Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyy criticized law No. 5655 on urban planning. According to him, the initiative has many gaps. There is no safeguard against the total destruction of historical architectural monuments.
Sadovyi noted that it is a real tragedy to adopt a law during the war that splits society and destabilizes communities.
property of Ukrainian architecture.
The mayor reminded that sculptures and sights in Lviv are wrapped in glass wool, special foil and zinc so that they would not be damaged by the war.
Lined with sandbags, they remind of the war and that in times of armed aggression we must preserve our cultural and historical memory, which is valuable to us. The entire Market Square is a historical monument. Moreover, the entire Old Lviv – the city center is the property of Ukrainian architecture, – Sadovyi added.
He said that on Christmas he visited our defenders at the front. The de-occupied villages and towns nearby have been tormented by the Russians. Sadovyi remarked whether one could be sure that human negligence would not lead to the same.
The new law ignores the current one on the protection of cultural heritage
Sadovoy stressed that the new law 5655 on urban planning, approved by the Verkhovna Rada, does not contain any safeguard against the total destruction of historical architectural monuments.
It absolutely ignores the current Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, moreover, it contradicts it. For its authors, local government does not exist, – said the official.
The fact is that urban planning has always been the prerogative of local government. Sadovyi explains that any construction is not abstract – it is carried out in a specific community, in a specific place, affects a certain circle of people and creates a socio-cultural space.
Yes, mistakes are made locally too. However, according to the mayor, the community will always tell the local authorities about it. It is unlikely that she will go with every unacceptable development to the capital.
The “pearl” of the new law
The mayor notes that there are a lot of “pearls” in the town-planning anti-reform.
- He gives an example that the new law prohibits cities from issuing initial data for construction to receive not only urban planning, but some graphic materials. This is prohibited by law. That is, in fact, decisions will be made blindly: neither mayors nor communities are even given the right to know what the future development will look like.
- In addition, the document minimizes the impact of communities on urban planning. At the same time, a strange symbiosis is formed, when some of the functions are transferred to private developers, the rest are centralized as much as possible.
Sadovyi stressed that there is a unanimous position and categorical rejection of this law in the local government community. Before its adoption, the Association of Ukrainian Cities, the Union of Architects and mayors of cities applied to the Verkhovna Rada with comments and suggestions for improvement, but they ignored it.
This is not criticism for the sake of criticism. There are a lot of well-reasoned, professional remarks to the law 5655. And in the process of creation, he himself became a kind of legal Frankenstein. Its creators surprised everyone,” the official added.
The law splits the society
The mayor also conveyed the position of deputies who talk about pressure. Sadovyi suggests that the law could have been written under the dictation of construction companies.
After its adoption, in less than a day, an electronic petition on the president's website calling for a veto on this law gained 25,000 signatures necessary for its consideration. The mayor is sure that if the vote had not been stopped, 100,000 supporters would have easily been recruited, since the level of opposition to the law in society is simply incredible. splitting the society and opposing the local power to the central one is a diversion. Now we all need to be united and work towards one goal – defeating the aggressor, – Sadovyi says.
He summed up that in difficult war times for the country, local self-government has become a support for the central government and continues to be a reliable partner. However, partnership is when all parties hear.
Therefore, the mayor hopes that the president will not sign this law, but send it for public discussion and revision together with communities, experts, people's deputies and representatives of UNESCO.
