Civic associations in Brno criticize the way the urban plan is being prepared

Brno - Civic associations criticize the way the Brno city council is preparing the new spatial plan. They believe it gives too little space to the public. As part of the preparation of the document, which will determine the boundaries of Brno's development for at least the next ten years, the city council will hold several public debates. However, according to Milan Štefanec from Nesehnutí, these are one-sided, formal, and do not offer alternative views. He published this today in a press release.
    Štefanec criticized that at the meetings, of which the first was organized by the city council, only the developers of the spatial plan concept and officials present their opinions. "Any correction of the presented opinions was missing from the discussion (...) as well as a knowledgeable opposition to the proposed solutions. There was actually no real discussion, as citizens could only ask questions," Štefanec stated.
    Brno's civic initiatives and associations therefore proposed that they would provide experts for the organization of the next discussions to the city council. The meetings will address topics such as housing, job opportunities, gardens, greenery, transportation, and shopping.
    Most topics are controversial. For example, several years ago, the city council's intention to eliminate garden colonies in the city center, which are inaccessible to the public and form a barrier in the urban landscape, caused discontent. Gardeners, who mostly lease the land, reacted sharply against it. Civic associations have long criticized that the city council has allowed shopping centers to proliferate, which have pushed small traders out of the city. Many upcoming transportation projects also face criticism.
    The civic associations sent a letter to the councilors offering the participation of their people at public discussions behind the presidential table. The open letter was signed by ten organizations. Among them are Brnění fighting against underground garages in Zelný trh, Klidné Ivanovice focused against the construction of a hypermarket in the municipal district, Děti Země, which annually awards ecological anti-awards Ropák roku and Zelená perla, Hnutí Duha, Environmental Legal Service, and the Civic Coalition Nádrží in the center. They disagree with the relocation of the station as planned by the current coalition of ČSSD and ODS. The letter was sent by the associations today.
    The preparation of the new spatial plan and urban development is the responsibility of the mayor's deputy Ladislav Macek (ČSSD), who headed investments in the previous electoral period. He took over the new department from Martin Ander (SZ). He, too, as a current opposition councilor, criticized the way the new spatial plan is being prepared. According to him, the city council is returning to old practices by pushing its solutions, thus deepening the trenches between the city leadership and the residents.