Olomouc is finishing the preparation of a new zoning plan

Olomouc - Olomouc will have a new urban plan, which experts have been discussing since 2006, probably at the turn of this year and next year. The city hall today launched the final information campaign for the urban plan proposal, and citizens and businesses will be able to submit their objections and comments on this strategic document until March 12, which will determine the main parameters of the development of the regional city for the coming years. After that, the urban plan should take on its final form, and it will be voted on by the council.
     "We expect that the urban plan will be submitted for approval (to the council) at the turn of this year and next year. However, a lot will depend on how many comments and objections we receive and what their nature will be," said Radek Dosoudil, head of the concept and development department, to reporters today.
     When the city hall created the concept of the new urban plan in 2010, it received about 900 objections and comments to it. The city leadership fully accommodated 24 percent of them, while another 49 percent were partially accepted. The remaining objections were rejected by the council.
     The council accommodated, for example, opponents of the northern road connection that was supposed to lead through the city districts of Lazce, Řepčín, and Hejčín. The proposed urban plan no longer includes the considered satellite town in Lošov. On the contrary, the council did not heed the objections of those who demanded that the urban plan not account for the relocation of the employment office from the building near the main station to Hněvotínská street at the opposite end of the city.
     "We want the discussion to be lengthy and include as many people as possible who will be affected by the urban plan. During the information campaign, we will provide really maximum information. The entire period for familiarization with the proposal, discussion, and acceptance of comments and objections will again be significantly extended beyond the limit that the law imposes on the city," said Mayor Martin Novotný (ODS) to reporters today.
     The city hall has prepared, for example, a public presentation of the urban plan proposal and a discussion panel for entrepreneurs and experts. The draft document will be displayed at the municipal office on Hynaisova street until mid-March.
     The current urban plan of Olomouc began to be developed by officials in 1994. It came into force four years later. The city is compelled to draw up a new urban plan by legislation. However, the city hall needs it regardless. According to city leadership, the current plan corresponds to the reality of the mid-1990s, not the current state. The fact that it is outdated is evidenced by dozens of changes that the city council has approved annually. According to earlier estimates, the city hall will pay about 11 million crowns for the preparation of the new urban plan.