On the brink of social catastrophe: building permits bake like pancakes, furnished apartments are cheap, but welfare is low | Deal

15 minutes the journalist had to hear the story of more than one resident located in Giraitė about a decade ago. They all moved “to the country,” they all imagined living in a rural area, but when apartment buildings began to sprout under the windows of private plots and the line for kindergartens began to grow, they lacked patience.

Giraitė elders do not understand how the Kaunas district municipality does not see the big picture, does not regulate population density or bless irresponsible construction, how the government does not really care about the welfare of the people: when Giraitė becomes a concrete jungle, no children are found here. The reason is simple: state land is lacking, because almost the entire Giraitė area is in the hands of private owners. And these, with the help of construction machinery, do what they want. After all, it is possible to show the buyer a beautiful postcard with a park, a pond, lighting, a sidewalk next to the house, but this does not mean that when the hut sprouts, the picture will correspond to reality.

People are angry that in a rural settlement priority is given to construction, machinery, but not to people.

“The fastest growing district, but the feeling that the city does not care, because the district, and the district does not care, because the settlement is too close to the city. There are no trees, no playgrounds, the most important thing is to build the remaining empty space as soon as possible. And the further away, the taller the apartment buildings. There is nowhere for children to play, activities are lacking, kindergartens. Is there a sustainable development plan in Kaunas district? ”A resident of Giraitė posed a rhetorical question (the editorial board knows the first and last names).

People are angry that in a rural settlement, priority is given to construction, machinery, but not to people, and there is so little state land that there is nowhere to build a school. Neighbors do not understand why the municipality cannot buy any land to meet the needs of the public.

Started baking apartment buildings

The patience of the residents was lacking when the builder “Statybos investicija”, who had implemented several projects in Giraitė, started a new construction on Putinų Street: the foundations were being prepared for buildings with three floors and eight apartments. In total, about 100 new apartments should sprout.

“Daily work is done on the site, materials are transported, measurements are made, soil samples are taken, although the stage of the project these days is the advertising procedures. The opinion is that the builder is already confident in the future construction. This new quarter will seriously worsen the quality of life of former residents, reducing the value of the properties they own.

In addition, the 4-meter-wide road behind the fence (the land is state-owned) will soon become a transportation route that will only benefit the builder. Due to this street, the municipality received a visualization with the installation of a pedestrian and bicycle lane and a green zone 2 times two years ago, but the municipality apparently protects only the interests of the builder and soon the only land in the state will be a street useful for the builder. Half of Putinų Street will be public and the other half private. I wonder who will take care of her, ”said another Giraitė resident, Asta (name changed).

He moved to Giraitė in 2007, bought the land even earlier. Before buying, he was interested in how the territory is planned to be developed – it was promised to develop a block of one- or two-room houses, but suddenly apartment buildings began to sprout up. On what basis, a woman does not understand.

“Three rows of apartment buildings and all different, at least one development without problems would be. Giraitė is one of the fastest growing settlements and there are no schools or kindergartens. There was an old one, but closed. Plans to demolish it. A.Šapokos Street has built a new one, 6 groups there, but the children cannot go outside at the same time, because there is nowhere to go, as if they sleep in shifts. Subsequently, 4 more groups were installed, with capacity for a total of 200 kindergartens.

The situation is complicated because there are no vacancies in kindergarten for the next three years. There are several groups of kindergartens in Užliediai, it is also full. Giraitė residents take children where they can. According to the new order, the city does not accept district children in its kindergartens, citizens are also given priority to enter school. After all, the state must take care of the child’s education. And now, you live in Giraitė and they will give you a place in Petrašiūnai. Social inequality ”, the woman wondered.

The situation is complicated because there are no vacancies in kindergarten for the next three years.

Resident: “We are on the threshold of social catastrophe”

According to Kristina, a member of the Giraitė community (name changed), the main problem with these settlements is that the pace of development of the social infrastructure is too slow for the scale of construction.

“In 2010, we had 800 inhabitants, now officially declaring their place of residence in Giraitė, a little more than 3 thousand. As you know, the number does not correspond to the current one, because due to the lack of places in kindergartens and the absence of school, many families do not declare their place of residence in the district. What other thousand can we bravely count on? We are on the brink of social catastrophe. The residents are compressed into a small area, because everyone wants to live as close as possible possible of Kaunas and the construction is unsustainable. Very densely populated areas, construction of apartment buildings and completely undeveloped social infrastructure. It cannot be that we have built an apartment building and everything else, maybe sometime when we receive funding. It is necessary to stop the issuance of construction permits for apartment buildings, to regulate the population density ”, explained Kristina the problem.

