National Planning Council: Freeze of urban renewal projects around Metro stations

At the end of three months of discussions, the National Planning and Construction Council announced that it had decided to immediately freeze dozens of urban renewal projects around the metro stations in the Gush Dan area, which include hundreds of apartments, and set restrictions on future projects at a distance of about 100 meters from the stations, which include a potential of tens of thousands New apartments. This, as part of the approval of the outline for the promotion of TMA 38 projects in the area of ​​TMA 70 - the national outline plan for the area of ​​the metro system in the Tel Aviv metropolis.
The decision of the national council presents the conditions that allow the promotion of building permits under TMA 38 in the area of ​​TMA 70, which aims to outline the planning and development policy around the metro stations, while applying the principles of public transportation oriented planning. The metro project is considered the largest infrastructure project carried out in Israel since its inception, and includes a network of three metro lines with a total length of 150 km of underground tracks and 109 stations in 24 local authorities throughout Gush Dan.
We will recall that in August of this year, the National Council submitted the plan to the comments of the District Planning and Construction Committees, but refrained from deciding on an issue that is agitating the real estate market - what will happen to the planned projects of TAMA 38 around the future metro stations. About a month before that, the HOLNA (subcommittee for principled planning issues) recommended to the council not to allow the issuance of building permits for urban renewal projects in the first ring of the metro stations (a range of 300 meters from the station).
In the decision, the National Council adopted the recommendation of the Governmental Authority for Urban Renewal regarding the promotion of TMA 38 projects around the metro. According to the authority's data, within a radius of 100 meters from the metro stations, there are currently 51 TMA 38 projects in the planning committees that include 691 new apartments, which as mentioned will be frozen immediately, and in total there are 1,464 houses built before 1980 in this area known as the "core area".
Regarding projects that are planned in the area of ​​the first ring, i.e. within a radius of about 300 meters from the metro stations, it was decided that construction permits will be granted only after the approval of the chairman of the district committee and a district planner, after an examination by the engineer of the local committee. According to the data of the Urban Renewal Authority, it is 205 projects including 3,148 apartments. In total, there are 5,260 houses built before 1980 in the first ring.
In the area of ​​the second ring, that is, in a radius of about 300 meters and up to 800 meters from the metro stations, no restrictions will be imposed. This means that 787 projects, which include 8,632 apartments and are in the planning committees, will continue to be promoted without any changes. In the area of ​​the second ring, the potential for urban renewal includes 12,120 houses built before 1980.
The National Council determined that these restrictions will not apply to construction permits that were decided to be approved until the date of the decision made today. Also, restrictions will not apply to requests to strengthen a building against earthquakes that do not include additional construction, to requests to make buildings accessible, as well as to permits based on plans that are fully compliant with TMA 70.
The planning administration explains that "understanding that the continued promotion of spot permits under TAMA 38 in the metro areas may thwart the realization of the construction potential of the huge transportation project, the national council decided to carry out a comprehensive examination of the degree of impact that may be caused by the continued issuance of permits in these areas. In this way, a balance is created between the need for total and accelerated renewal in the area surrounding the metro station and the possibility of land renewal."
The Chairman of the National Council and the Chairman of the National Planning Headquarters, Adv. It is based on a "breathing" and dynamic model which enables on the one hand the renewal of the metro station environment in an optimal way, and on the other hand the provision of one-off solutions if necessary."
The Director General of the Planning Administration, Rafi Elmaleh, stated: "TMA 70 provides an answer to the significant population growth expected in the coming decades for the Tel Aviv metropolis, the plan led by the Planning Administration creates the direct link between public transportation and the surrounding urban space, the discussion held today promotes the project The metro is another step forward."
Elazar Bamberger, CEO of the Governmental Authority for Urban Renewal, said: "We welcome the approval of the outline proposed by the Governmental Authority for Urban Renewal. The outline, which was proposed after a comprehensive examination of all the projects currently being promoted in the TMA 70 area, balances optimally between the desire to allow the planning of broad complexes near the metro, and the desire not to stop TMA 38 projects beyond what is necessary."
The builders' association of contractors opposes the decision. According to the data of the association's urban renewal committee, it is a future potential of 40,000 new apartments in the first ring around the metro stations that will be thwarted and 13,000 new apartments that are already in the planning pipeline. According to Amit Gottlieb, chairman of the committee, "This is an unfortunate and dangerous decision, where in light of the financial demands of the municipalities, the state decides to prevent life-saving activities of the residents of old, unprotected houses, whose lives are in danger today. It is doing this at a time when it is clear to everyone that it will take many years before the construction of the metro is approved and begins, if at all."