The association against the giant house in Plzeň has enough signatures for a referendum

Plzeň - Civic associations have collected the required 13,500 signatures for the declaration of a referendum on the construction of a giant building in the center of Plzeň. Activists who oppose the construction and advocate for a park on the site of the demolished culture house want the city hall to declare a public vote in conjunction with the regional elections this autumn. Martin Marek from the referendum preparatory committee said this to ČTK today. The building, costing 2.5 billion CZK, with shops, offices, apartments, and leisure spaces, is to be built by the Czech development company Amádeus.
     "We have managed to collect over 13,900 signatures and we will continue to gather them to have a sufficient buffer for any potentially invalid signatures," he stated. By August 3, the referendum proposers aim to collect at least 15,000 signatures. They will present the signatures for verification at the Plzeň City Hall on Monday, August 6, and will hold a press conference.
     The proposal for declaring a referendum must, according to Marek, be signed by at least one-tenth of all voters in a city the size of Plzeň, which amounts to 13,500. In addition to the signature, they must correctly and completely fill out their residence information and date of birth. Experiences from other large cities, such as Brno or Plzeň, where in 2004 Children of the Earth tried to declare a referendum on the fare, show that despite thorough verification, a few percent of citizens always sign incorrectly or multiple times, he noted. By combining the referendum with the date of the regional elections, the argument of opponents highlighting the high costs of organizing the referendum falls away, and there will also be guaranteed minimum participation.
     Amádeus intends to apply for a zoning decision as soon as possible and aims to complete the building within two years. The city has committed that 45 percent of the space in the multifunctional building Corso Americká will consist of commercial areas, while the remainder will comprise apartments, cultural and relaxation spaces, offices, and an outdoor amphitheater on the roof. A boulevard will be created from Americká street. According to the investor's representative Jan Petřík, there are no significant disputes between the city hall and the developer, and they are discussing the design of the building together.