According to her, around 600 children from Giraitė are waiting in line to enter kindergarten, having opened new groups, the municipality will only accommodate half of them. There is also a lack of leisure spaces: children are forced to play in the street.

“You want to go to the neighbor, and there are not even pedestrian paths formed between the blind streets, of which there are many in Giraitė. You walk on the main streets where there are no sidewalks. We found out where there is still land of the state, we have an area of ​​5 areas, we are installing a playground there, “said the woman.

Seduce at low prices

When asked why people, knowing the situation, continue to develop in such settlements, Kristina explained that buyers don’t really know what they are buying. They are attracted to establish their houses in Giraitė because of the low price of real estate – a newly built apartment will cost only 30 thousand. euros.

“It is the first home for the people, they do not know the criteria to choose it. It is necessary to educate people, offer them to pay attention to the reputation of the builder, to whether the problem of social infrastructure has been solved. The municipality is not in control of the construction boom and builders are abusing it. Of course, there are loopholes in the law, but the desire of the municipality is not seen. When Viktoras Pranckietis came to Giraitė, we asked why the laws of Lithuania are not oriented towards the sustainable development of settlements. We note that only the settlements where the politicians are located are managed: Ringaudai, Kačerginė, Zapyškis and the territory of the FEZ. Nobody cares about our settlement, even though it has existed for 50 years, ”Kristina said.

She predicts that in the near future Giraitė will become a social and migrant housing district.

Developer: “This is all slander”

15 minutes interviewed Jonas Jegerskas, one of Giraitė’s developers, the director of such construction investments. He called for the complaint of the residents who had previously settled on the slander of the people. According to him, no one allows the construction of a house, if well-being is not created at the same time, 11 institutions place signatures so that the object can be considered finished – “added”. And houses under construction, according to the interlocutor, although cheap, correspond to class A +: tightness and sound insulation are important.

Construction Investment Manager: “A square meter costs 800-900 euros, more expensive than 40 thousand. We do not sell an apartment for EUR “.

“It is a project, you will not escape from it anywhere. They say that the houses we build are ugly. Let those who live there speak up, not those who live nearby. The people who filed the complaint have their own private interests: themselves they have taken over the 5-meter road protection zone. That people’s selfishness … Yes, our construction is cheap, we build an economical option, there are no flats or we build next to the luxury welfare: a square meter costs 800- 900 euros, more expensive than 40 thousand Euro apartment we do not sell, but that is not bad. Where else in Europe will you find it so young that a young family that has worked for three or four years can already buy an apartment? Believe me, our laws are based on the European Union. There are buildings of this type everywhere, we have even more space, “said J. Jegerskas.

This is perhaps the sixth “Statybos investicijos” development project under development at Giraitė, since 2006 the company has been building around 100-200 new apartments per year. According to the interlocutor, only two acres are being built on the 15-acre plot, everything else is dedicated to well-being. Each apartment has two parking spaces for their cars, there is always a green bar where the settlers guide dogs, cook barbecues, the children also play there, and trees are provided.

“We don’t put asphalt, we put pavers so people don’t stink. We even built a kindergarten for Giraite with our own funds. We sold it to the municipality for 1.5 million. euros. We have 57 acres of land left; We proposed to build another on Topolių street, but as if the negotiations were breaking down. Really, developers don’t just care about money. If I had that money, I would build kindergartens and schools. Unfortunately, there is a lack of working capital, we are drowning in debt, but we are building, moving, giving away those debts, “said the head of” Investments in Construction. “

Promises to install a park

All issues that concern the residents of Giraitė 15 minutes the journalist asked the representatives of the Kaunas district municipality. They agreed that the elders of Užliedžiai, especially the villages of Giraitė and Vijūkai, are characterized by extremely rapid development of residential construction. Recently, the mayor of Kaunas district, as written in the response of the municipality, met with the rector of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU). It was agreed that LSMU would transfer to the Kaunas District Municipality a 1 hectare plot of land in Giraitė, which will be equipped with a park and leisure area. LSMU should approve this decision in early September.

