The court annulled the height regulation of new buildings in the center of Olomouc

Olomouc - The court today annulled the height regulation in part of the urban plan of Olomouc, which prevented the construction of the Šantovka Tower high-rise building adjacent to the historical center of the city. However, the city hall has been given time until the end of this year to better justify the height regulation for new buildings in this part of Olomouc. The city was sued by the developer Office Park Šantovka due to the construction of the Šantovka Tower and administrative buildings. The new urban plan, approved by the council last autumn, prohibited the construction of the 75-meter tall building and other structures in its vicinity.
     "The height regulation was annulled as of December 31, 2015, because the urban plan did not justify why residential buildings obstruct the view of the historical center less than administrative buildings. Furthermore, it was argued from only one viewpoint of the historical center of the city that would be completely obstructed by the construction permitted by the annulled regulation," explained the verdict by judge Jiří Gottwald from the Olomouc branch of the Regional Court in Ostrava.
    According to him, the city hall should duly justify again why new construction in the former Milo enterprise area needs height regulation so that it does not negatively impact the view of the historical center of Olomouc. "This was not adequately justified in the urban plan. Above all, the urban plan adopted a binding statement from the heritage conservation authorities, which was indeed binding for it but was not adequately justified and therefore was not a proper and valid basis for the urban plan," the judge stated.
    The developer Office Park Šantovka is satisfied with the court's decision. "It clearly declared the unjustifiability of the height regulation in our area," said its spokesperson Juraj Aláč to ČTK, adding that the company would wait for the written reasoning of the verdict before making further comments. "Our intention to work on the Šantovka Tower project remains, and we are ready to start cooperating with the city on a new urban plan for the Šantovka area," he added.
    The city hall is also waiting for the delivery of the court resolution, after which it will decide on the next steps. "We will certainly also request methodological assistance and consultation from our superior authorities, which are the regional office of the Olomouc region and for the area of urban planning, also the Ministry for Regional Development," spokesperson Radka Štědrá told ČTK.
    The investor's lawyer Rostislav Pekař argued in court that the city leadership had known about the heights of the planned buildings since 2008 and had expressed support for these plans on the condition of "high architectural quality." According to him, the original urban plan did not regulate the height of new buildings in this part of the city, and the city hall was informed that the investor wanted to build houses up to 29 meters tall and the Šantovka Tower high-rise building.
    The developer thus initiated a project worth ten billion crowns, which includes a new shopping center, high-rise building, administrative objects, and apartment buildings. "So far, we have invested three billion crowns. However, then the preparation of a change to the urban plan began, in which strict conditions (on the height of new buildings) were introduced," stated Pekař.
    The construction of high-rise buildings in the protective zone of the heritage reserve was banned by the Ministry of Culture, which was reflected in the new urban plan. New buildings can have a maximum height of 23 meters in the vicinity of the center. The urban plan does not permit the construction of the Šantovka Tower at all in this part of Olomouc. Some experts, in addition to heritage conservationists, oppose its construction, arguing that it would damage the panorama of the historical center. The investor claims otherwise.