Globes, Eric Mirowski, 04.03.2020

Agreements between the Hod Hasharon Residents' Committee, Hod Hasharon Municipality and the Housing Authority have meant that the High Court yesterday approved the possibility of updating the municipal contour plan, even though it was approved by the District Committee in July 2017. The update was reflected in transportation checks to be carried out on major projects. The local committee should determine stages in the implementation of the master plan for individual programs.

The master plan, which number 2050 is a very pretentious program. It includes the addition of 27,000 housing units to the city and aims to increase the population of Hod Hasharon by three times what it is today, within 10 years, to reach a population of 128 A thousand people by 2030, the areas of employment where they will triple and trade areas will be doubled.

It was precisely the pretentiousness of the program that led to 1,830 objections being filed, many of them for transportation reasons, but they were rejected by the Central District District Committee. The head of the party at the time, Shira Brand, refused to allow opponents to appeal her decision, and in light of this, they petitioned the Center for Administrative Affairs, asking him to allow them to appeal the committee's decision to the National Planning and Building Council.Judge Verde Marez, who discussed the petition, decided two years ago to allow them to appeal but only on transportation issues, while severely criticizing the district committee.

"Even before the implementation of the plan, the current state of transportation in Hod Hasharon is in bad shape. Looking at the traffic jams every morning on the city's exits indicates dilapidated infrastructure that does not respond to consumers, even without the need for expert opinions in support of it. The plan, the bulk of it on transport planning, "she wrote in the judgment, adding that" apparently the program includes a variety of transport solutions that are heartbreaking, although in practice they are impractical and their implementation involves many obstacles, "the judge wrote in her decision. For example, the committee proposed a vision of converting private vehicles to bicycles and walking, but did not answer the question of whether this is a real solution to the expected urban density. "The plan lacks a thorough and thorough examination of the transportation issues," the judge concluded, "avoiding their 'look at' and their implications for the Sharon area. Due to their complexity and implications, these issues, including the test, merit further examination by the National Council."

The ruling appealed to the Supreme Court - the state appealed the court's intervention in the district committee's decision and demanded that the plan be approved, while the Resident Committee, which petitioned through Attorney Anat Biran, argued that there was room to be transferred to the subcommittee Discuss the entire plan and not just the traffic and transport aspects.

In between, Mayor and Amir Kochavi was replaced, among other things, because of the residents 'dissatisfaction with the planning process of the municipality and after several discussions with the Action Committee and the District Committee, the legal team instructed the Supreme Court to inform the municipality of the residents' position and full support of The municipality in this position. Another person who was replaced was the District Commission Chairman, Brand, who was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Housing Department Ze'ev Bielski, and his place on the District Committee took David Lefler, who took a different approach than his predecessor.

All parties recently convened under the direction of Bielski and Fleur with the intention of finding a solution to the need for a court hearing in the High Court. In the end, an agreement was also obtained, as stated, by a ruling of the three Supreme Court Justices Yael Wilner, Manny Mazuz and George Read, .

The agreement says that there is a duty to carry out comprehensive transportation checks for each plan over 200 housing units; In addition, the amendment allows for step-by-step restrictions and conditions to be established within the framework of detailed plans and policy documents by the local committee. The mayor presented an outline according to which these policy documents will be done in collaboration with the public and the action committee. It was also agreed between the parties to authorize the municipality to prepare a document for the implementation of the outline plan, which will set priorities, principles and steps for the development of the city.

Adv. Anat Byrne, who has represented residents in their struggle since submitting objections to the plan to date, said she was "delighted with the result received and believes that the struggle in Hod Hasharon has shown that residents have the power to change, and that residents who organize and work resolutely for worthy and important goals can achieve it. "

Mayor Amir Kochavi said "The independence of the local committee and its resilience are critical to shaping Hod Hasharon's future. And preserving the urban fabric. "

Kobi Hanoch, from the leaders of the action committee, added: "The residents of the city have shown that public struggle can be impacted. A key success of the fight was the replacement of the mayor with a mayor who supports the residents' position and the introduction of members to the city council, allowing us to bring the district committee to compromise hearings And give the local committee the power to demand adequate infrastructure before approving construction plans. I would like to thank Mayor Amir Kochavi for the move that he led. "