following today’s council decision. The investor obtained a zoning decision for his project last week, which is an important prerequisite for obtaining a building permit for Šantovka Tower. "We lost the fight for fair public administration by one vote. Nothing now stands in the way of Šantovka Tower," stated the opposition movement ProOlomouc on Facebook.

The Mayor of Olomouc, Mirek Žbánek (ANO), said that the city council would discuss the next steps on June 25, before the deadline for appealing the zoning decision expires. The council tasked officials with adjusting the proposal for the change in the zoning plan and examining the possibility of setting a height limit and alternative locations for the high-rise building.

The construction of Šantovka Tower has been a topic of discussion in Olomouc for years. Heritage conservationists and some experts disagree, stating that it would damage the historical panorama of the city. The investor claims the opposite and pointed out that the city committed to cooperate on the Šantovka project with a contract from 2010. According to lawyer Petr Konečný, who represents the city, the outcome of a potential court dispute between the investor and the city hall regarding the 2010 contract cannot be predicted. Konečný warned the representatives that there is a certain degree of risk of "problem arising."

According to lawyer and former councilor Dominika Kovaříková, the contract between the city and the investor only pertains to the already completed Galerie Šantovka and the adjacent tram line in Nové Sady. Kovaříková believes that the contract does not contain specific information about the stages of the new urban district project Šantovka or height data. "By establishing height limits, the contract definitely cannot be violated," she noted.

The city hall claims that it was not possible to discuss the change to the zoning plan earlier. The Ministry of Culture unexpectedly announced at the beginning of the year, at the investor's instigation, that it was reassessing its earlier opinion on the already prepared amendment of the zoning plan. The Ministry of Culture, headed by former Olomouc mayor Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), was supposed to inform Olomouc by the end of April whether it would confirm its previous position or issue a new one. However, due to administrative proceedings regarding the existence of the protective zone of the urban monument reserve, it has not yet done so.

The construction of high-rise buildings in the protective zone of the monument reserve in Olomouc was banned by the Ministry of Culture years ago, which was reflected in the zoning plan from 2014. However, the court later annulled the height regulation. The council did not address the zoning plan amendment last year, and the council did not approve a building moratorium either.