Opposition is mounting among municipalities in the North Athens sector to the proposed transfer of development rights, with officials arguing that the measure would not only undermine their areas but that the municipalities also lack the infrastructure to support such interventions.
After sending a letter to the prime minister mayors from northern Athens municipalities, calling for the measure to be withdrawn, a new event opposing the study was announced yesterday for the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment and Energy appears to be taking a step back in the face of the storm of opposition prompted by the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, which is currently under consultation.
Ministry sources told Euro2day.gr that they had not ruled out significant revisions once the consultation is complete, including exempting areas from the transfer of development rights. Municipalities in northern Attica that oppose the new planning instrument are particularly in focus.
“At the end of the 60-day consultation, changes may be made to the areas where the proposed development-rights receiving zones (DRZs) will apply. This is an landmark reform that many in the regions want,” ministry sources said.
After the consultation is complete, the proposals adopted by the ministry will be sent to the Council of State for approval, before being incorporated into a Presidential Decree.
The opposition is directed at the Environment and Energy Ministry’s decision to create 25 Development Rights Receiving Zones (DRZs) across 11 municipal units, in the municipalities of Kifissia, Lykovrysi-Pefki, Chalandri, Metamorfosi, Papagou-Cholargos, Nea Ionia and Filothei-Psychiko. The proposals would allow a total of 584,404.90 sq m of additional floor space in these areas of the North Athens sector.
By contrast, others in the regions consider the reform necessary, believing it will provide a way to compensate property owners whose properties have been earmarked by municipalities.
New event to oppose the reform
One of the first to speak out against the study was Charalambos Bonatsos, mayor of Filothei-Psychiko. He announced that the municipality would take every legal measure available and cited a Council of State ruling on preserving the area’s suburban character.
At yesterday’s meeting of the Filothei-Psychiko municipal council, it was announced that an information event would be held at Athens College on 30 November, with the participation of the other North Athens municipalities affected by the proposed measures.
According to information from the municipality, the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) mechanism has repeatedly been ruled unconstitutional by the Plenary of the Council of State in a series of rulings (Council of State Plenary 1071-1073/1994) spanning several decades.
An attempt was subsequently made to reinstate the mechanism through Law 2300/1995. However, in its decision No. 6070/1996, the Council of State’s Plenary once again struck down key provisions as unconstitutional, ruling that they did not comply with the constitutional requirements of Article 24 on environmental protection.
Furthermore, in decision No. 2366/2007, the Council of State’s Plenary again ruled key provisions of Law 3044/2002 on the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) unconstitutional, primarily on the grounds that they degraded the environment, violating Article 24 of the Constitution, which protects the built and natural environment and prohibits changes to the character of receiving areas.
Finally, in a landmark ruling, the Council of State again ruled the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) unconstitutional in decision No. 2435/2017, on the grounds that the mechanism could not operate as an unrestricted means of “trading titles”.
“Our position is based on the specific planning conditions of the three municipal units and the principles governing the protection of the built and natural environment. The settled case law of the Council of State’s Plenary, based on Article 24 of the Constitution, prohibits measures that worsen living conditions,” the municipality said in a statement.