Will Gdynia stop the sale of city land plots? The city 's new mayor, Aleksandra Kosiorek, wants to look into land for residential development, the sale of which was approved by the City Council back in the previous term. Such an action is a response to the voices of residents and social activists who accused the previous mayor Wojciech Szczurek of being too favorable to developers.
The cancellation of planned tenders for the sale of urban real estate in Gdynia is one of the first decisions of the new mayor, Aleksandra Kosiorek. Six located in the districts of: Redlowo, Cisowa, Dabrowa, and Maly Kack city land on which single-family, multi-family and service buildings can be built. Now the City announces a re-analysis for the use of these plots of land for municipal needs.
analysis to be repeated
Despite the city council's current approval of the sale of these properties, I want to once again comprehensively discuss the reasons and rationality of each of these transactions , says Gdynia Mayor Aleksandra Kosiorek. - I would like the councilors of the new term to also get acquainted with this and make a decision, taking into account the consequences, including financial ones, of their sale , she points out.
For many residents of Gdynia, the change at the helm of power after 26 years of government by Wojciech Szczurek is a hope for a new approach in urban planning. In recent years, much controversy has been generated by the sale of city land. Among the objections raised by community activists was that plots of land were sold without a deeper analysis of how they might serve the local community in the future.
The problem with openness in dealing with developers was one of the primary objections to Wojciech Szczurek's policies. Developers were privileged and often gained at the expense of land that could serve Gdynia residents , according to Martyna Regent, a Gdynia-based social activist and member of the Watchdog Poland association.
residents' protests
And she recalls that residents' objections included pushing for the construction of a hotel in the Polanka Redłowska area. Only as a result of residents' protests did Wojciech Szczurek's team declare that it would leave the recreational area there.
There were also plans to build a hotel on the attractive grounds of the Arka Gdynia tennis courts, and thanks to community activists the area is to be entered in the register of monuments, Martyna Regent recalls. - There was also controversy over a plot of land on Przemyska Street, which the City first sold cheaply and then changed its function from industrial to residential. To the great benefit of the investor. Some of the local movements demanded that the sale of the plots be suspended until the missing local plans were passed.
In March of this year, a protest against the participation of Gdynia's local government in the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes, where the City has been presenting its investment areas for years, reached the desk of Wojciech Szczurek. The objection was initiated by Pomorska Aktion Lokatorka. In turn, during the local government campaign, almost all political options raised the need to build public housing - and for this you need plots of land. Why is this so important? Because Gdynia's population is shrinking - 6,300 residents have declined over eight years.
According to Martyna Regent, a real change in the approach to municipal allotments will happen when the local community actually looks at the authorities.
In the City Council today we have new councilors, without experience, with fresh eyes, but also councilors of the previous term, who, I fear, may be pushing old habits , the activist believes .
