Court rules against building height bonus
A new decision of the Fifth Section of the Council of State deems unconstitutional not only the height increases based on the bonus included in the new building regulation but also the exemption from the calculated building factor of various spaces such as lofts and bay windows (“hidden” factor) as they lead to larger buildings, at the expense of the residential environment. Like previous rulings, the case was referred for final judgment to the plenary.
The decision came after an appeal by the Quality of Life Committee of the southern Athens suburb of Alimos against a specific permit for the construction of a seven-story building with a height of 21.6 meters – instead of the maximum height of 14 meters in the area. Further, the building would eventually reach 916.90 sq.m. (of which 231.56 sq.m. would correspond to an attic, bay window and other spaces, which the new building regulation does not factor in – i.e. 491.59 sq.m. more, equivalent to more than doubling the legally buildable area (corresponds to a build factor of 1.72 instead of 0.8).
Similar to the decisions made in the last year for Alimos and the municipality of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, the Council of State stated that urban planning cannot be altered “horizontally” by legislation or ministerial decrees; rather, it must be the outcome of a scientific study, an open process with public participation, and an impact assessment.
The decision stated that the increase in the height of buildings adversely impacts the residential environment, “due to the reduction of lighting, sunlight, ventilation and views, as well as the unsightly combination of low and tall buildings, especially in areas where low-rise buildings exist or buildings from earlier times are preserved, for which there is no legal framework for effective protection, as required by the Constitution.”
The result, it said, is the building chaos that characterizes modern Greek cities and especially the urban complex of Athens.
