In June last year, we reported that the city authorities had ordered a resident of Tulipanowa Street to remove his hedge. The reason? A complaint by another Bolesławiec resident, who decided that the bushes posed a safety risk. The man maintained that at the intersection of Tulipanowa and Szarotek streets he had narrowly avoided being hit by a car—and that the height of the green fence was to blame.
In February this year, the author of the complaint contacted our editorial office (he wishes to remain anonymous). He stressed that the case was not about the hedge but about the fence. “The resident of Tulipanowa Street occupied the entire pavement and strip of greenery,” the Bolesławiec resident explained. In his view, the fence makes it difficult for buses to pass, while the lack of a pavement creates a danger for pedestrians. “I have problems with my eyesight. I want to walk on the pavement,” he added.
Following the man's intervention, the disputed bushes were removed. “The authorities ordered the hedge removed, but there is still no pedestrian passage. The regulations are clear: there should be a pavement on both sides of the street,” the Bolesławiec resident protested. The man believes that city officials exceeded their powers and illegally sold the strip of land next to the property at the intersection of Tulipanowa and Szarotek streets. He reported the matter to the prosecutor's office, but it refused to deal with the case.
The Bolesławiec resident did not give up, however. In connection with the man's numerous letters, the city commissioned a court-appointed expert to prepare an opinion “concerning an analysis of road-traffic safety at the intersection of Szarotek Street and Tulipanowa Street in Bolesławiec.” The expert identified “factors creating a hazard.” Reconstruction of the pavement on Szarotek Street began in March and is to be completed in June 2009.
The authorities reject the allegations
Asked whether the municipality had in fact sold a strip of land to the resident of Tulipanowa Street, Agnieszka Gergont, the authorities' spokesperson, wrote in an email to our editorial office: “The city hall does not illegally sell land.” She added: “After the pavement reconstruction, Bolesławiec City Hall will regulate the ownership matters concerning three users of municipal land on Szarotek Street.”
“Every sale is carried out on the basis of an order issued by the mayor. There is no illegal activity here,” assures Jan Kisiliczyk, head of the Property and Spatial Management Department. The official explains that the owners of three plots on Tulipanowa Street had unlawfully developed a strip of land belonging to the municipality.
“We demanded the return of our land,” Kisiliczyk says. The city wants to offer the residents of Tulipanowa Street a lease or the option to purchase the small strip of land. “If they express a desire to buy it, we will take action in accordance with the law,” he stresses.
(information ii)