Brno will have a town plan not until 2012

Brno - Brno will probably have a new zoning plan by 2012, later than originally planned. The current plan from 1994 was supposed to be valid only until 2010, but the city hall will not be able to prepare a new one on time. This was stated today at the international construction fair by architect Kateřina Leopoldová from the Brno city hall. The city is working with three different draft plans, and next year they will be put out for public discussion before a final version is chosen.
    By the end of this year, the city hall wants to have all three concepts prepared, and the public will be able to express their opinions next year. After that, officials and architects will select one of the variants and present it again for public discussion. Only then will the document be approved by the city council, Leopoldová stated.
    The zoning plan for Brno has been a source of disputes for several years. For example, regarding the route of the expressway R43 from Brno to Svitavy. Some members of the public and politicians reject the option for this important traffic artery to run through the Bystrc district. Last year, the Greens succeeded in having a plan drafted that does not include R43. The debates surrounding R43, one of the most controversial transport constructions in the region, have likely delayed the preparation of the plan.
    In the current zoning plan, the city hall has made several changes over the past 14 years, with more planned. The studio Arch.Design is working on the concepts for the new plan. It envisions changing the use of several abandoned sites in the city center and its districts, as well as many currently unused areas.
    For example, it aims to utilize abandoned industrial sites along the Svitava River for housing, enhance the appeal of the Brno reservoir for tourists, and propose areas for an entertainment center near the Černovická terrace in the southern part of the city. "It could be some sort of Brno alternative to Vienna's Prater," added architect and one of the authors of the new plan Jaroslav Dokoupil.