The city of Ashkelon is trying to get back to normal.
December 2023/Father is a pharmacist
Both the front and the rear: as early as 1998, the Ministry of Construction and Housing announced a revolutionary plan in which old buildings would be demolished in order to create new, safer and more protected neighborhoods for the residents.
Since then, about 25 years have passed, during which the government plan for urban renewal is rushing forward and becoming a major player in the present and future of construction in Israel.
However, over the years, the urban renewal moved from its original purpose as a national need to protect the security of the citizens in the country - to a purely economic business opportunity.
Unfortunately, the Iron Swords War proved to us, in a very painful way, that urban renewal has a very important role, and it is, above all, the protection of human life.
With this understanding, when the expectation of the end of the war does not exist, the questions arise: How can the timetables for advancing the project be significantly shortened?
And what significant steps should be taken to promote urban renewal that more appropriately meets its original purpose?
Attorney Or Keren, founding partner of Cohen-Katsaf, Keren, Dahan & Co. | KDC, explains.
"The needs for them lead to urban renewal are clearer now than ever. To understand this, all I needed was to take one short glance and look at the landscape exposed from the Mount Dov sector to the rear adjacent to me, which is suffering heavy losses in the body and direct damage to the buildings"
"It's been 4 months since I put aside my work as the owner of a law firm that represents thousands of apartment owners in urban renewal projects, in favor of protecting the country's borders as a commander in the reserve battalion of the Golani Brigade in the northern sector in the face of Hezbollah missiles and threats," says Attorney Kern, "What we see To me, initially as a world far removed from the urban renewal industry, in which I deal routinely, it proved to me in an incredible way how critical the role of urban renewal is and how much the decision makers in the country fail in terms of implementation."
"The needs for them leading urban renewal are clearer now than ever.
To understand this, all I needed was to take one short look and look at the view exposed from the Har Dov sector to the rear adjacent to me, which is suffering heavy losses in the body and direct damage to the buildings.
Now, it is important that the state and the authorities make significant decisions to promote urban renewal and protect citizens throughout the country, and not only where there is understandable economic viability."
There is a heavy price for bureaucratic procrastination
Unfortunately, the current war has taught us a lot about our failures and problems as a country, society and individuals.
After 4 months on the front line, the position became clear to me, which in truth was already solid before - urban renewal is the order of the hour, and it is nothing less than saving the lives of apartment owners who currently live in old buildings all over the country, who at every alarm take risks on the way to a dilapidated shelter at best, or to a room The stairs at worst.
With the sharpening of the understanding, the significant gap between the desire to promote an urban renewal plan and the methods of approval and its oppressive bureaucracy also became clear.
The question that is asked is, isn't it time to refer to urban renewal and approve it the same way other issues that are considered soul control are approved?
If you go a little deeper and check what is important to address, then probably the first issue is the bureaucratic problem.
In order to understand the depth of the bureaucratic problem, there is one statistic that teaches us far beyond everything we need to know and understand, and it is: today, according to the data of the Governmental Authority for Urban Renewal, there are plans for about 250 thousand apartments with MMDs that are on the table of The planning institutions are in various stages of approval. This is an unimaginable figure and even outrageous in light of the complex situation we are in today. The glaring meaning of it is that it is time to create a new and efficient bureaucratic order for the approval of urban renewal plans.
It is time for the Ministry of Construction and Housing together with the planning managers in the local authorities to outline A systematic plan, which focuses on providing maximum certainty for the promotion of urban renewal projects, both among apartment owners who are desperate for proper protection and also for those involved in the construction trade such as entrepreneurs, lawyers, architects, etc. This is so that they can engage in and promote what they know how to do best, which is to innovate and build .
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One of the most painful issues in the bureaucratic aspect is the time required to approve an urban renewal plan (URP) and issue a building permit in urban renewal projects. As of today, approval of a building evacuation plan and issuance of a building permit can take an almost unimaginable amount of time of about 7 years and even more For this. Which can, with a quick calculation, turn a project with a completely average schedule into about 7 years of waiting for plan approval and the issuance of a building permit, and about 3 more years of demolition and construction until the apartment owners get the basic protection they deserve.
If in the past the fear In the market and in the industry regarding the bureaucratic delays in issuing construction permits, there was an increase in real estate prices, the Black Sabbath of 10/7 arrived and the severe war that followed, including an unimaginable number of missiles that were fired and fired all over the State of Israel, and proved that the disturbing delays in obtaining construction permits have Prices that can cost human lives, and are much more significant than any economic aspect of one kind or another.
This is a bottleneck that it is time to release
What can be done to streamline and shorten the processes?
First, it is important to create clarity and transparency at the political level in city-building plans in Israel.
Today, the reality is that in each authority several plans apply and the municipal policy changes from time to time, and sometimes they even contradict each other, which makes deciphering the path to approving a building evacuation plan and issuing a permit very complicated;
After that, the lack of professional personnel, whose role is to check and approve the plans and permits, must be addressed.
Sometimes, professional and efficient personnel in combination with the introduction of innovative technological systems can save many painful months waiting for the long-awaited permit;
Another gap that needs to be bridged is between the economic desire of the entrepreneurs to add as many housing units as possible and the desire of the local authorities to develop infrastructure, commerce and traffic alongside personal and political considerations, which also create problems and delays.
From my experience, in order to optimize the process (until the government acts to shorten the schedules, if at all) one must act in two stages: in the first stage, professionals must be chosen who know the nature of the authority in which they work and who live and breathe the planning policy in the city, thus saving time in planning;
In the second stage, as we know, there are quite a few considerations that the local authority takes into account before recommending to promote a construction evacuation plan.
The secret is to understand and know the relevant considerations in each authority, and to know how to plan a project that also benefits the municipal authority and its needs (such as the planning of public buildings within the plan), thereby actually meeting the authority's needs, which will help advance the plan at a faster pace.
Attorney Or Keren, co-founder of the KDC law firm - Cohen-Katsaf, Keren, Dahan & Co./KDC
In conclusion, we must wake up right now and realize that the number of residential apartments that are not protected in Israel is unprecedented.
In a reality where there is a lack of thawed land for construction, critical protection gaps and a growing demand for housing, urban renewal has a critical role in increasing the amount of residential buildings, and responding to the need for protection for many citizens in the country.
These are exactly the reasons for drawing lessons from the war in the fields of real estate and defense and treating urban renewal as a program whose main function is to save human lives. Therefore, the time has come to shorten the bureaucracy and streamline the planning processes which will allow the apartment owners a better and safer life and those engaged in the construction trade, build, renew and protect Israel.
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