Some city hall members criticize the way the new zoning plan for Prague is being prepared

Prague - The city halls of several districts disagree with the proposed zoning plan submitted for review by the Prague magistrate. The proposal is the first phase in the preparation of a new zoning plan. The new plan will change the previously established system of zoning planning. During their meeting today, representatives from Prague 4 criticized the proposal, with concerns also coming from Prague 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10.
The city halls are most often bothered by the thirty-day deadline for feedback on the proposal. They consider it too short. "As a layman, I won't have time to consult experts on the zoning plan or listen to the public," said Jiří Bodenlos (ČSSD), the deputy mayor of Prague 4, at a special meeting of the representatives today.
According to Deputy Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09), who is in charge of developing the new zoning plan, the city could not provide the city halls with a different deadline. "It is according to the law," he stated for ČTK. He also mentioned that if the city halls do not meet the deadline, the city is legally barred from addressing any late comments.
The mentioned deadline for feedback is also criticized by Prague 10. "Such a procedure is inadequate considering the seriousness of the issue," said deputy mayor Ivana Cabrnochová (SZ). Prague 1 has also joined the criticism. "A time frame this short for such a fundamental matter - it is simply impossible to provide feedback. The plan cannot be rushed in thirty days like a regulation about dog excrement," stated mayor Oldřich Lomecký (TOP 09). The Prague 1 council will address the material only on April 16.
The city parts are also bothered by some simplifications. The twenty colors designating land use will be reduced to four. This means, for example, that the so-called isolation greenery along streets will "fall" into the transportation category. This concerns places like Vienna Street or the South Connection in Prague 4. "The owner will then be able to expand these roads in any way without being obligated to maintain the isolation greenery, which will worsen the already poor situation along these roads," said Prague 4 councilor Petr Štěpánek (SZ).
Hudeček also rejects this objection. "The simplicity of the zoning plan is a fundamental anti-corruption mechanism," he stated.
The zoning plan will be divided into two layers, the so-called metropolitan plan and the local plan. In the new plan, according to Hudeček, there will be both a map and a book that provides a detailed description of the locality. This means that it will be verbally described, for example, how tall buildings may be constructed there. Regulations will reportedly be more abundant than today and will be in words, not colors.
The lower number of colors is also disapproved of by Prague 3. "The proposal works only with four colors for production, residential, recreational, and landscape areas. Prague 3 will propose to significantly expand this range, as well as to add overlapping markings for public spaces and urban greenery," said city hall spokesperson Stanislav Kněnický.
The new zoning plan is intended to be simpler and will only set the maximum load on the area. From this, the magistrate hopes to reduce the risk of corruption among other things. The current zoning plan has been in effect since January 1, 2000.