To the current situation regarding Šantovka Tower

ŠTW lost its territorial decision by a ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court, and the regional building authority took over the further proceedings. The city leadership is passively waiting and allowing the developer to process a new construction permit. The association Za krásnou Olomouc calls on the council and the municipal assembly to urgently restore the full validity of the zoning plan at Šantovka. Otherwise, the association is prepared to intervene with the higher regional authority.
Šantovka Tower lost its territorial decision in January 2025 through a ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court. The Olomouc magistrate was declared biased, so the territorial and building proceedings regarding Šantovka Tower were taken over by the regional authority in the summer, and in December, it was decided that the binding opinions concerning transport, heritage protection, and the environment would be issued by the magistrate of Prostějov.
What is the leadership of the city of Olomouc, composed of representatives of ANO, ProOlomouc, and Společně, doing in the meantime? Nothing. They are waiting. Decisions that significantly and irreversibly affect the development and image of the city are being passively left to the regional building authority and the officials of the Prostějov magistrate. This gives the privileged investor ample time to process a new territorial decision. “There persists a situation where the self-government resigns on defending the public interest in protecting exceptional heritage values and refuses to establish a fair and predictable investment environment with the same rules for everyone,” points out association member Martina Mertová.
Excuses about complications with the new building law and the weak argument that ‘the Ministry of Culture will not dictate from Prague how our city should look’ are insufficient. Not only experts from the ministry, but also authors of past, politically rejected amendments to the zoning plan, experts from the former conceptual and development department of the magistrate, the professional heritage care organization National Heritage Institute, and a long list of significant architects, urban planners, and historians, including many not just from the Czech Republic, stand against ŠTW.
Moreover, the council in December 2024 supported the updated project of the neighboring Gallery Šantovka 2. This project includes a Marriott hotel building nearly twice the height allowed by the zoning plan in the area surrounding the construction. The horizontal slab measuring 65 meters long and 39 meters high will enter the views of the historical panorama of the city, especially from the south, and according to statements from the city's architect office, the architecture commission, and an external assessment, it will negatively affect the perception of the urban monument reserve. It is also due to this that city representatives are currently avoiding their legal responsibilities.
If the city leadership remains inactive, it will confirm that it places the private interest of one developer above the public interest of the city. The willingness of council members to listen to experts has long been disappearing from their decisions. “Thus, the case once again becomes a dangerous political issue, and expertise, which should be a priority in this controversial case, is being pushed aside,” adds Mertová.
As an association that has been monitoring the case for a long time, we call on the Council and the Assembly of the city of Olomouc to immediately issue a temporary construction ban and subsequently approve the proposed amendment to the zoning plan that will permanently restore the canceled height limits in the Šantovka area. “In the event of continued inactivity, we are prepared to intervene with the higher regional authority,” concludes association member David Helcel.