Although the Bar Municipal Assembly established the Spatial Planning Institute in early June, it is still not known when the company will start operating, who will be on the board of directors, or who will manage it. The long-awaited “wish” of the authorities has only been formally realized, but not in substance.
From the local government, which is headed by Dušan Raičević (Democratic Party of Socialists), as well as from the local assembly, headed by Branislav Nenezić (Social Democrats), in the past period, encouraging messages could often be heard regarding the fact that planning and spatial management will be returned to local decision-makers.
The locals were looking forward to this, since the past year was marked, among other things, by problems related to space - the citizens of Bjeliše are actively protesting against the local road that should pass over their houses, the residents of several settlements are outraged by the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, which envisages the relocation of the railway and the construction of an LNG terminal in the port, the lack of planning documentation, illegal construction and construction in olive groves...
Despite this, after "Vijesti" sent journalistic questions to the Municipality of Bar about the launch of the local Institute and the potential leadership of this society, they unofficially responded that they did not have enough information about it at this moment.
Councilor of the opposition URA Movement in the Bar Local Assembly (SO Bar), Ferida Peročević She assessed that the fact that the Bar Spatial Planning Institute exists only on paper, although it was founded in June, shows how superficially the local administration has approached the obligation it has been advocating for for years.
Peročević is also a member of the Bar Municipal Council's Election and Appointments Committee, and she told the newspaper that the body has not yet specifically addressed this topic, as it was not on the agenda. She believes that it should still be a priority, as the Bar area is already overloaded in an unplanned and uncontrolled manner, and valuable time is being wasted on administrative delays.
"Vijesti" has learned from several sources that a meeting of the Bar Municipal Council presidents will be held this week, regarding the next session, which should be scheduled in two weeks, and according to information from several councilors - not a single item will concern this newly formed company.
Profession, not politics
The councilor of the URA Movement, asked whether Bar, like other municipalities, will encounter problems with personnel solutions and finding people to work in this company, answers that all municipalities have the challenge of finding staff who meet the legal requirements, but in the case of Bar, she believes, it is not only a matter of expertise - but also of courage.
"Anyone who takes over the management of the Institute must be aware that they are also taking responsibility for the situation we have inherited: overcrowded neighborhoods, chaotic construction, lack of planning order. Unfortunately, if the selection of personnel is once again based on party logic, Bar will not have a problem with professional staff, but with the political will to let the expertise work. And that is a much bigger problem," she told "Vijesti".
Peročević noted that from the very beginning, the Bar URA insisted that experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning and spatial protection be appointed to the Board of Directors and the management structure of the Institute. They proposed that the criterion of expertise, not party affiliation, be clearly defined.
They also requested that a one-year moratorium on construction be considered, in order to make a serious revision of existing planning solutions, because the devastation of space in some parts, as she pointed out, especially in Topolica IV, Bjeliša, and the Green Belt, is already worrying.
"Unfortunately, so far we have not received support from either the local government or the Bar Municipal Council," she said. The delay in the establishment of the Institute, in her opinion, has direct consequences for citizens and the quality of life.
"While we await the establishment and election of the board of directors and director, illegal construction, excessive urbanization, and concreting of every free space continue on the ground. Bjeliši, Topolica IV, and almost all suburban settlements are examples of how, without clear control, space is turning into urban chaos," Peročević said.
Every month of delay means a new building without parking, new traffic jams, new complaints from citizens, she warned, concluding that the Institute was supposed to be an instrument of order and expertise – and for now it is just a symbol of administrative irresponsibility.
Their greatest resource is being returned.
The Institute for Spatial Planning was established on June 4th at the Bar Municipal Assembly session, with the votes of 18 councilors from the ruling majority who adopted the proposed decision to establish this society, while nine opposition councilors were against.
The primary activity that this company will engage in is architecture, "which includes urban and spatial planning and landscape design, or the preparation of local planning documents."
This is stated in the Decision on the Establishment of the Limited Liability Company, the Institute for Spatial Planning Bar, which was presented to the Bar councilors this June by the Acting Secretary for Urbanism and Spatial Planning, Branko Orlandic.
In addition, it will also engage in architectural and engineering activities and engineering testing and analysis, which includes performing physical and other analytical tests, including obtaining data, materials and other documents necessary for the preparation of a planning document.
It will inform the public about the preparation of the planning document, correct technical errors in it and perform other tasks determined by law and the founding act.
As stated in the document, it will have two bodies – an executive director and a board of directors. The board of directors will have three members, it is envisaged, and will be appointed for a period of four years.
The supervision of the work of this company will be carried out by the local government body responsible for spatial planning, in this case, the Secretariat for Urbanism and Spatial Planning of the Municipality of Bar. The explanation of this decision, signed by the competent secretariat, states that the goal of forming the company is for the Municipality of Bar to manage its greatest resource - space.
The legal basis for making this decision is contained in Article 34 of the Law on Spatial Planning, which stipulates that local planning documents are prepared by a company established by the local self-government assembly.
Election early next year
"I believe that at the beginning of next year, at the sessions of the Municipal Assembly, we will make appropriate decisions on the appointment of management structures, taking into account that the new Law on Business Companies has been adopted, which has been in effect since January 1, 2026, and that a draft Law on the Management of State-Owned Business Companies has been established, which prescribes certain innovations regarding management bodies and the need for all decisions we make to be aligned with it," he said. Asim Andric, head of the DPS councilors' club in the Bar Municipal Assembly.
When the local assembly session adopted the Decision on the establishment of a business company for the preparation of local planning documents, and very quickly, he thinks, they clearly stated before the entire public that this is a complex task, which requires not only the formal election of a board of directors or executive director in order to satisfy a form or a certain party interest, but that in this regard, special attention must be paid to the quality and professional staff who will deal with these tasks.
They are aware, Andrić adds, that there will be serious challenges in finding staff, because the legal solution stipulates that a company must have a responsible planner and at least four employed planners who must have at least ten and five years of work experience in spatial and urban planning, respectively.
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