The working group of the Kyiv City Council's Urban Development and Land Commission on Improving the Procedure for Issuing Urban Development Conditions and Restrictions (UDCs) for the Design of Construction Projects met only once, failed to make any decisions, and ceased to exist. Mykhailo Terentyev (UDAR faction, pictured right), head of the commission and working group, insisted on "closing the issue." Thus, nothing will prevent the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture (KCSA) from continuing to issue UDCs to developers manually, paving the way for colossal bribes to be paid "through fixers" for the coveted document.
As KV has learned, on February 17, 2021, the Kyiv City Council's Commission on Architecture, Urban Development, and Land Relations rejected the request of commission member Serhiy Krymchak (Unity faction) to extend the term of the said working group.
Krymchak also asked the head of the commission to prepare and request information regarding the issuance of the State Educational Institution by the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration, in particular:
by the number of court cases on recognizing as illegal and overturning decisions on refusal to issue a state design permit for construction projects, in which the department is the defendant, as well as the number of such court cases that have gained legal force;
by the number of applications submitted to the department through the Administrative Services Provision Centers for the issuance of a State Educational Institution for the design of construction projects in 2020;
by the number of decisions made by the department to refuse to issue a state educational institution in 2020 and the reasons for such refusals;
Based on the total number of applications for state-funded education received by the department since March 2020—how many applications were reviewed, how many are being processed by the department, etc.
Serhiy Krymchak noted that at the only meeting of the working group on improving the procedure for issuing State Design Permits for construction projects in Kyiv (established on December 15, 2020 – KV), commission members asked Mykhailo Terentyev to submit requests for the above information. "You didn't do this," Krymchak stated, adding that he himself submitted requests and received responses to all these questions. For example, he claims to have evidence that nine court cases have proven abuse of power by the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Planning and Architecture when issuing State Design Permits.
Terentyev confirmed that the working group met only once—on January 4, 2021. He did not comment on the information about the refusal to submit relevant requests to the Kyiv City State Administration's urban development department. However, he noted that since no decisions were made at the group's single meeting, extending its work would be "dragging the issue out."
Following this, Mykhailo Terentyev proposed taking into account the materials presented in Deputy Krymchak's appeal and disbanding the said working group. The majority of members of the Kyiv City Council's Urban Development and Land Commission (members of the UDAR and Servant of the People factions) readily supported this proposal.
Is it necessary to improve?
As a reminder, a design permit for construction or reconstruction is the document required by the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate (GASI) to issue construction permits to clients. In particular, the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture has long been demanding that the Kyiv Mayor dismiss "chief architect of the capital," Oleksandr Svistunov, for issuing dubious design permits to developers.
In July 2020, KV reported that members of the Kyiv City State Administration's commission for reviewing high-profile construction projects in the capital effectively agreed with the Kyiv mayor that the commission could be "abolished." The reason given was that, under the leadership of Oleksandr Svistunov, the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture was issuing too many clearly illegal construction permits. The argument went, while you're trying to deal with one controversial construction project, a dozen more pop up.
It's worth noting that the process of issuing developers a building permit in Kyiv is considered one of the most "corrupt." In November 2020, KV reported that, according to construction market participants, intermediaries in Kyiv charge $40,000-$150,000 and more for services related to obtaining such a document from the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture (to avoid immediate refusal—KV). According to the editorial staff's sources, in 2020, intermediary rates ranged from $5 to $10 per square meter of future construction.
So, the task of "improving the procedure for issuing state-owned permits for designing construction projects in Kyiv" seems entirely logical and relevant. The question is, how can this be accomplished? Expert opinions differ.
"Manual" GUO
Experts agree on one thing: unofficially, the process of issuing state education certificates in the capital has long been considered "corruption-tinged" and controlled by the so-called "Kyiv overseer." And it's unlikely that the city authorities will voluntarily shut down the trough.
At the same time, Georgy Mogilny, an expert in the analysis of conflict-ridden developments, considers the creation of a working group to improve the procedure for granting state housing and communal services to be nothing more than “cheap PR.”
"The procedure for issuing state permits is clearly spelled out in the Law on the Regulation of Urban Development, and the Kyiv City Council has no authority to change it," stated KV Mogilny. In his opinion, the true purpose of creating this working group could have been an attempt to introduce a "coordination" stage, and possibly even approval of state permits by the Urban Development and Land Commission, which would be clearly illegal.
Attorney Dmytro Kalko confirmed to KV that the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture, and in particular its deputy director, Yuriy Tatsiy (pictured left), systematically issues baseless denials of State Planning Certificates (GPCs), which creates so-called "demand" among those seeking this document. According to the attorney, the illegality of some of these denials can be proven in court, and it's unfortunate that equal conditions for issuing GPCs for the design of reconstruction or construction projects have never been created in the capital. The attorney believes that the issuance of such a document could have been automated, for example, through the Kyiv City Planning Cadastre portal.
Kalko also believes that if the Kyiv City Council's Commission on Architecture, Urban Development, and Land Relations truly wanted to expose corrupt Kyiv City State Administration officials, they should have filed police reports and sought criminal prosecutions. Moreover, according to the lawyer, some members of this commission represent or express the interests of the construction industry. Therefore, the desire to "improve" the system for issuing state permits could simply be a "bargaining attempt" to secure more favorable terms for obtaining state permits for the design of certain projects.
Kyiv-based human rights activist and public figure Oleksandr Dyadyuk believes that the issuance of a State Land Use Planning (GUO) document is currently nothing more than a "feeding trough" for Kyiv City State Administration officials. After all, this document in no way prevents unscrupulous developers from violating the provisions of the Detailed Territorial Plans (DPT) and the General Plan. "And the fact that they stipulate 'ensure compliance with state building codes (GSN)'—developers are already obligated to do so," Dyadyuk noted.
He believes that the situation could be changed by legislating against the possibility of issuing state education certificates manually. The human rights activist believes that Kyiv City Council Chairman Vitali Klitschko and members of the Kyiv City Council could easily put forward such an initiative and send a corresponding appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.
Mykhailo Terentyev, head of the Kyiv City Council's standing committee on architecture, urban development, and land relations, is a member of parliament from the UDAR faction. Since August 30, 2016, he has been the director of the Engineering Center municipal enterprise. He previously served as a member of the Kyiv City Council of the 8th convocation (2015-2020, Solidarity faction) and the 7th convocation (2014-2015, UDAR-Solidarity faction).
Kyiv City Council Deputy Serhiy Krymchak is a "rank-and-file" member of the Kyiv City Council's Urban Development and Land Commission. He previously served as a member of the Kyiv City Council of the 8th convocation (Unity faction) and the 7th convocation (initially a member of the Democratic Party of Ukraine faction, and since September 2015, a member of the Unity faction). In the 6th convocation of the Kyiv City Council, Krymchak served as secretary of the Kyiv City Council's Land Commission and was a member of the Chernovetsky Bloc faction.
Photo: collage by KV
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