The court annulled part of the zoning plan for Brno, which regulated the use of the area behind Lužánky

Brno – The Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) annulled part of the Brno zoning plan, which regulated the use of land behind Lužánky. The city did not address the detailed objections from a man in the neighborhood when preparing the zoning plan. Before the current court intervention, the zoning plan permitted mixed residential development with a maximum allowable height of 22 meters. The judgment is temporarily available on the official bulletin. The magistrate considers the judgment surprising and is preparing a legal analysis, after which it will consider further steps.

"We do not rule out the possibility of filing a constitutional complaint due to a possible disproportionate interference with the constitutionally guaranteed right of the city to self-governance. We remain convinced that the city's procedure was entirely in accordance with legal regulations, as also confirmed by the Regional Court in Brno," said city spokesman Filip Poňuchálek. However, according to the spokesman, it is positive that the NSS annulled only part of the zoning plan, while as a whole the document stood firm. "This verdict is crucial for the city because it confirms that the process of preparation and acquisition of the new zoning plan as a whole was conducted correctly and in accordance with the law," Poňuchálek said.

According to the neighbor's lawyer David Zahumenský, the judgment means that construction will not proceed in Lužánky for the time being. "We are really pleased that we were able to help the people living in the neighborhood of the planned massive construction, which would have significantly harmed the place where they live. Brno will simply have to attempt to regulate the zoning plan once again, and much better while considering its citizens," Zahumenský stated on the website of the law firm.

The judgment specifically concerns the area designated Po-4: Sports Complex Lužánky at Sportovní and Drobného Streets. In the past, there was an ice rink there; currently, it consists of sports facilities, parking lots, and a former shopping gallery. The old football stadium is not part of it.

The neighbor expressed his objections to the preparation of the new zoning plan in a 15-page document, including maps and images, pointing out issues such as traffic load, noise, or the creation of heat islands. However, according to the NSS, the city responded to the objection only briefly and casually, essentially referring to the rationale of the zoning plan.

"The NSS could not overlook the gross disproportion between the objections of the complainant, which are structured, thoroughly reasoned with understandable arguments and supported by references to expert documentation, and the justification of the decision on the objections, in which the respondent limited themselves to a terse and general statement to the effect that everything would be resolved in a future 'competitive dialogue,'" states in the NSS judgment. The neighbor acted as the complainant in the court proceedings, while the city is the respondent.

The competitive dialogue was described by the NSS in this case as "a mere platitude without significance, which only obscures the factual silence regarding the content of the objections."

Competitive dialogue is a special type of procurement procedure in public contracts used for complex projects when the contracting authority does not know precisely in advance what solution is best. For the area behind Lužánky, it was organized by the city architect's office, and the result was discussed by the council last year. The architectural studio bauchplan won with a vision of a new urban district, a green connection between Lužánky and Planýrka, and opportunities for public sports and recreation.

However, the future use of the area remains uncertain, not only due to the current judgment. Prolonged disputes continue between the city and entrepreneur Libor Procházka over the ownership of the roadway, sidewalks, and parking lots on municipal land behind Lužánky. A new football stadium could then be built in the neighborhood. The city has previously initiated a concession procedure for the construction and published a plan to sell the land.

"To maximize the acceleration of the land sale for the construction of the football stadium behind Lužánky so that the stadium can be built as soon as possible, we are already taking – in parallel with the ongoing concession procedure – formal steps necessary for the sale. One of them is the aforementioned publication of the sales intent," stated Brno councilor for property Jiří Oliva (formerly SOCDEM).