In the Highlands, interest in subsidies for zoning plans has increased due to the law

Jihlava - Interest in regional grants for municipal zoning plans has increased in the Vysočina region, mainly due to the new building law that has been in effect since last January. Every municipality now needs a zoning plan in order to permit construction; older documentation must be updated. In recent years, up to 70 municipalities have applied for grants, while there are now a hundred applicants for this year's grant. According to data from the regional office, 188 out of a total of 704 municipalities in Vysočina currently do not have a zoning plan, primarily affecting the smallest settlements.
Mayors contacted by ČTK today stated that it takes at least two years to prepare this documentation. Until the zoning plan is completed, development in the settlement is completely blocked since, according to the current building law, only buildings compliant with this plan can be permitted. "Nothing can be built in the municipality right now, including family homes, public benefit buildings, and roads, because we cannot obtain building permits for that," said Ladislav Regent, the mayor of the municipality of Kuklík in the Žďár region, to ČTK.
The creation of this document, which determines the development of the municipality over the long term, is quite expensive. Kuklík with 175 inhabitants will spend approximately 200,000 crowns on it, which is about 15 percent of the municipality's annual budget. However, according to Regent, this is not the main issue. "In my opinion, the zoning plan is rather restrictive for small municipalities. They cannot plan their development 20 years ahead; they're happy if they can resolve it from year to year," he explained.
A similar opinion is held by Pavel Kutiš, the mayor of the municipality of Kaliště in the Pelhřimov region. "Previously, we only had an urban study. It was significantly cheaper and, in our opinion, sufficient," he said. The zoning plan for a municipality with 330 residents will cost a quarter of a million crowns and should be completed this year to allow for the resumption of residential construction.
According to Kutiš, it is difficult to estimate development in smaller local parts with just a few houses. "Whether the village will decline or if construction will take place... we will have to make changes to the zoning plan, and it will cost us money again," he added.
The Vysočina region has been providing municipalities with funding for zoning planning since 2003. The regional council will approve ten million crowns for this year's 98 applicants who met regional requirements in February. Previously, the region distributed 23.5 million crowns among 262 municipalities.
Currently, 296 municipalities in Vysočina have an approved zoning plan. An additional 254 settlements are working on this documentation; among them are 34 municipalities that already have a zoning plan and are now preparing a new one.