Prague City Hall disagrees with the events surrounding building regulations

Prague - The Union of Prague's Municipal Districts, which brings together 27 municipalities, is asking Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) for clarification regarding the situation around construction regulations. The mayor's approach, who unexpectedly presented her own version of the regulations last week, is non-standard and "completely contrary to the proclaimed efforts to lead the city transparently and effectively," said the union's chairman and the mayor of the Prague-Lysolaje district, Petr Hlubuček (STAN), to ČTK.
    Moreover, the fifteen mayors have sent Krnáčová a letter demanding the dismissal of the head of the municipal department of urban development, Jan Kábert. However, the mayor claims there is no legal reason to dismiss Kábert. On Thursday, the top officials of the Prague coalition will discuss the situation.
    The smoldering conflict in the Prague coalition of ANO, CSSD, and the Troika (SZ, STAN, KDU-ČSL) flared up last week when the mayor came up with her own version of the long-discussed construction regulations and additionally initiated a vote, during which the council removed the regulations from the portfolio of Deputy Matěj Stropnický (Troika/SZ). The mayor stated that Stropnický is incompetent and threatens the existence of Prague's construction regulations. Stropnický, in turn, speaks of a coalition of old friends from ANO and CSSD.
    "The originally announced willingness to cooperate more with the municipal districts is not being fulfilled by the leadership of Prague," said Hlubuček. "The mayor's and the council's approach regarding Prague's construction regulations is severely disliked by the union, especially in light of the time and financial resources expended by the municipal districts and the capital city," he added. The municipal districts have expressed their views on previous versions of the construction regulations during the comment period; currently, they have a shortened fifteen-day period to discuss the mayor's proposal. Additionally, according to the chairman, the union is requesting a meeting with the mayor regarding the budget and subsidies for the next year.
    The group of Prague mayors is demanding in an open letter that the council revoke its resolution regarding Kábert. "I consider it absolutely unacceptable for Mr. Kábert to hold this important public position, as his previous actions significantly contributed to overburdening Prague 11 with a number of oversized private construction plans with no benefit to the public interest," writes Jiří Štyler (HPP11), the mayor of Prague 11, in the letter. The letter has been signed, besides Štyler, by the mayors of Prague 4, 7, 12, Slivenec, as well as Troja and Zbraslav.
    According to the mayor, however, Kábert was recommended by the commission as the most suitable candidate, and as of August 1, he has held a work contract which cannot be terminated without cause. Krnáčová stated today that the council's resolution appointing the new head of the department cannot be revoked either.
    The construction regulations, which are implementing regulations for the building act, generally define the requirements for land use and technical requirements for buildings. The original construction regulations' effectiveness was suspended by the Ministry for Regional Development in January for 15 months. In the amendment to the building act, the ministry also proposed that Prague lose the right to its own construction regulations. Prague has had its construction regulations as the only city in the Czech Republic for over 100 years. At the national level, the issue of construction regulations is governed by decrees from the Ministry for Regional Development.