Dostálová: The highest building authority will not be subordinate to the ministry

photo: https://www.anobudelip.cz/

Prague - The highest building authority, which is anticipated by the new building law, will not be subordinated to the Ministry of Local Development (MMR), as the government originally planned. The state building administration will be two-tiered, which means that regional building authorities will operate under the highest building authority, with branches in individual municipalities. This was stated today by the Minister for Local Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) at the Technological Forum conference at the opening of the For Arch construction fair. The policy intention of the new building law, which aims to expedite and simplify the construction approval process, was approved by the government in June.

"Originally, we envisioned that the highest building authority would function similarly to the financial administration, which is subordinated to the Ministry of Finance. But the Supreme Administrative Court pointed out that in that case, state contracts would be systemically biased. Therefore, it will be a central body of state administration that will not be subordinated to any ministry," Dostálová stated.

There are currently 730 building authorities in the Czech Republic. According to Dostálová, a problem is that they lack representability. This is set to change with the new law. "We have about a quarter of single-headed building authorities. And currently, there is no possibility for an employee who, for example, falls ill, to be replaced by someone from a nearby building authority," the minister added.

Fears from municipalities that they would lose their building authorities are, according to her, unfounded. "Many mayors are already preparing rental agreements for the state so that these officials can remain in their current offices. The only difference will be that they will be paid by the state. But we definitely want officials to be as close to the citizens as possible," Dostálová communicated.

As she further stated, the two-tiered state building administration will apply a so-called appeal principle. This means that when a decision is not made at the branch of the building authority in the municipalities and the matter is transferred to the regional building authority, it will not return it. "It can change the decision and issue it. We want to get out of the current cycle where everything is returned and reviewed," Dostálová noted.

Another issue that is arousing certain passions is, according to her, the integration of concerned authorities, such as heritage conservationists or firefighters. "We have 48 concerned authorities, and during the construction proceedings, we must obtain 48 stamps. There is an option for appeal and review for each opinion. When you multiply that with deadlines, we end up with enormous delays. We will strive for maximum integration under the building authorities. So that all involved can express their views on one project documentation that will be in a digitized form. And they will agree because the requirements from heritage conservationists and firefighters often contradict each other," the minister added.

The new building law aims to expedite and simplify construction approvals. According to the MMR, which proposes the law, the approval process for constructions should be reduced from the current average of 5.4 years to one year. However, critics argue that the law favors developers, denies public interests such as environmental protection, and opens the door for corruption.

The proposal expects the merging of zoning procedures, construction procedures, and environmental impact assessments (EIA) into a unified approval process. According to the MMR, an important aspect is the digitization of the construction agenda, from spatial planning documentation to digital technical maps, project documentation for constructions, and electronic files of building authorities.

The timetable anticipates that the legislative changes should be drafted by the end of October this year. After addressing comments during inter-ministerial proceedings and discussing the proposed law with the legislative council, the government should approve the draft law by the end of June 2020. After being discussed by both chambers of Parliament, it should be approved by the president in November 2020. It should take effect from 2021. However, according to some experts, such a plan is not realistic.