How long will the construction frenzy last?

904 settlements in the region need general development plans, of which 464 — urgently. Of the 20 cities and towns of Volyn that are included in the list of historical cities of Ukraine, only 4 have scientific and project documentation. Such figures and facts were made public during the next meeting of the media club "Open Region."

EVERYTHING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

It was precisely the absence of modernized general development plans for cities and towns that the first deputy head of the regional state administration, an architect by profession, Bohdan Shyba, named as the main reason for spontaneous, chaotic construction that tempts local authorities to abuse the allocation of land plots. According to him, the most crisis situation has developed in Shatsk district (resort zones around the lakes) and the city of Lutsk. For example, in Lutsk the general development plan of the city has not been updated since 1978, that is, for 27 years. And in some places, even the city boundaries have not been approved.

— The current general plan of the city of Lutsk did not envisage at all the possibility of individual housing construction, places for the construction of religious buildings, — admitted the head of the department of architecture and urban planning of the regional state administration, Yakym Senyk. — Everything was supposed to be in high-rise buildings, with wide avenues and streets in "red lines" of 80 meters each. Because of this, it is now problematic to place such necessary objects as cemeteries, waste collection and processing points, etc. in the city…

The acting head of the department of urban planning and architecture of the Lutsk city executive committee, Yaroslav Matviyiv, clarified that the aforementioned city development plan was approved by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in 1980 and was designed for 25 years. That is, its validity period ends only this year. At least the general plan envisaged zoning, so the most problematic industrial zones for the city were developed in a planned manner.

CITIES UNDER SIEGE

The most experienced urban planner of the region, director of the Volyn branch of "Dipromisto," honored architect Androsh Bidzilya, sees the reason for this state of affairs in the fact that during 14 years of Ukraine's independence, Ukraine did not know such a word as urban planning. Laws effectively were in force until 1990: every chief architect of a city or district reported to the State Construction Committee on the implementation of the general plan. All this took place in Kyiv, at a very high level. And if they found something not as in the general plan, the architect could lose his job, or even end up in the dock... Now, in some districts, even people without proper education work in architect positions. They at their own discretion issue so-called urban planning justifications, in fact — one-time permits for spot construction. What worries me most is not so much what kiosks are built in cities, as what has appeared around cities, — noted the director of the Volyn branch of "Dipromisto," honored architect of Ukraine Androsh Bidzilya. — In fact, today cities are under siege, they are completely blocked by new buildings. Such damage was caused by the law on local self-government, which gave villages complete freedom of action. Every village council head became a "great builder"... And now the question arises: where should Lutsk go next, how should it develop?..

Similar situations are characteristic of other cities of Volyn, in particular Kovel and Novovolynsk. That is why, emphasized Mr. Senyk, general plans are needed first of all for cities of regional significance, suburban villages, settlements of the Shatsk National Nature Park, territories near border crossing points with Poland and Belarus. Land in these territories is becoming an increasingly greater value, construction has long gone beyond outdated plans that did not count on such rates of construction.

INSTEAD OF PUNISHMENT — LEGALIZATION?

— We must understand: the West lives better, more civilized because there is no concept of "legalize" in their vocabulary, — reflects Mr. Shyba. — If a law is violated — there is the word "punish." And compensate for the damage caused, eliminate the violation... And how does it happen here: a land plot was allocated for a garden or vegetable plot, then a house is built on it — and it is already legalized after the fact. And the authorities, instead of punishing the violator, indulge him, setting an example of impunity for others...

According to Mr. Senyk, the law in principle allows illegally constructed objects to be demolished. The problem is only that such a lawsuit to court must be filed by the local authorities. But if this object was established with their tacit consent, would they then file a lawsuit with their other hand?

— We in the region have taken up correcting the situation, — assured the first deputy head of the regional state administration. — We are working in two directions. On the one hand, on simplifying the procedure for granting construction permits (today, according to Mr. Bidzilya, for this it is necessary to collect 62 signatures on the project). On the other — the permit will be issued only on the condition that there is a sufficiently modern, elaborated and approved general plan... From now on, urban planning justifications in the region can be issued only in exceptional cases, when, in the opinion of all services, as well as citizens, this will not cause any harm to the interests of residents, ecology, the architectural appearance of the city, and other requirements. If there is even the slightest suspicion — issuing a permit is prohibited...

According to Mr. Shyba, the head of the regional state administration, Volodymyr Bondar, has already signed an instruction that established strict deadlines for local self-government bodies for the preparation of new general plans. According to this document, within the next three years, urban planning documentation must be developed for all settlements of the region, and for cities of regional significance — no later than the end of next year. Funds for the start of these works according to the instruction must be laid down already in the updated local budgets for the current year.

— The general plan of Lutsk has already been commissioned, — reported Yaroslav Matviyiv. — Its first stage will be the adjustment of the "red lines." For this, the city council session has already allocated 100 thousand hryvnias in the 2005 budget. And it is precisely this generation of Lutsk residents who are to become witnesses of the renewal of both the general plan and the entire city...

Many were interested: what should be done with unauthorized constructions that have already been legalized? What methods of influence on them should be found? Will they compensate for the damage caused? Will someone bear responsibility for this?

— Today we are not yet ready to give a recipe for how to fix all this, — summed up the conversation Bohdan Shyba. — We must collect as many facts as possible, create a corresponding array of information. And then give a principled assessment of the entire array, and already on its basis make decisions. There is no real legal mechanism to return to the state everything illegally built yet. But together we must develop it. This above all must be the strong will of the community.

Oleksandr PYROZHYK