Globes, Uri Khodi, 08.07.2020
The controversial decision was approved - as of today, a new residential construction program in Tel Aviv-Jaffa will include fewer parking spaces. The local planning and construction committee in Tel Aviv-Jaffa decided to approve the new parking standard policy relating to new construction in the city, and to reduce the existing parking standard.
The new policy was approved almost unchanged, despite significant opposition. At the same time, a last-minute change led to only new plans being affected by the standard, and already approved PLOs - no.
According to the new standard - in the city center districts (boroughs 3,4,5 and 6) the parking standard will only be 0.5, ie half parking for a residential apartment. In the boroughs farther from the city center, the standard will have 0.8 parking spaces per apartment (boroughs 1,2,7,8 and 9). This is a reduction of existing devices.
At the same time, these numbers are a maximum - which means that programs submitted for approval will be able to set a lower standard. The actual meaning is less than an apartment parking, which means there will be apartments that will be built in Tel Aviv and marketed without parking space.
It is important to note that this is not about demolishing existing parking spaces throughout the city, nor are parking spaces in the approved plans and buildings already under construction. The intention is to amend only those programs that will be approved from the date of the policy.
This move complements a previous move made in 2018 as a result of which parking spaces have also been reduced in programs for employment, commercial, educational, cultural and leisure projects. This standard mainly related to proximity to public transport hubs and the closer the project is to the lower the standard.
Notable opponents of the new standard were the Tel Aviv-Jaffa-Bat Yam contractors. The contractors were staunchly opposed to the move and even sent a harsh letter before the hearing. In the letter, the contractors argued that the decision would slow down or halt construction of projects in the city, especially in urban renewal, when there is still no suitable alternative to public transport.
"The policy is wrong and there is no connection between it and the reality on the ground," the contractors wrote to the committee before the hearing. "We cannot agree to this policy proposal, which, if adopted, will have a significant and drastic impact on the ability and feasibility of promoting projects in general and urban renewal projects in the city, and as a result, leaving large portions of the city in its existing state and with no real ability to renew its face and improve living conditions. Residents of the old neighborhoods.
Yehuda Reporter, Chairman of the Tel Aviv District and Center Contractors Association, Vice President of the Israel Builders Association said today after the hearing that "the policy to reduce parking standards that the city has approved, rests on and adheres to in future transport vision - light rail and metro and public transport routes, a vision that currently exists only on Planners' desks and at best the infrastructure stage. It is absurd when what is actually created is transportation chaos for the city's residents as well as the thousands of incoming and outgoing daily gates for work and various purposes. Since most of the means of transport on which the plan relies will operate in a significant number of years, an interim period should be prepared with an appropriate solution.
"The plan will also directly affect the construction of new projects, especially in the construction phase. Reducing parking standards in the city center at least one parking facility per housing unit, without an immediate and available alternative, will cause contractors not to build new projects or renovate existing buildings in these areas. Failure to sell parking without parking and construction starts will stop, and the cost of a new project will greatly increase and further increase the cost of housing in the city, which is why we proposed to the committee an interim solution, one parking per housing unit, which will allow the bridge to be built until construction Of proper public transport system. "
Meital Lehavi, the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and the director of transportation, said after approving the policy document that "we always say that there should be a clear policy and certainty. Confessions cannot be changed in permits, but only in the CBs. That's why I insisted that the new parking standard policy should not apply to an existing BNA permit, but only to new BNAs.
Asked when the new policy would already be in effect, Lehavi replied that no further approvals were needed, and the next few meetings began to discuss new issues that would come up on the table.