Calcalist, Amitay Gazit, 06.10.2021
In discussions about discrimination against Israeli Arabs, it has often been argued, with a great deal of justice, that not a single Arab city has been established since the establishment of the state. But today a significant step is expected to change this situation: a huge plan to double the settlement of Jadeida-Makar 1.5 times will be discussed by the Committee for the Planning of Preferred Housing Complexes (and TAML), which is expected to order its deposit towards its final approval. new.
According to the title of the plan and the municipal definitions, the goal is to build a new residential district, but the potential is to build 8,000 apartments, which will add about 33,000 new residents, like a small town. Today, the settlement includes about 5,100 apartments, so that in a few years it will become a city.
The plan that will be discussed today is the third version of the plan that was launched in 2009, and then it was defined as a new city, which bore the name Tantor, although even then 8,000 apartments were planned for it. But then a buffer was planned between the new and old settlements. The WTO was established in 2014 with the aim of accelerating residential planning procedures. This initiative was halted during the deposit phase following protests from residents and local leadership. For the support of the council and the residents.
The changes that followed the talks with the council are the removal of the buffer between the new quarter and the old settlement, which will now be connected through a network of streets, where public buildings will also be built to serve the old and new residents. There has also been a dramatic reduction in building density.
Shlomi Heisler, Chairman of the Hotamal. Expected to order a deposit
Without taboo
Another and extraordinary change is in the proprietary aspect. The planning teams of the Votamal, the Ministry of Construction and the local authority collected information from the residents in the area about the composition of the landowners, and created a table for the consolidation and division of plots that expresses rights not formally registered but known to residents. However, in Arab localities, rights are inherited or sold often without the registration procedure. As a result, disputes and unapproved approved plans arise. The result is a long table of about 500 plots created according to the division known to the residents.
Problems in realization
In conjunction with the profit line
The plan covers 4,800 dunams south of the settlement, north of Highway 85, and east of the lane where the northern section of Highway 6 will be paved in the future. There are two intertwined reasons for this: first, the state will allocate more space compared to the private for the benefit of public needs, and to maintain the relative value of the state-owned part it receives more building rights. However, the state also has the ability to quickly implement saturated construction plans, while private landowners, especially in Arab localities, are realizing building rights at a slow pace, and sometimes not even realizing full rights. For the sake of illustration, the area necessary for the establishment of public needs is calculated on the assumption that private landowners will build only 60% of all dwellings that will be allowed to be built on their land, while the state will utilize 100% of the rights.
According to this calculation, in the coming years 6,400 apartments will be built out of the 8,000 apartments provided by the plan. Often private entities in Arab localities do not take full advantage of their building rights because it is not customary to sell the plot of land to residents outside the locality or to construction companies. Non-wealthy landowners do not have the economic ability to build buildings on their own, so build gradually according to the needs of the family.
Some of the state plots have been located along what will be a main boulevard over the years, and in this part it will be able to build six-story buildings and a commercial floor. The hope is that after the state develops infrastructure and even builds on the plots it owns, the private sector will also receive an incentive, the local real estate market will wake up, and transactions may even be made. The Ministry of Construction is currently negotiating with the local authority on a roof agreement, under which it will receive funding for infrastructure development, but in return will have to allow the issuance of building permits at an accelerated pace.