The building authority in Plzeň has put a "stop" to the project of the giant shopping center

Plzeň - The building authority in Plzeň has rejected the application for the issuance of a zoning decision for the construction of a shopping center, which the residents of Plzeň opposed in a referendum last year. The company Amádeus Plzeň, which wants to build the Arena Shopping Center for 2.5 billion CZK on the site of the former Inwest House of Culture, can still appeal. If unsuccessful, it means the end of the proposed building project. The authority's decision appeared on Friday on the city of Plzeň's website, and today ČTK was alerted to it by the organizer of the referendum, Martin Marek.
    "We found out about it on Friday afternoon, and we have a meeting on Monday to discuss what to do next. We need to analyze the document, we need to find out why it is so," said today ČTK the legal representative of the investor, Jan Petřík.
    According to Deputy Mayor Martin Zrzavecký (CSSD), the decision of the building administration department likely ends the construction plan as it was previously prepared. "Unless the investor initiates a new zoning procedure and tries to overcome the opinion of the people who voted in the referendum against the proposed project," he stated. The city itself, according to him, will in the coming days call on the investor to negotiate adjustments to the project in the spirit of the local referendum so that the area of the former cultural house is built upon and not left vacant. Zrzavecký pointed out that the investor failed to meet two essential conditions in the project, namely the condition of subdivision or material division of the building, and there was also an issue with the division of the facade.
    The company can appeal within 15 days of delivery, but adjacent plots of land that belong to the city and with which the planned building was supposed to interact are crucial for it. A document from the building administration department of the city hall shows that the situation regarding these plots significantly influenced the decision. "The city of Plzeň clearly expressed its disagreement with the implementation of the plan on its land. Given this position, which, in light of publicly available information on the city's commitment to respect the results of the referendum, is clear and unchangeable, any other steps would be in violation of procedural economy," the department stated in its decision.
    The multifunctional building was rejected by people in a referendum a year ago, and according to its results, the city must take all actions necessary to prevent the construction. Last July, it therefore called on the investor to vacate the city-owned land on which he had a lease. Amádeus disagreed, believing that the lease agreement continues, and the rent is still valid. Therefore, the city filed a lawsuit for the eviction of the land. Additionally, this week the council decided to send the investor a letter about the unilateral termination of the contract. According to the contract, the investor was to purchase the land only after the shopping center was approved. However, the city did not enter into a contract for a future purchase agreement with Amádeus.
    According to Marek, it all ended thanks to the referendum, when the city subsequently had to retract its approvals. "And also thanks to our association Plzeňané's objection regarding bias from early last year, which suspended the proceedings until October 2013. Meanwhile, the lease agreement for the city-owned land terminated on June 30, 2013, which also eliminated the possibility of theoretical compensation for damages," Marek stated.