‘Golden Horn’ faces risk of over-development: They are granting 2 extra 'floors'!

The AKP-run Beyoğlu Municipality has made a plan amendment that will drown Istanbul in concrete and ruin its silhouette.

During the October session of the Municipal Council, a zoning plan amendment proposal for the coast of the Golden Horn, historically known as the ‘Golden Horn’, was discussed. 

"APPROVED BY MAJORITY VOTE"

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün; the plan amendment, which is claimed to have been prepared to improve the building stock through urban transformation, has paved the way for rent-seeking. It was stated in the plan proposal that additional floor area would be granted to areas designated as commercial and residential zones. 

The AKP-run municipality announced that an extra floor could be built on plots between 500 and 800 square meters, and an extra two floors on plots larger than 800 square meters. Only two CHP council members voted against the plan amendment proposal, which will ruin the silhouette of the Golden Horn and lead to rent-seeking. The controversial proposal was approved by majority vote.

WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR RENT-SEEKING

Süleyman Solmaz, a CHP member of the Beyoğlu Municipal Council who objected to the proposal, said the following:

“With this plan amendment, both population and construction density will increase along the Golden Horn coastal strip. This plan amendment will affect a wide area from Dolapdere, Kasımpaşa, and Sütlüce up to Piyalepaşa. Despite the existence of a law to protect the silhouette, they are going to increase floor density by 50 percent. The silhouette of the Golden Horn will be ruined by this plan amendment” 

Emphasizing that the opinion of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) should have been obtained for the plan amendment, CHP member Solmaz stated: “If your plot is smaller than 500 square meters, you cannot benefit from this change. If your plot is larger than 800 square meters, you will be able to build a six-story building in an area where the average building height is four stories, thanks to a 50 percent floor increase. This means that this plan amendment is not for the benefit of the citizens. The Beyoğlu Municipality will both victimize citizens along the Golden Horn coast and pave the way for rent-seeking projects. The proposal passed by the District Municipal Council also needs to be approved by the İBB Council. However, the People's Alliance holds the majority in the İBB Council. Even though there is an obligation to obtain an institutional opinion from the zoning-related units of the İBB, they did not even ask the İBB.”

News Source: 12punto