Chernihiv city authorities continue to hide the city’s general plan from the community

On February 9, 2015, public activists and journalists visited the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Chernihiv City Council in order to check how the local authorities ensure general accessibility of urban planning documentation of Chernihiv for residents of the community.

The deputy head of the department, Petro Hreben, came out to the visitors, who noted that the General Plan of Chernihiv has the stamp “For official use”.

“Currently, this stamp can only be removed by the developer of the documentation (UDNII DIPROMISTO). If the prosecutor’s office or the SBU comes, we are responsible, not you,” Petro Hreben complained, addressing the activists. – I can only show that part of the general plan that is not intended for official use. About 40 thousand hryvnias have been allocated from the city budget to delimit parts of the general plan with open and limited access. The work will take 3-4 months. Then come.”

After a short discussion, the official nevertheless gave activists and journalists the opportunity to familiarize themselves with individual graphic and text materials of the city’s general plan, but without the possibility of photo and video recording.

Contrary to his own words, the official admitted that according to the Laws of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information” and “On Regulation of Urban Planning Activities” he is obliged to provide urban planning documentation and allow it to be photographed and copied. But the stamp of the State Urban Planning Commission and Instruction No. 1893 of 11/27/1998 do not allow him to do this. Thus, city officials admit that, violating the law, they adhere to outdated instructions.

“The scandals and conflicts of recent months in our city, in particular around the possible development of the districts of Yalivshchyna, Kordivka, and the failure to allocate land plots for ATO fighters, are primarily explained by the closure of urban planning documentation for ordinary residents of Chernihiv. Although it is no secret that developers and other interested parties have access to such information through various corruption mechanisms, – noted Viktor Tarasov, head of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.

The city’s General Plan is the most important document in the field of urban planning. Ukrainian legislation obliges local government bodies to ensure the general availability of such documentation. In accordance with the Law on Access to Public Information, activists addressed the Chernihiv City Council with an information request with a request to provide a copy of the City’s General Plan and explain how Chernihiv residents can get acquainted with it. The city authorities, under the signature of the deputy mayor V.G. Kryvenka, reported that the Chernihiv general plan is marked “For official use”.

“This response is essentially illegal, because the law clearly states that the materials of the general plan cannot be restricted in access. However, probably realizing the illegality of their refusal, the officials nevertheless wrote that those who wish can familiarize themselves with the general plan in the premises of the city department of architecture and urban planning. That is why we wanted to see in practice how exactly Chernihiv residents can familiarize themselves with the city’s general plan. But in fact, we were only allowed to briefly hold individual parts of the general plan in our hands without the ability to make copies, extracts or take photographs,” Viktor Tarasov noted.

Now the activists plan to challenge the city authorities’ illegal refusal to provide access to the materials of the Chernihiv general plan in court.