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"I recognize the frustration and inability to move [vacate-and-build] projects forward," Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Atias told the Knesset State Control Committee today, in response to State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss's report that slammed the ministry on its conduct on the matter. "What's going on? Like anything that involves a lot of people, it's hard to get things moving."
Atias added, "Even in projects marketed to one developer, there is huge bureaucracy for vacate-and-build. There are 137 declarations, but only 90 are still valid. It takes 5-6 years for a project to come into effect. Residents incorporate to find a contract; we don’t decide on the contract, because this is people's property… In the final stage, when the contractor is chose, the residents want to get more. This is a problem for the contractor. We published a law to prevent obstructionist residents from affecting a project. They think that they'll make the fortune of their lives from the project. We lowered the threshold level of consent, which has influenced projects."
Atias went on to say, "It's hard to execute these projects in the periphery. As a result, the Negev and Galilee get screwed, and the center of the country benefits. This angers me. I understand that there's no new money for this thing. It's possible to set up a rights bank - we proposed to the Ministry of Finance to transfer rights in economic projects. You get another floor in Tel Aviv, but you must promise to build in Dimona too. The problem is that the planning authorities don’t like this mix and oppose the transfer of rights."
The representative of the State Comptroller told the State Control Committee, "It's frustrating to see how the wheels of state don’t work. Vacate-and-build is a great idea that doesn’t work for solving the problem of old apartments and building affordable housing. The government has the duty of providing the answer."
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