We can negotiate more from developers than the city, says the mayor of Prague 19
What is the biggest problem in your district and what solution do you offer?
It’s the changes to the zoning plan that are looming over us. We met with the mayors of Prague 9, 18 and Čakovice. The city would like to promote housing construction between Letňany and Kbely. There is talk of four thousand new apartments. This is our biggest common problem.
How do you want to solve it?
We want to change the zoning plan, which is a condition for construction. We want to do this until the circuit is completed, we also need an extension of the metro to Čakovice, and until we have the Vysočanská radial underground, which we could connect to. Investors are asking us for more and more changes to the zoning plan, so the number of problems is increasing. We are in danger of suffocating in traffic because of it. If new houses start to be built from us towards the center of Prague, we will have nothing else to do on Mladoboleslavská street but to look at the convoys of cars passing through Kbely.
Are you against any construction?
We are not at all against the development of the city, but at the same time investments must be made in the transport infrastructure. Sometimes I feel like in Jiřík’s vision that no one is solving it at all. Because of this, I spoke at the City Council of Prague and asked that the deputies for finance, territorial development and transport come to an agreement on some solution.
New mayorsThe Prague editorial office of MF DNES presents a series of interviews with new and old mayors from the main city districts in the metropolis. The subject of the questions are not only the current problems of the people of Prague, but also the stability of the town hall koalas and the outlook for the future, how the newly elected representatives of the public want to continue their territories. |
What was the result?
About half a year ago, I also called Adam Scheinherr, the deputy mayor for transport, and asked him if anyone had already consulted with him on the issue of transport. He replied that no one had talked to him about it yet. Now they are talking about Nová Kbelská. But it will only be a narrow street, the Letňan bypass. Now we are waiting to see how the coalition will turn out at the municipality.
It is advantageous for us that the problem directly affects Prague 9 and its mayor Tomáš Portlík (possible candidate for Prague councilor, editor’s note). He says that development must be inhibited even in his district. But we have to keep in mind that development does not only mean the construction of new apartment buildings or transport infrastructure, but also the creation of new sports fields and schools.
How are you doing with places in schools?
Our school is already so overcrowded that we had to increase the number of pupils five times in a row. Now we have 28 to 30 children in the class. Because of this, we need to build another school, although we have invested about 400 million crowns in the existing one in the last twenty-five years, but it is still not enough.
Do you negotiate investments in infrastructure or civic amenities directly with developers?
In this way we get much more than what he has in the so-called contribution cities. If you look at the rules in detail, you don’t have to, they are not difficult at all for investors. These are the terms of how much the developer will pay for an increase in the number of square meters of construction.
What specifically did you manage to negotiate?
Our district will get a library building this election period, which will have a thousand square meters. It is an investment in the amount of forty-five million crowns, including the land. We only deliver furniture. We will be paid by the developer who is developing the former premises of PAL, which used to supply auto parts to Škoda cars. There is already a drugstore Rossman, Billa, Pekárna Kabát, and there will be new apartments and a car service. The investor is a group of about five people, behind whom there is no bank or other large company.
Your position certainly helps you in negotiating investments in the district – you have been mayor since 1997. How has Prague 19 changed since then?
During my beginnings, I was sitting in the town hall alone with my secretary, and Kbely had around five thousand inhabitants. And today we already have over seven thousand of them.
Is it the first time that you can govern without a coalition partner in your district? In the last municipal elections, you won 63.09 percent of the votes. You are probably the Prague record holders in this as well.
We are now ruling alone for the fifth year. We had a coalition partner before, but he dictated everything to us, and that’s why we govern alone. After the last election, we have one mandate less, although we won a percentage of votes more.