Okhta Center opponents awaited in court

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07/20/10 10:46
Okhta Center opponents awaited in court
The consideration of the cassation appeal of the opponents of the Okhta Center, which was to be held in the City Court of St. Petersburg on July 19, was declared invalid and postponed until August 3.
This statement was made by the leader of the St. Petersburg branch of Yabloko Boris Vishnevsky.
The hearing did not take place, as the other applicant simply did not appear in the City Court. A member of the St. Petersburg regional council of Yabloko Mikhail Amosov and lawyer of opponents of the Okhta Center Nina Popravko were not present, writes Zaks.ru.
Recall that earlier the leaders of the St. Petersburg Yabloko Mikhail Amosov, Boris Vishnevsky, Maxim Reznik and Nikolai Rybakov, as well as the activist of the Okhtinskaya Arc movement Anna Chernova, asked the Smolninsky court of St. Petersburg to recognize the decision of the city government to grant permission to deviate from the limit parameters of the permitted construction OJSC "Public and business center" Okhta ".

In early July, the court rejected the applicants' claims, after which the plaintiffs lodged a complaint with the City Court.

"The decision to build the Okhta Center violated the law. Now the president shows the implementation of the law, which, of course, is welcome. All historical views, panoramas are monuments of urban planning. If the high-altitude regulations in St. Petersburg are violated, we will get what we now have in Moscow, where the views are hopelessly spoiled, "said Roman Tsekhansky, a member of the Expert Advisory Council under the chief architect of Moscow." We would not want this in the Northern capital. Petersburg should be attractive to tourists, nothing modern should "get out", spoil the panorama. The peculiarity and historical value of the city are protected by law.If a modern building does not deviate from the unit of account and violate high-altitude regulations, why not build it even in the center of St. Petersburg? The opinion that a building height of 403 meters is acceptable and beautiful is quite subjective, which unacceptable. We must act within the law. "

Artem Khromov, head of the Just Russia youth organization, told Finam.info: “The perturbations addressed to the Okhta Center are quite serious, and during its construction, corrections will be necessary. In addition, the international community, represented by UNESCO, announced certain amendments to which the city authorities agreed. Therefore, it seems to me that all proposals will be taken into account, otherwise St. Petersburg may lose its status, which could be harmful to both the city and the state. Accordingly, a civil protest should lead to positive results. If the complaint rejected, dissatisfaction will reach higher authorities. Still, the cultural heritage should be above financial interests. "

Artem Khromov added that the fate of the construction of the Okhta Center should be influenced by the session of the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO, which will be held from July 25 to August 3 in Brazil, where the question of the historical center of St. Petersburg will be put on the agenda. Over the past year, the ideologists of the construction of the Okhta Center needed to adjust the plan for the construction of the building. If the issue is not resolved, the city may be partially excluded from the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Residents of St. Petersburg are now in tension, because according to some reports, ideologists from the Northern capital will not go to the event in Brazil. What this will lead to will become clear after August 3.

Earlier, the news about the construction of the Ohta Center with a 400-meter skyscraper divided the city into two camps. Numerous opinion polls have shown that Petersburgers have a different attitude to the implementation of this project. Those who oppose the construction of this object explain their point of view by the fact that a skyscraper will spoil the panorama of the northern capital, the historical center of which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Among the respondents in St. Petersburg, the number of his supporters slightly exceeds the number of opponents. 38% of respondents spoke negatively / rather negatively in relation to the project, while 50% of respondents expressed a positive / rather positive attitude.

Culture expert Anna Kolupaeva disagrees with the survey results. “Much has been said about the fact that the Ohta Center will damage the look of St. Petersburg, and many experts have already expressed their opinions in the speeches. My opinion is similar. The center will become a dominant feature that will be visible from everywhere no matter where you are in the city. We are talking about the losses that the city’s appearance and its attractiveness as an object of world cultural heritage and an object of interest for millions of tourists and culture lovers from around the world will suffer. This fee is disproportionate to the benefits and amenities that this construction will bring. It’s still not clear to me why they didn’t come up with a modern high-tech solution that would not contradict the historical development. ”
Source: http: //finam.info/building/news2350B00001/default.asp

 

[Матушкин Андрей Николаевич]

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St. Petersburg City Court upholds the construction of the Okhta Center
On August 3, the St. Petersburg City Court upheld the decision of the Smolninsky District Court in a lawsuit by opponents of the construction of the Okhta Center skyscraper. The plaintiffs demanded that the decree of the city authorities be recognized illegal, which, despite the rules of land use and development, allowed the developer to deviate from the established high-altitude regulation. It is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to one of the plaintiffs - Nikolai Rybakov.

According to Rybakov, so far the court has announced only the operative part. He also noted that the court decision will be appealed to the presidium of the city court.

The Okhta Center, whose dominant feature will be a building height of 403 meters (with 100 meters permissible by the rules of land use and development), is planned to be built in close proximity to the historic city center. The government of St. Petersburg allowed its construction in September 2009. This was made possible thanks to the mechanism of deviation from the rules: developers can obtain permits for the construction of buildings of the height they need if they prove the feasibility of the project. Non-governmental organizations, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Rosokhrankultura and UNESCO opposed the construction of a Gazprom Neft skyscraper on the right bank of the Neva.

In May, the presidential administration supported the position of UNESCO, which stated the need to consider alternative altitude options for the Okhta Center. The corresponding letter was sent to a number of departments, including the government of St. Petersburg. Presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said the letter did not indicate what decision should be made, but reminded of the need to comply with Russia's international obligations in the field of preservation of cultural heritage.

At the end of July, the Constitutional Court (CC) of Russia decided to apply urban planning legislation in the construction of a 403-meter skyscraper, taking into account legal norms on the preservation of cultural heritage. As reported, this court ruling should be guided by other courts when considering complaints about the construction of a building. At the same time, the Constitutional Court did not make any specific decisions regarding the Okhta Center, since such issues are not in its jurisdiction.

In July, it also became known that UNESCO and St. Petersburg authorities can conduct a joint examination of the skyscraper project. Governor Valentina Matvienko previously stated that the decision to build a skyscraper would be made only after a state examination of the Russian Federation. In mid-July, the Glavgosexpertiza of the Russian Federation issued a positive opinion on the results of engineering surveys on the territory of the proposed construction of the Okhta Center. In late July, experts began to analyze the architectural part of the project.
Source: https://realty.lenta.ru/news/2010/08/03/oxta/