The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Commission yesterday deposited for public objections a plan for construction on the White Ridge in the Jerusalem hills. The controversial plan will rezone 840 dunam (210 acres) on the slopes of the White Ridge in the Jerusalem hills from agriculture, open public space, and forest preserves to residential, business, and commercial construction. A neighborhood with 5,250 housing units, 300 hotel rooms, commercial and business space, stores, a filling station, and other uses will be built on the land. The decision to deposit the plan was taken in August 2018, and it is now being published for objections from the public, which can be submitted over the coming months.
The plan is located in southwestern Jerusalem between Moshav Ora and Moshav Aminadav and the Kiryat Menachem neighborhood. The area currently contains forests planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Part of it lies within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries and part in the jurisdiction of the Mate Yehuda Regional Council. The dispute about construction on the White Ridge is mainly due to its very environmentally sensitive location and construction in open spaces. The Planning Administration emphasizes that the severe shortage of housing in Jerusalem, which is likely to worsen in the coming decades, requires a solution.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), which has been conducting a prolonged struggle against the plan, responded angrily to it being deposited and the reasons given to justify construction on the White Ridge. "The open spaces in the Jerusalem hills are an ecological, cultural, and social asset that belongs to the residents of Jerusalem and the entire area. Construction on the White Ridge will damage the city of Jerusalem, its neighborhoods, and its residents' leisure and vacation areas. The slogan 'There is no space for construction in the city' is nothing more than an urban legend. The cumulative reserve of residential housing in the city amounts to tens of thousands of housing units that can be used. The city should be strengthened internally with construction in the existing neighborhoods without going out of the city limits to the open spaces - an unnecessary step that will cause far more damage than benefit," SPNI declared.
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Commission responded to the complaints by stating, "The plan was deposited yesterday for public objections. As with every plan, the Commission will discuss, hear, and decide on each of the objections submitted. We emphasize that preservation of open spaces is just as important to us as it is to SPNI, and we will do anything to protect them. At the same time, the open spaces inside Jerusalem are not enough to meet the need for housing in the coming years. As a Commission, we must strike a balance between developmental needs and the open spaces. Half of the housing units in the plan are designated for supplementary land that will facilitate renewal of older neighborhoods Kiryat Menachem and Kiryat HaYovel, where construction will extend the continuity of existing construction in order to minimize construction in open spaces. The plan is strongly oriented towards urbanism and sustainability, and includes multiple uses and a park and ride parking lot on the light railway line passing through the area of the plan.
"Before establishing the plan's boundaries, a comprehensive environmental survey was conducted by an inter-ministerial team, including a comprehensive project to trace the sources of the springs in the area. In order to protect the springs, a distance was maintained between the development area and the wellsprings and the White Valley."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 27, 2018
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