Rakčević: For the good of citizens, not tycoons
The beautiful area of the "Morača" Barracks, which consists of over 12 hectares of cypress and other trees along the coast of Morača, with 15 unmaintained buildings built as early as 1905, could, with minimal investment, be one of the most beautiful oases of our Podgorica.
Due to the aggressive urbanization of the city center and the dynamic construction of apartments for the market, this would be the first step in the direction of creating a compact park complex, as a green buffer zone, which would include: Karađorđev, Kraljev and Njegošev parks, the "Morača" barracks and the hill of Gorica, Luka says. Rakčević, member of the URA.
He indicates that such a central city park would be an ideal place for holding numerous cultural and educational events, as well as for the construction of the necessary sports and recreational infrastructure, which is why it would be one of the most visited parts of the city.
"Instead of the city administration investing minimal funds to decorate the said area, renovate buildings from the time of King Nikola and use them as cultural facilities, additionally refine the existing forest and install the necessary furniture, it chose an easier and more irresponsible way, to "urbanize" the said area , sold to one of the big construction companies and completely devastated.
That is why no citizen of Podgorica should put up with such disastrous intentions, just because it is easier for the city authorities to make a short-term profit and to irrevocably destroy a precious space, than to invest in its reconstruction and adapt it to a wider purpose.
And - by accident or not - the construction companies would benefit greatly from this "laziness" of the city administration, primarily by building high-density apartments, while the citizens would be left without the most beautiful space in the heart of the city, devoid of any social dimension", claims Rakčević.
The need to preserve and reconstruct the "Morača" Barracks, as well as Njegoš Park, is even greater if we know that there are over 10 surplus apartments in the urban core of the city, and that by 2025, an additional 35 apartments are planned, more than the needs require. citizens, according to official demographic estimates, he points out.
He adds that we must understand that the way the city develops entails very large sociological, economic, political and ecological consequences.
"And the goal of the city administration is to discourage citizens and prevent their participation in the creation of local policies, so that with less resistance they adopt harmful decisions, sell city land and destroy our Podgorica.
Although neither the previous nor the current system allowed citizens to have a decisive influence on the direction of the city's development, but for various reasons, to a greater or lesser extent, kept that right restricted, a clear distinction must be made between the two concepts.
While at the center of the urban planning and overall development of the former Titograd was a citizen, as a space user, at the center of the development of Podgorica for decades there is hungry capital and the inexhaustible need to increase it, exclusively for the benefit of ruling politicians and tycoons close to them", concludes Rakčević.
Klikovac: Plan used for politicization
DPS councilor Andrija Klikovac says that when it comes to the urban plan for the Morača Barracks area, he believes that the story is more politicized than it should be for such a serious topic that requires an expert approach.
"We have repeated many times that the Capital itself, in accordance with the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction, has an almost exclusively administrative function in making plans.
According to that Law, this planning document is made and no body of the Capital City has the legal possibility to challenge the presented planning solutions. Compliance of this and other planning documents with the decision on drafting, norms and standards, plans of wider territorial entities and the law is carried out by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism alone," says Klikovac.
He reminds that the former mayor Stijepović, during whose term of office the Draft of this planning document was drawn up, clearly announced that an optimal solution must be found for the Morača Barracks project because everything planned in the current Draft is impossible to include in the planning document.
"His obligation was to determine the draft of the plan and put it on public debate, after the opinion of the competent ministry, in which it was concluded that the plan can be referred to public debate, regardless of the fact that, as a representative of all the citizens of the Capital City, he may have had objections to the presented planning solution.
The current mayor, Dr. Ivan Vuković, was even more explicit in his views, he clearly announced that he did not like the idea of building in Njegoševo Park, and that he was not satisfied with the proposed solutions for Morača Barracks. Vuković also announced that the development of Podgorica is not dictated and will not be dictated by construction companies, as the opposition councilors in the Assembly of the Capital City claim," Klikovac points out.
The space itself of the former Morača barracks certainly cannot remain as it is now, and on the other hand, Klikovac points out, it is impossible to include in any planning document a large number of different, often contradictory requests for this space that were heard during the public discussion, and from the proposal to have an opera there, through green areas, playgrounds for children, garages and parking lots, residential buildings, sports and recreational areas...
"That is why the drafter of this planning document has a very delicate task - to find an optimal planning solution that will not stop the development of Podgorica, but at the same time preserve the heart of the city and smartly, in accordance with the guidelines of sustainable development, valorize the value of the space on the very bank of the Morača River.
I am convinced that at the end of the development and adoption of the plan for the Morača Barracks, precisely thanks to a long and comprehensive exchange of opinions at all levels, we will get quality solutions for one of the most attractive spaces in Podgorica and beyond, to the satisfaction of all citizens.
This will also eliminate all unfounded claims of the opposition in the Assembly of the Capital City, because Podgorica will continue to develop on a sustainable basis, and at the same time will be richer for numerous green and park areas, on which city services and companies work very intensively as part of their regular activities and in partnership with private companies and non-governmental organizations", says Klikovac.
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