The government has made decisions to terminate the validity of its decisions from 2023 on the development of amendments to the detailed urban plans (DUP) of Centar Kolašin and Smailagića Polje. The decisions to appoint managers for the development of these planning documents have also ceased to be valid.
The preparation of these two planning documents, along with others, according to the new Law on Spatial Planning, will be the job of the newly formed local Agency for Design and Spatial Planning, which has not yet been fully staffed.
The process of amending the DUP for the Center was suspended by government decisions. The process began two years ago. The government then gave its consent to revise the planning document, which is more than a decade and a half old. The working group responsible for this work was headed by Sonja Radović Jelovac, and the deadline for preparing the document was 11 months. According to the program assignment, the goal was to create “a quality space in terms of ambience, functionality and architecture, as well as planning assumptions for the implementation of the planned content”.
The program assignment states that the main goal is to achieve the provision of planning prerequisites for development and construction through a comprehensive and rational assessment of the importance of space and determining the optimal scope of construction.
The DUP Center covers an area of 15 hectares. It was developed by the company Montplan, with which the Municipality signed a contract in 2007 and an annex in 2009. The Government's explanation for initiating amendments to that planning document states that it has not been fully implemented.
It was also noted that the guidelines for the protection and reconstruction of old buildings with characteristic city architecture have not been achieved.
"The reason for this is the lack of interest of private owners in protecting valuable architectural fabric and the inability of the Municipality to purchase and successfully reconstruct them. Another goal that has not been achieved is raising the level of urbanity, building along the street, street blocks, squares, underground garages, and clearing the interior of the blocks," the decision from March 2023 states.
The basis for establishing spatial organization, it was suggested, should be the infrastructure networks of the city's urban structure, housing standards for permanent and temporary city residents, tourist capacities and the level of tourist services, along with the rational use of land for city development.
It is also stated that amendments to the DUP should regulate the maximum preservation and integration of existing greenery into new urban solutions, the establishment of an optimal relationship between built-up and free green areas, as well as linear greenery along all public communications. The need for quality geodetic and cadastral bases is also emphasized.
At the end of April, the Kolašin Municipal Assembly unanimously adopted a Decision to repeal the DUP Centar, in part of the boundaries of the Urban Planning Project (UP) “Central City Core”. In part of the UP boundary, the issuance of urban planning and technical conditions (UTU) for locations in that zone will be prohibited in the future, as well as all potential legal actions related to obtaining approvals and construction documentation. The ban, it is claimed, will only not apply to infrastructure facilities and facilities of general interest.
The local government thus intends to "reduce the pressure of construction in the city center itself and improve the quality of space, and therefore the quality of life of the local population." The UP will define the conditions for design, including the type of building, facades, bay windows, balconies, doors and windows, use of materials, and roof elements.
The idea of repealing the amendments to the DUP "Centar", which are more than a decade and a half old, was proposed several times by opposition councilors and the "Green Kolašin" Initiative.
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