The Kaunas district municipality also recalled a 200-meter linden alley planted in Giraitė in spring 2018 together with the local community.

In the same year, in Užliedžiai, at the corner of Ledos and Sodų streets, there was also a Square of Light, where benches, exercise machines and a children’s playground were installed.

Kaunas authorities acknowledge that this is not enough in a rapidly urbanizing nursing home, but there is almost no free state land here, and there are no levers to force real estate developers to create green zones.

According to the Kaunas district municipality, the problem of kindergartens in Užliedžiai elderly is being solved. In 2016-2017, a kindergarten for 11 groups was built in Vijūkai village, attended by more than 200 children. Already this year, modular construction kindergartens will be built in Giraitė and Užliedžiai, and by 2022 the multifunctional center in Užliedžiai will be rebuilt. After the implementation of these projects, an additional 240 places will be created for Užliedžiai seniors. The builders have already undertaken the renovation of the multifunctional center: three groups of kindergartens will be housed here, and a six-group modular kindergarten will be built on the adjacent plot. A modular kindergarten for three more groups will be built on the site of the former Giraitė kindergarten. The modules will come from Scandinavia and will be built in early September.

“After the reconstruction of the Užliedžiai multifunctional center, a third floor will appear for a primary school. The environment will also change radically: there will be green areas, playgrounds, sports fields and more. The implementation of the project will cost 2.3 million. “explained the district authorities.

Regulates density unless in North Korea

In April 2018, the Kaunas District Municipality organized a conference “Building Changes in Kaunas District: Together, Responsibly, In Another Way”, during which it was stated that in many places development is spontaneous, irresponsible: neighborhoods are emerging without the necessary infrastructure, without building regulations parking lots. Marius Narmontas, director of the Department of Construction and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of the Environment, later acknowledged that the chaotic development was also affected by some of the loopholes in the law, which he promised to fix.

If Kaunas residents are as bad in Kaunas district as they say, why is everyone rushing here so much?

“Sustainable urban development must be a strategic task of the state. Unfortunately, legislation that is passed often only causes chaos, and then attempts are made to place the responsibility on self-government. The assertion of the inhabitants of Giraitė that the The municipality has to “regulate the population density.” Such action is only possible in China or North Korea. In Lithuania, as in the entire EU, the free movement of the population is legalized. If families are raised in the Kaunas district , it is their free choice, which means that it is a suitable place for people to live here. If Giraitė residents are so bad in Kaunas district, why is everyone here in such a hurry? “, in his comment. 15 minutes the representatives of the Kaunas district government asked.

It is recognized that there are indeed many problems with newcomers, but they can only be effectively addressed through appropriate decisions at the national level, in consultation with communities and by demanding greater accountability from private investors.

“The municipality does not have the right not to issue construction permits if they comply with the law. Another problem is that the built objects are accepted by another institution, the Construction Inspectorate, so the approved project and the final result often differ, ”explained the Kaunas District Municipality.

Can build buildings up to 12.5 meters

Jurgita Kalvinskaitė, the chief architect of the Kaunas district municipality, claims that a detailed plan has never been prepared on Putin Street mentioned by the residents of Girait -: the regulation of construction is determined according to the solutions of the general plan. The architect claims that the construction of multi-apartment dwellings in this area of ​​Giraitė in 2012 started from the apartment buildings on Žilviči Street, which formed an urban structure that corresponded to the concept of the neighborhood and its further development.

As J. Kalvinskaitė explained, the traffic on Topolių Street near Putinų Street is heavy, and larger buildings should be built alongside those streets, which would serve as a screen and reduce the negative impact of traffic on the living environment. It is possible to construct buildings up to 12.5 meters high on the Topolių street side.

The architect assured that the decision of the municipality regarding the plot located on Putinų str. 37, the urbanization will be accepted only after a formal request from the builder to approve the project proposals, after the builder has completed the legal procedures for advertising the project.

“If the project complies with the construction regulations of the Kaunas District General Plan and current laws, the municipality will approve the project. If it does not comply, without a doubt it will contradict ”, assured the representative of the municipality.

He said Putinų Street was planned in the general plan of Kaunas District Municipality prepared in 2008, stayed in the replacement solutions approved in 2014. During intensive urbanization in Giraitė, the installation of the entire Putinų Street is more and more relevant.

