The discussed building regulations will come into effect in Prague starting in October

Source
Jana Hrubá

Publisher
ČTK
11.09.2014 22:10

Prague - Councilors across the political spectrum today called on the single-colored TOP 09 council to delay the effectiveness of the recently approved new building regulations after a long and heated debate. The delay until the beginning of 2016 was proposed by the ČSSD. The author of the regulations, Pavel Hnilička, stated in response to a CTK inquiry that the councilors do not have the authority for such a request. He sees advertising lobby behind it, he said. The regulations, which among other things regulate the size of advertisements in the city center, will thus come into effect according to the original plan starting in October.
    The building regulations recently approved by the councilors set rules for height regulation of buildings, limit the expansion of the city at the expense of open countryside, emphasize filling in gaps and utilizing unoccupied areas, and according to the authors from the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), more effectively protect natural sites. At the same time, they regulate advertising in the city center. The limit for the size of billboards will be reduced from the current twelve to six square meters starting in October. Advertising operators have previously stated that the new rules are disastrous for them.
    As one of the election topics, the building regulations were chosen by the councilors from the ČSSD. Councilor Jan Slezák (ČSSD) stated today at the council meeting that they raise several questions and are poorly prepared. He called for the council to retract its decision. The opposition ODS also joined in the criticism. "The regulation only favors builders. It creates legal uncertainty and a pro-corruption state," said former mayor and councilor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS).
    "The council can revoke a decision related to self-governance, not one regarding the delegated performance of state administration," Hnilička said. He sees the advertising lobby behind the opposition's activity. According to him, no one else has complained about the building regulations. Similarly, this week Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09) expressed himself: "I firmly hope that ČSSD is not acting purposefully in favor of the financially strong billboard lobby, which is fiercely resisting the ban on new billboards in Prague and the regulation of our advertising jungle," he stated. ČSSD rejected the accusation.
    In recent days, Prague has literally been flooded with billboards bearing the message "Prague citizens, you are also losing money" and referencing the website www.okradenapraha.cz. They point out allegedly disadvantageous contracts regarding advertising that Prague signed with the company JCDecaux in the 90s. The initiative is backed by BigBoard, which previously stated in a press release that the new building regulations favor the French company and guarantee its exclusivity. Additionally, today information appeared that owners of advertising devices have started removing election posters for TOP 09 in Prague.

The discussed building regulations will come into effect in Prague starting in October

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