By: Domen Mezeg (Nova24TV.si)
“The Prime Minister expressed himself quite clumsily when he mentioned that he is looking for non-buildable, municipally equipped land. However, the idea is heading in the right direction. The search is for space that is non-buildable (thus cost-effective!), with a road passing by and water and electricity (with appropriate capacity) nearby. However, this will not work without a change in legislation,” warns commentator Tomaž Štih.
“After the recent floods, many have been left without a roof over their heads, exposing even further the issues that have plagued the Slovenian landscape for decades. High prices and bureaucratic hurdles prevent numerous young people (families) from finding their true homes and breaking free from dependency on the state. This is precisely why we need a more liberal land policy, rather than emulating the misguided socialist Vienna model favoured by the Levica and the SD parties. The fear that a handful of young people would cover everything in construction is unnecessary. That is precisely why we urgently need to address the area of construction legislation. However, the governing authorities are not doing enough, or practically nothing, in this direction. A quick look at the ministry websites reveals that the Ministry of Solidarity Future, the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Energy, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food have no news regarding potential changes in spatial, construction, or agricultural legislation. Things are moving too slowly,” warns commentator Tomaž Štih.
According to him, the best course of action would be for the government to establish a crisis task force of top experts in the field, following the example of the previous government. This task force should have a very short deadline to produce results within clear political objectives. Štih believes that it does not matter if these objectives are not optimal, as things can always be fine-tuned later. During a crisis, it is not crucial to conceive everything 100% perfectly; what is important is to quickly detect mistakes, acknowledge them, and rectify them. Štih then proposes several possible political objectives:
1) Revise the spatial strategy to exempt residences (apartments, family houses) from the 2050 restrictions.
2) Remove residences from building laws and draft a separate law just a few pages long, substantially simplifying all building procedures with the goal of cost reduction for construction. Introduce quick ‘flat rate’ building permits for K+N+M houses not exceeding 100 m² in size. Enable building permits for constructions outside designated areas (if the plot is not equipped with utilities).
Pro-government NGOs are an ideological-lobbying obstacle!
3) Remove any restrictions on voluntary assistance (including from friends), prove informal work ex post rather than ex ante, offenses must be proven rather than prevented,
4) Protect agricultural land, pastures, forests, for the purpose of building entirely new (compact!) settlements,
5) Around urban centres, release enough buildable land for 150,000 plots of 400 m² each.
Štih: “The Prime Minister expressed himself quite clumsily when he mentioned looking for non-buildable, municipally equipped land. However, the idea is heading in the right direction. The search is for space that is non-buildable (thus cost-effective!), with a road passing by and water and electricity (with appropriate capacity) nearby.” However, this will not work without legislative changes, he warns. If changes are already being made, the best approach is to change it for everyone and generally facilitate and increase the accessibility of housing and family homes. If you desire development and job opportunities, it applies to all buildings. However, this will be very challenging, as, for example, NGOs are an ideological lobbying obstacle. While it had been removed, this government has brought it back into construction.