The "Sane Construction" forum has been launched and will influence decision-making in planning and construction procedures in Haifa

On Monday, 03/06/2024, the first meeting of the sane construction forum was held in the Haifa municipality, under the leadership of the deputy mayor and holder of the planning and construction portfolio Sharit Golan Steinberg.

Department managers from the engineering directorate and environmental activists participated in the meeting. The first meeting should be part of an overall collaboration between Golan Steinberg, the director of engineering, and the activists, in order to hear the activists' comments on a variety of issues related to city planning and take them into account.

► Sharit Golan launches the Binui Shafo Forum in Haifa Municipality

A path of communication

"The goal of the yeshiva is to answer questions a little, to tell a little, but mainly to create a path of communication and to get to know senior functions from the engineering department," explained Golan Steinberg at the beginning of the yeshiva. The meeting was conducted with the help of questions, which were forwarded in advance, and the activists' comments.

Building renewal

Addition of building rights and "Shaked alternative"

Golan Steinberg explained that by May 2026, the local authority should prepare an alternative plan for TMA 38, called building renewal, and if by then there is no such plan, then a Shaked alternative will be accepted (within the Shaked alternative of TMA 38/2 projects - demolition and rebuilding - will be entitled to additional building rights of up to 400%, if there is a comprehensive plan, which will allow the loading of rights beyond that). Golan Steinberg stated that the municipality is working on the building renewal, since it is not interested in an alternative to Shaked.

Sharit Golan: "Six months ago, the Haifa municipality submitted the plan for building renewal to a district committee with the Urban Renewal Authority. When I took office, I read the plan, made my comments, and we asked the head of the district committee to freeze the situation, so that we could do the discussions with us, to see that the plan Complies with the policy of the newly formed local committee.

I see great importance for proper and orderly procedures. When we submit a plan to a district committee, it should be based on the opinion of the local committee and not only on the basis of the professionals, of course without disparaging their professional position, but in the end there is a hierarchy, as the one who approves plans is a local committee, and that's how it should be done.

Unfortunately, in most of the plans in the previous term, this mechanism was not carried out, in the plans, which were submitted to the district committee, the position of the local committee was not stated."

The importance of public forests

Golan Steinberg stated how important it is for her to receive objections from the public to the building renewal plan. She said that she asks everyone present to go over the program and send any comments they may have so that they can be considered.

Carmelia neighborhood

A significant number of the activists, as well as Golan Steinberg herself, are residents of the Carmelia neighborhood, and part of the discussion revolves around the neighborhood itself and the impact of the TMA on it. The activists who were at the meeting talked about how the neighborhood is already saturated with the TMA, which in a certain sense has changed its face. The activists asked if there was a possibility to stop the construction.

Oron Ross from Carmelia: "The construction in Carmelia changed the character of the neighborhood"

"The IBA (city building plan, a legally valid document, whose purpose is to define uses and building rights on the land) made it possible to take 3-story buildings in the neighborhood and turn them into 6-story buildings. The natural mountain line brings the buildings to a height of 8 floors.

There is a crazy change in the character of the neighborhood here. Maybe it's time to consider changing the TBA, shortening the TBA from 4 to 2. You have to take into account the value of the land, which makes it possible to make a profit even with fewer units."

In response, Golan Steinberg explained that amending the claims could expose the municipality to a lawsuit. The municipality will have to pay full money. Granted rights must not be violated."

District committee versus local committee

Golan Steinberg explained that when there is an entrepreneur who wants to apply to a district committee, he cannot be prevented. At the same time, she said, Mayor Yona Yahav expects entrepreneurs to submit requests to the local committee.
"We expect that the district committee will not lend a hand to requests that belong to the local. If once the district committee was the gatekeeper, now the local committee is the gatekeeper."

Conservation

Landscape architect Hana Yaffe said that in Haifa, buildings from the 50s and 60s are being lost, which, despite their importance, are not preserved: "We preserve buildings from the 30s and 40s and lose houses from the 50s and 60s."

Yaffe talked about the fact that there are documentation files (a document detailing the historical and architectural document of the building) from which it is very difficult to understand whether the building has value for preservation and moreover sometimes there are so many documents that it is very difficult to locate a single document. The department managers from the engineering director explained the difficulty in organizing the files and also said that there are cases where developers add documents to the documentation files several times and it is possible that residents check the documentation file, when it is not yet finally ready. the original

The licensing department is undergoing a shake-up

Golan Steinberg updated that the licensing department is undergoing a shake-up: "The licensing department is the department that is under the close supervision of the director general of the municipality as well as myself. He must return to full function. Legal advice provides the backing, city planning, but things are very complex."

Golan Steinberg: I ​​don't owe anything to any entrepreneur

Golan Steinberg emphasized that every program is professionally reviewed:
"I don't owe anything to any entrepreneur, and entrepreneurs who don't behave properly will be required to comply with the planning and construction rules. We don't accept a process where there is a plan that is approved and while the entrepreneurs are in motion, they request more and more approvals for the same project.

Obviously, sometimes you find out during construction that another permit is needed, but this cannot be a permanent procedure. It is certainly not acceptable for us to approve plans retrospectively. I can reject requests that do not meet threshold conditions. We check compliance with the standard. Life is about balance. We are very careful to be able to stand behind our approvals, otherwise we will be kidnapped by appeal committees and district committees."

Director of the Directorate for Urban Renewal Orna Mor: "The opposition to the Stroma plan is taking up time that could have been used to promote good plans"

The director of the Administration for Urban Renewal, Orna Moore, talked about the time that is lost, when you have to sit down and write objections to the plan instead of promoting good plans:
"A developer came to us with a plan for 2,400 apartments for urban renewal in the Stroma complex in Kiryat Shprincek. The plan was at a very inclusive level, after we told him that the plan was full of deficiencies. He took a section of the Shprincek neighborhood and filled it with urban renewal.

The developer went to a district committee and received backing from the National Authority for Urban Renewal. This plan was deposited, and now they fulfill the conditions, and we will of course file an objection. During this time we were able to promote good programs."

Bat Galim neighborhood

A very intriguing neighborhood, which received a lot of attention at the first meeting of the forum, is the Bat Galim neighborhood:
"Bat Galim is one of the neighborhoods that interests me the most," shared Golan Steinberg, "Bat Galim is a very attractive neighborhood, more than the Carmel Ridge. There are applications there for new construction, urban renewal and TMA 38. Plans for urban renewal were approved in the previous term and there are also plans for lots , which today are empty and some with a residential designation.

The neighborhood is changing its face. There are a lot of buildings there in bad condition that require urban renewal, we must take care of, for example, the brigade complex. The solution is that Shabbat Galim must have another departure, but it can only be on the day the train is tunneled.

It is not unreasonable to change the OT, because 5 years ago a plan had to be made for this neighborhood and the carrying capacity deducted from it (how many units can be in the neighborhood) and from there the plans. There are already several city construction plans that are already running. There are TMAs, which have been approved all along Bat Galim. Yahav instructed to stop some of the plans because the exit to Dolphin Square will kill people in the square. We are looking at how to create stages."

Trees that disappear during construction

The meeting ended with a conversation about a topic that is of great concern to environmental activists - what happens to trees during construction. According to Yaffe, automatically when deciding on construction, all the trees are marked for uprooting or moving to another place, instead of checking whether they can be left in their place. More than that, she asked where in the city are all the trees that were moved due to construction. Golan Steinberg listened attentively.

The meeting ended in good spirits. Even if it is not possible to provide an immediate answer to every problem that bothers the activists, there is no doubt that they were impressed that Golan Steinberg and her team are open to hearing, learning and providing answers on any issue.