Globes, Arik Mirowski, 26.04.2021
To what extent does the politicization of planning committees impair planning and construction procedures? The mayor of Yehud-Neve Monosson, Yaela Maklis, tried to prevent the completion of an evacuation-construction project, although it was approved 12 years ago, but was rejected by the Central District Appeals Committee, headed by Adv. Ronit Alper.
The committee approved the completion of the project carried out by the Amos Luzon Energy Entrepreneurship Group Ltd., and even imposed on the local planning and construction committee Yehud-Monosson the payment of expenses.
This is a project that was approved in 2006, when the entrepreneurial company was a. Dori, which was sold some time ago to Luzon. It covers 151 dunams in the city center, and includes the evacuation of 45 old apartment owners. Underneath was approved a plan for the construction of four buildings. The first two buildings are at the end of the occupancy phase these days, with a total of 100 apartments, half of which are being handed over to the apartment owners who are vacating their old apartments.
In 2009, the original plan was amended in the form of a change in the location of two of the four buildings in the company project, because an archeological site was discovered in their original location. The area designated for the buildings was "scrubbed" with an area designated for open public space (Shatzp), and here a problem arose in front of the neighboring tenants, who did not like the abolition of Shatzap.
"These buildings were born in sin 12 years ago"
After the approval of the plan to move the buildings, neighboring apartment owners began to prevent construction, and the mayor, Yaela Maklis, joined the opposition and posted a video on Facebook in which she promised not to allow construction on the site.
"These buildings should not be erected here," she said in a video circulated during the June 2018 local government election. As I have stated several times before, these buildings were born in sin 12 years ago, long before I was elected mayor. I opposed the request due to the use of public areas in favor of private land beyond what is allowed in the master plan.
Indeed, when the company submitted permit applications in June last year for the construction of the remaining two buildings, they were referred to the Planning and Building Subcommittee of the Yehud Local Planning and Building Committee, where it was decided to reject the applications on the main grounds that the planned parking spaces are contrary to the plan.
The Amos Luzon group and 38 rights holders in the planned apartments filed an appeal against the decision, through attorneys Hadar Tal and Assaf Urbani of the S. Friedman law firm.
The local committee, on the other hand, argued in the appeals committee that the planning presented by the company included not only the use of the underground parking areas for underground parking, but also the entrances to the two buildings as well as the garbage solution, gas storage and access roads to emergency vehicles. F.
The Appeals Committee analyzed the provisions of the plan and the application for the building permit and determined that the applications submitted by Amos Luzon Entrepreneurship complied with the provisions of the plan. However it instructed the company to explore other alternatives for the entry of emergency vehicles.
As for the conduct of the local committee and the mayor, the appeals committee wrote in its decision that "12 years have passed since the plan was approved ... during which the local committee did not take any statutory action to change the proposed planning ... and when it issued building permits for the first 2 buildings In this case, it was expected that she would act in maximum cooperation with the appellants and not place obstacles in front of them whose entire purpose is to thwart the project from its essence. "
The appeals committee annulled the decision of the municipal subcommittee and even ordered it to pay expenses of NIS 10,000.
Attorneys Hadar Tal and Assaf Urbani, who represented the appellants, stated that "this is an extreme case of a blatant attempt to prevent and thwart construction in accordance with approved plans, for political reasons only."
The Yehud municipality responded: "We adhere to the policy written by the mayor and will not allow the takeover of public areas at the expense of the city's residents.
"In this case, we study the decision of the Appeals Committee, and consider the continuation of our steps. Especially in light of the fact that the Appeals Committee accepted the relevant reasons of the local committee and required the developer to submit an amended application that reduces harm to public space."