Residents of Savyoni Danya petition: "Massive construction in a closed neighborhood with high traffic risk"

(haipo) – Hundreds of residents of the Savyoni Danya neighborhood, adjacent to the University of Haifa and the Danya neighborhood, have decided to take a step forward in their fight against the expansion and doubling of the neighborhood. Through attorneys Oren Katz and Eli Hirsch of the Yosef Yeshurun ​​& Co. law firm, the residents filed an administrative petition with the Haifa District Court (sitting as an administrative court) against the decision of the Haifa District Planning and Building Committee, which conditionally approved a plan to build 550 new housing units in the neighborhood, an addition of more than 50% to the existing number of apartments, claiming that the neighborhood has already been defined by the State Comptroller as a “confined neighborhood” that suffers from severe traffic congestion and a safety risk. In addition, they are attacking the committee chairman’s refusal to allow them to appeal to the National Planning and Building Council.

"A locked-down neighborhood": traffic congestion, blockages, and prohibited parking

According to the petitioners, the neighborhood is already dealing with severe traffic congestion, severe parking shortages, street blockages, and constant congestion at the entrance and exit of the neighborhood. According to them, the transportation feasibility study on which the plan is based is based on incorrect data, ignoring the actual transportation situation and the severe congestion at the intersections connecting the neighborhood to the city's main traffic arteries.

"Self-contradictory" construction phases: construction without a transportation solution

The petitioners claim that the plan permits the construction of approximately 200 of the 550 housing units without any requirement for an additional transportation connection to the neighborhood, relying on an "approved status" from historical plans. However, they claim that those plans themselves include an explicit obligation to complete a road system, including a connection to the Ramat Alon neighborhood, which was approved decades ago but never paved.

"It is not possible to derive from the approved plans only the building permit and ignore the accompanying stipulation in the same legal source," the petition claims. The claim is further strengthened in light of the fact that Savyoni Danya is defined in the State Comptroller's reports as a "closed neighborhood" with a single exit, a situation that poses a safety risk and makes escape difficult in an emergency.

Additional claims: missing public buildings, damage to open spaces and the improvement levy

The petitioners point to a series of additional flaws in the District Committee's decision:

• A flaw in judgment regarding the compromise agreement with the Haifa Municipality and the improvement levy, contrary to the law and case law.
• Ignoring a severe shortage of public buildings in the neighborhood, where there are approximately 1,000 housing units but only one public building.
• Approval of the plan without a consolidated public transportation annex.
• Impairment of residents' access to urban nature trails.
• Disproportionate property damage to tenants adjacent to one of the planned complexes.

Residents: "Expanding the neighborhood without a transportation solution is a danger"

The petitioners ask the court to cancel the approval of the plan or to order a reexamination that includes complete transportation solutions, in accordance with historical commitments and the actual transportation situation.