In a suffocatingly packed room, the case of the unconstitutionality of the provisions of the New Building Regulations (NOK) that allow the increase in the height and volume of buildings under certain conditions was discussed yesterday in the Plenum of the State Council (StE).
The interventions were made by 13 lawyers representing construction companies and the TEE (Technical Chamber of Greece) on the one hand and on the other the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities (KEDE) and the Municipality of Alimos, which is taking the lead against the controversial provisions of the NOK.
At the end of the process, SC President Michalis Pikramenos asked both parties to submit clear and substantial memoranda within a certain period of time (by October 21st and by the 24th of the same month to be read by the parties and contradicted). for the court to make its decision.
On the part of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the defense of the constitutionality of the provisions of the NOK has been carried out by lawyers from the State Legal Council, Theodoros Strilakos and Konstantina Christopoulou.
Strilakos noted, among other things, that “the provisions of the NOK have general application as a technical regulation. They do not include urban planning. These are specific provisions at the level of the building and the lot and have a very clear environmental nature”.
He concluded, addressing the judges, as follows: “Give them an opportunity and exhaust your rigor in the criteria on the basis of which construction licenses will be approved, that is, in controlling conditions”.
Alimos Mayor Andreas Kondylis attended and spoke as the four contested building permits that took the case to the Supreme Court are located in his area. According to him, most of the construction bonuses and their combined application were enacted in 2019. According to Kondylis, they cause a “violent deterioration” of conditions in cities, among other things, by increasing their population without the necessary infrastructure. “The provisions are generous in favor of manufacturers. Climate change cannot be combated by building more square meters”, stated the mayor of Alimos.
Andreas Papapetropoulos, lawyer, specialist in urban planning issues on the part of construction companies, among others, emphasized: “Cities are suffocating, NOK has not worsened the problem. The problem is the lack of urban planning and now on top of the climate crisis. At the same time, there is a serious housing problem. Our case has environmental, social and economic dimensions. Modern, energy-efficient homes are becoming unaffordable for citizens. Building regulations work in parallel. NOK offers modern solutions and cannot work because there is no urban planning. That’s exactly where the problem lies. If we cancel the NOK, we will achieve absolutely nothing. We will continue to operate with fragmented and random interventions to the detriment of the residential environment.”
TEE representative, Spyros Vlachopoulos, highlighted that what is needed today in Europe is the energy upgrade of buildings and added that there are regulations similar to NOK in other countries such as France and Germany.
Lawyer Dimitris Melissas defended on behalf of KEDE. “We are judging the most serious case of urban planning in recent years,” he said and added: “There is a widespread burden. In Kifissia, 1,000 trees were cut down last year. The increase in the construction factor is a bonus of dubious value for the owner.”
Lawyer Glykeria Siouti, also on behalf of KEDE, characterized the NOK as “a horizontal provision that falsifies urban planning, both existing and planned”.
Anti-NOK advocates have also questioned why areas such as Filothei and Psychiko are excluded from the new NOK.
From the judges’ point of view, the main questions raised to be answered by the parties’ arguments were: What principles of sustainable development does the increase in construction in densely populated areas serve? When 4-story buildings are now built in a neighborhood with two-story buildings, isn’t urban planning overturned? Did the implementation of NOK solve the housing problem?