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15 December 2012. The Municipal Council of Durres, in cooperation with the Center for Public Information Issues, CPII, organized in the premises of “Adriatic” Hotel the open public discussion about the General Local Planning (GLP). This essential meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr. Indrit Hamiti, Director of the Urban Planning Office at Durrës Municipality, other representatives of the Municipal Administration, interested parties and citizens from Durrës, mainly members of the Citizens’ Transparency Network of Durrës, established by CPII.

Indeed, the General Local Planning constituted a key component for the exercise of the Municipal Council’s decision making functions. Its discussion with the concerned stakeholders and the public is above all, a legal obligation for the Municipal Council but also an obligation stemming from the law on urban planning. For the first time it was developed in this form in Durres, where the Municipal Council is the main stakeholder and not the Municipality administration.

The General Local Planning was introduced by the representative of the design studio, Eng. Urb. Dr. Athanasios Pagonis, representative of the design studio,T.P.Development Group.

The debate between Durrës Municipal Council and Municipality was focused on which part the Plan proposes the treatment by DLP (Detailed Local Plans) and for which part it should be directly covered by development permits. The proposal made by the Design Studio, with a representative, Eng. Urb. Dr. Athanasios Pagonis, from the Studio T.P. Development Group,in cooperation with the Municipality Administration, was the coverage of only informal zones by the DLP. In the meantime, the other party proposed the coverage of most of the city with detailed plans, arguing that these zones have been prone to an unbalanced development and that DLP as a competence of the Municipal Council, ensure a more democratic solution and a more harmonic development. Debates during today’s meeting highlighted major differences in conceiving GLP between the municipality Administration on one hand and the Council on the other hand.

An issue of concern explored by the participating architects and urbanists from Durrës was the inadequate technical challenge of the design-plan and the establishment of an Ad Hoc technical commission at the Municipal Council for the preliminary review of the plan prior to its final approval. This process of detailed information provided to decision makers about GLP was deemed of special importance, in order to avoid any potential shortcomings in the decision making on city planning or to interrupt negative phenomena during recent years,associated with the chaotic urban development of Durrës.

Currently, territory planning is one of the most important issues directly influencing the daily life of citizens from Durrës. The General Local Planning is the main strategic planning document. It includes a summary of analysis, vision and proposal of the use of land, structures and infrastructure services. Public and private investments in the city will be guided on the basis of the GLP.

The conference was organized due to the cooperation between the Municipal Council of Durrës, the Center for Public Information Issues, and its local branch in Durrës, Citizens’ Transparency Office. For more than a year, the Initiative is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, in Washington DC, USA.

 

 

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