On Thursday, July 26, a meeting of the Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Construction Committee of the Bolesławiec City Council was held in the Council Chamber. Residents of the housing estate on Pileckiego Street in Bolesławiec had been invited. (We will refer to it this way for convenience throughout the article – ed. istotne.pl). The meeting in the Council Chamber lasted approximately 3.5 hours. (Afterward, the protesting residents, local government officials and city hall employees went to the site for a local inspection).
At the beginning, Jan Kisiliczyk, head of the Property and Spatial Planning Department at Bolesławiec City Hall, Jan Kisiliczyk presented the history of the area on which the housing estate was built in detail. “It is the county office that verifies whether what the investor intends to build on their land complies with the spatial development plan,” he stressed. “We had to balance the interests of businesses with those of the owners of neighboring plots, where single-family housing had already been built. Balancing these interests resulted in multi-family housing being introduced, but in a way that maximally protects the interests of owners of single-family plots.”
During his presentation, the department head addressed the residents’ allegations, including difficulties leaving the estate: “Concerns that it will be difficult to leave this housing estate seem completely unfounded.”
Marta Gęsikowska, Marta Gęsikowska head of a unit in the Property and Spatial Planning Department, then spoke: “We have reviewed all the comments, questions and allegations; I tried to address all your questions.”
Among other things, the official said that the planning procedure is governed by the Spatial Planning and Development Act. She also said that every resolution connected with this procedure is sent to the voivode, who checks whether each point has been properly carried out.
The meeting was also attended by Bolesławiec entrepreneur Krzysztof Ramza, Krzysztof Ramza who said plainly that much of the information circulating about the estate was untrue. He stressed that the buildings had been designed in accordance with the applicable spatial development plan. He said the whole story began when a married couple offered to sell him two houses with a market value of PLN 800,000 for... PLN 2 million. The price was supposedly their assurance of peace and quiet. According to the developer, when he rejected the offer, a storm began. (The woman concerned was present in the Council Chamber and firmly stated that this was untrue).
K. Ramza also stressed that he did not want to be dragged into any political arrangements. He assured the audience that he did not get involved in politics at all.
Responding to the developer, one of the estate’s residents stated that the development on the Pileckiego estate was not being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the local spatial development plan and gave several examples, including failure to maintain a 15-meter distance from the plot boundary.
“You are throwing out slogans that cannot be verified. On what basis do you make that claim?” the entrepreneur retorted. He added that the residents had reported the matter to the County Building Supervision Inspectorate and that its inspection had shown the construction was being carried out in accordance with the design documentation. (The voivode is currently examining the matter).
Krzysztof Ramza added: “You see political arrangements everywhere. You do not have a single document confirming your claim.”
Bolesławiec Mayor Piotr Roman Piotr Roman joined the discussion: “The city office is not responsible for assessing whether a development complies with the plan; the city office’s role ends when the plan is adopted.” He added that representatives of the institutions dealing with such matters were not present in the Council Chamber. He therefore suggested that perhaps a meeting of this kind should be organized at the County Office.
Architect Dariusz Fułek Dariusz Fułek shed new light on the matter: “The estate area was designated for multi-family housing, and it was a very bad idea for someone to introduce single-family housing. I think you all understand how valuable land in the city is. If someone wants to live in a comfortable detached house surrounded by beautiful nature, it certainly will not be five minutes from the city center. In this way, we would turn urban planning upside down.”
A discussion followed, during which residents presented their allegations. One of them said that the six access routes to the estate existed only on paper, because there were only three. However, after the mayor and department head Kisiliczyk objected, he admitted that four were open.
The issue of where information about the entire project had been published was also raised. The information was posted on the website and in Gazeta Wyborcza. Why that particular newspaper? As P. Roman explained, Wyborcza wins tenders to publish such notices because of its low price. He said this had nothing to do with political sympathy or antipathy toward the newspaper.
The mayor stressed that it was untrue—as some had claimed—that information about the development had been concealed. Proof of this was the protest by a group of residents who wrote to city hall and received what they had requested.
One resident present in the room claimed that four purchasers of new apartments in the estate were officials. “Are you suggesting that there are some political connections here?” Roman protested. He asked which office the resident meant. The resident replied that it probably referred to the county office. The mayor commented: “You are very clever; we know very well that you want to run for a seat on the City Council.”
Later in the meeting, D. Fułek explained technical matters, including how building height is calculated. (The protesting residents believe the buildings are taller than allowed under the plan).
The felling of trees on the aforementioned estate was also discussed. (There is information circulating that it was carried out illegally.) Robert Rzepnicki, Robert Rzepnicki deputy head of the Public Procurement and Municipal Investments Department at Bolesławiec City Hall, explained the issue. He said that everything had been done in accordance with procedures and Polish law.
The protesting residents raised further objections, while officials rebutted their arguments. Toward the end of the 3.5-hour meeting, the mayor said: “I heard a rumor around town that Mr. Ramza arranged a change to the plan with me through a three-month procedure. That is utter nonsense, because the planning procedure lasted more than a year.”
He added that he thanked all participants for their endurance and patience. A recording of the committee meeting will be published on the Bolesławiec City Hall website so that everyone can draw their own conclusions about “what this whole dispute is really about.” (You can watch it above.)
What do you think? Are you convinced by the officials’ explanations? Or do you think the protesting residents are right? We invite you to join the discussion.