Prague will allow apartments to become cheaper | ParlamentniListy.cz – politics from all sides
The Prague City Council discussed a draft amendment to the Prague Building Regulations, which regulates the system of main parking spaces in new residential and administrative buildings or renovations requiring a building permit. Thus, the previously established minimum number of parking spaces in the wider city center would not have to be maintained, and their number thus depended more on the investor. This opens the way to lower prices for new and renovated apartments. The amendment regulates the regulation of parking spaces in buildings throughout the entire area of the capital. The proposal will now be sent to a comment procedure, the length of which was recommended for 45 days. The new city council will decide whether the new one will apply.
The calculation of the number of parking spaces in new buildings and during major renovations was carried out when the Prague Building Regulations (PSP) were created in 2014-2015 and has not undergone any major revision since then. Now, after more than seven years, some parameters are necessary to adjust, based on feedback from experts, investors and in connection with the development of trends in the company.
A tool for cheaper apartments and nicer streets
“The calculation as such has proven itself, and the ambition of this news is not to change it. However, the goal is to precisely determine the zones on the map based on more accurate algorithms for the availability of public transport, as well as to complete the fundamental modernization of practically the entire tram network from the center onwards. A reduction in the minimum number of parking spaces will fundamentally affect real estate prices, which may drop significantly as a result,” comments Petr Hlaváček, first deputy mayor of the capital. m of Prague, adding: “We want the new council to have a tool ready to make apartments cheaper. Whether she accepts it will be up to her.’
The aim of the amendment is to open up possibilities so that it is not necessary to maintain a minimum number of parking spaces in some localities which, for example, have good connections to public transport or where the construction of parking spaces would be economically demanding. A reduction in the minimum number of parking spaces can thus affect the price of real estate. In the city center, the price of building one underground parking space climbs up to 2 million crowns. At the same time, no maximums are set.
The problem is also the visitor stands, which have a different coefficient in the calculation. Those investors usually set up on the ground floor of buildings, which significantly ruins the appearance of the streets. In addition, visitor stands are calculated into all units sold and often thus significantly increase the price of real estate. Especially if they are underground. The amendment therefore proposes to reduce the minimum for this type of parking as well. In most cases, the Maxima already contains the original wording of the amendment and it is necessary to consider it further due to the high turnover of this type of parking and the city’s limited possibilities for building infrastructure.
Minimums by zone
Revising the calculations of all types of parking will also ensure greater freedom in the development of the city. The PSP divides Prague into several zones, which differ according to the availability of public transport and the structure of the city. The amendment updates these zones and better takes into account the management of current and future urban public transport lines and the development of the city, and uses a more accurate algorithm for calculating the walking distance.
“By minimizing parking minimums, we are unnecessarily regulating the market. The developer will be free to choose whether to build a house with an underground garage or to prefer an apartment building without parking spaces, if it is located, for example, in development areas along the newly built tram lines of the metro D. For example, in zone 4, the tram lines are now already after the total reconstruction and thus provide a reliable and fast means of transport with short travel times to the center or to the metro and railway station. All metro stations outside the so-called inner city are now in zone 5, as the original concerns about the pressure to build parking garages outside the metro terminus stations have not been confirmed,” comments Adam Scheinherr, mayor’s square for transport, on the zones.
A sustainable city
A significant benefit of enabling the construction of a lower number of parking spaces is greater space for the development of a sustainable city, where unnecessary driving by car, which leads to other problems, greater diversity of residents, lower real estate prices in the center and the development of the so-called short-distance city, could be reduced everything needed within easy reach and is in accordance with the Strategic Plan, the Sustainable Mobility Plan and the Climate Plan of Prague. The goal of the revision of the PSP is included in the 2020 strategy of the paid parking zones of the capital. m of Prague – Parking Development Strategy 2020-2025. In addition, experience from abroad shows that many cities have abolished parking minimums completely and the establishment of parking spaces remains on the market. The aim of the amendment is to effectively reduce the price of new buildings and support the sustainable development of the city.
“From the reduction of parking minimums, and in addition to positive impacts on the appearance and functioning of the city, they mainly promise to make housing construction cheaper and enable the implementation of smaller housing projects, which today are not economically viable due to parking. This will also make the construction of municipal rental housing, which Prague is preparing, cheaper,” adds Adam Zábranský, Prague councilor for housing and transparency.
“After the overall review, we can say that we have reduced the obligation to park by 25 percent on average. We thus give investors and construction authorities the opportunity to decide more freely how many places to build and for whom their plan is intended. In the historic center of the city, one underground parking space can cost up to 2 million crowns, and because of this requirement, investors may not have enough funds to renovate buildings. Thanks to this step, their costs can be reduced, which will have a positive effect on the price of real estate, and more houses, for example, in a conservation area could become inhabited by ordinary residents,” adds Ondřej Boháč, director of the Institute of Planning and Development, which processes the PSP.
The proposal to change the PSP will now go through a comment procedure at the level of city districts, and the Prague Council will be able to approve the change at the beginning of 2023.
How is the number of parking spaces calculated?
In the PSP, there is a formula for each type of parking space (restricted, visitor, visitor of other purpose – e.g. administrative). The number of parking spaces is calculated from the total number of gross floor areas. This also depends on the zones, which are divided according to the availability of public transport and the structure of the city, precisely the adjustments in these zones are the subject of the amendment.
What can we read from the map?
Depending on where we are in Prague, the map and table show whether we should increase or decrease the determined number. Places with good public transport access require fewer parking spaces. The map is determined according to the structure of the city (density and facilities) and the availability of public transport. In the case of new buildings and renovations – if it is a large renovation with a large building permit – parking spaces are suddenly needed that were not there before (from 0 to 10, for example), and it often happens that they are not renovated or that very expensive underground parking spaces are built ( in the center of the elevators, but extremely expensive – a stacker with an elevator on several floors – a parking space can cost as much as 2 million CZK). For example, one ordinary parking space on the first underground floor in a new building on a housing estate costs around 400,000. Around 600,000 in the second underground floor. If it is necessary to set up a stacker and a lift, the price increases significantly, especially with lower numbers of stalls. The price of land in the center is often several times higher than in a housing estate far from the center.
What are the Prague building regulations?
Until recently, the same requirements for the construction of buildings in the Czech Republic applied to everyone. Cities and towns are different and have different construction needs. That is why the Prague Building Regulations were created, which after decades once again remained in Prague to build block buildings, which we know from Dejvice or Holešovice. Until then, this was prevented by a number of partial, unilaterally focused regulations. Prague’s building regulations now perceive the city as a whole organism and emphasize the quality of the built environment, not just the technical requirements for individual buildings. The team brings standard building regulations in Prague closer to developed European cities. The center of gravity of the regulation has thus shifted to solving the current problems of the city as a whole by changing the requirements that previously belonged to the disintegration of the urban structure and the related economic, environmental and social impacts.