According to the representative of the Kaunas district self-government, the zone of state lands on Putinų Street is about 4.5 meters wide, the rest – on private plots, where road easements are provided or the land use method of engineering infrastructure.

“This street can be built with private funds or together with the municipality. If the street were installed with private funds, the municipality would take charge of this building and its maintenance ”, explained the architect.

The damage was caused by a deficient law in force

According to the representatives of the Kaunas District Municipality, there are many things to correct in the Land Planning, Construction and Architecture Laws, we lack a greater responsibility of real estate developers in the creation of green spaces, accesses, sidewalks and other infrastructure. Gated communities are being built in the fields, he rushes to sell houses, not thinking about how people will have to live here.

“However, the laws are not approved by the municipalities, but by the Seimas. Pranckietis, the spokesperson for the Seimas, who also represents Giraitė residents in the Raudondvaris single-member constituency, has perhaps the greatest opportunity to initiate amendments to the laws and correct these loopholes. Unfortunately, the initiatives of V. Pranckietis have not been heard until now, “said the Kaunas district government.

According to the representatives of the municipality, much confusion was generated by the provision of the Construction Law in force until the end of 2016, which allows simple, up to 80 m2 M. meters of residential buildings to build without permits. In this way, whole blocks of small houses appeared on private plots, the development of which practically no one could control. This is especially typical of the Užliedžiai elders.

As of January 1, 2017, a new version of the Construction Law came into force: a permit was made mandatory for the construction of a simple residential building.

Gated communities are being built in the fields, he rushes to sell houses, not thinking about how people will have to live here.

Home construction must master

What levers does the municipality have to regulate the development of construction? J. Kalvinskaitė explained that the fundamental principles are defined in the general plan of the Kaunas district. This document programs an urban vision for the years to come. Spatial planning decisions do not take shape immediately, the consequences are visible after 10-20 years. Due to certain legal restrictions, it is not always possible to incorporate all the control measures, prohibitions and rules in the Master Plan.

During the development of the Master Plan, the neighbors, according to the architect, should be more active in making suggestions and making claims, and now only a very small part of the population is interested in solutions related to the general welfare, the establishment or preservation of green areas.

J. Kalvinskaitė stated that the Kaunas district is a rural municipality, which should be dominated by the construction of family houses, but the extensive and dispersed construction becomes a practically unbearable and inefficient burden in providing centralized engineering networks and other infrastructure.

“Although the development of residential construction is large, the Kaunas district is a rural area. I would like them to dominate single family houses and farms. However, the real situation is that there are not many farm-like buildings left in the old suburban towns, laments J. Kalvinskaitė. “In areas where housing construction predominates, we do not issue permits for apartment buildings, residential block of flats should be avoided.”

The architect explained that the Kaunas district municipality has not prepared a special plan for sustainable urban mobility, as such plans are prepared only in cities and not in rural areas.

What should settlers know?

Municipality representatives acknowledged that in some new residential neighborhoods, especially in Giraitė, residents feel the consequences of the lazy attitude of real estate developers: narrow streets are installed, no space is left for sidewalks and green areas. How to influence those entrepreneurs?

J. Kalvinskaitė claims that the municipality has practically no legal power to force builders to install green areas or trails before selling a newly built house. The municipality’s chief architect pointed out that often builders try to accommodate as much living space on the plot, and all the infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, public lighting) is not profitable for entrepreneurs. Municipal invitations to return to the community generally don’t work.

“It just came to our knowledge then. The visualizations that builders provide to potential buyers often do not correspond to reality. They represent that there are green parks and ponds close to the place of residence, and in reality this is not the case. Therefore, we advise settlers not to buy “paintings”, but to demand guarantees in writing from the builder, “emphasized J. Kalvinskaitė.

The visualizations that builders provide to potential buyers often do not correspond to reality.

The architect advised buyers to pay attention to the purchase-sale contract, which should indicate what the person pays. It’s also worth taking a look at the reputations of specific real estate developers. When buying a home, a person must not only assess the condition of the home they are buying, it is important to assess what commitments the developer makes on a quarterly basis regarding infrastructure.

“There is a high risk that without discussing the property rights of the infrastructure, its management procedures, the neighborhood developer may subsequently abuse: charge the users of this infrastructure, demand that the infrastructure be redeemed, interfere with the use of communications “, warned the architect.