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Urban Construction Violations and Mayor's Empty Promises
Ararat Davtyan
hetq
20:39, June 2, 2011
Environmental activists and urban planners in Yerevan are voicing
their concerns over the rehiring of Narek Sargsyan as the capital's
chief architect.
Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan, elected to the position a few months
ago, has stated that the no new construction in the city will be
permitted at the expense of the capital's dwindling green spaces.
Can the mayor be taken at his word? Sargsyan, who formerly served as
Yerevan Chief Architect, has been criticized for allowing a host of
dubious construction and planning projects that many say have
distorted the urban landscape of the Armenian capital, transforming it
into a jumbled melange of architectural styles with no redeeming
aesthetic sensibilities.
Mayor Karapetyan promises that he will put a stop to this construction
free for all.
Developments on the ground, however, raise a host of doubts.
Take what is happening at 106/1 Nalbandyan Street in the heart of Yerevan.
A kindergarten at the site, where 100 children attended classes, has
been torn down by a company called Avag Shin.
Local residents have protested the destruction of the school and the
surrounding trees. They have sent letters to various government
officials and staged demonstration.
In response, the Ministry of the Environment declared that no
permission had been granted to cut down trees. Vardan Vardanyan, the
Minister of Urban Development, has said that the company only had
permission to demolish the kindergarten and that there is no
documentation approving any new construction there.
Back in March, the Yerevan Municipality told residents in writing that
construction paperwork hadn't even been drafted or approved.
Heritage Party MP Stepan Safaryan even submitted a notification to the
General Prosecutor's Office regarding the illegal construction.
In May 2010, the government (the real estate was held by the RA
Police) sold the kindergarten's real estate to Avag Shin for 886.2
million AMD.
Sedrak Baghdasaryan, who heads a civic group that defends citizens
whose property has been expropriated by the government in the name of
eminent domain, says that RA Police had no right to grant the company
permission to build there and that only the Yerevan Municipality could
do so.
Mr. Baghdasaryan says that in June of last year, then Mayor Gagik
Beglaryan presented the government with a plan to have the site
declared "eminent domain" and to register Avag Shin as the new owner.
But the Ministry of Finance raised objections, arguing that Avag Shin
hadn't offered evidence that it owned substantial resources to
properly meet its construction obligations.
One of the Avag Shin founders, Vard Gasparyan, then sent the Ministry
a letter that seemed to partly dispel its concerns about the company's
finances.
For the past six months, Baghdasaryan has been trying to get the
courts to force the Yerevan Municipality to disclose that document.
The case continues to drag on.
In September 2010, the government deemed the entire kindergarten site
as "eminent domain" and transferred the title to Avag Shin.
This goes against a 2005 law which clearly states that pre-school
buildings considered state or community property can only be sold off
in "exceptional" cases.
Sedrak Baghdasaryan also points out that at the time Beglaryan
proposed a much small area to be appropriated than what actually
happened.
In fact, the "eminent domain" site has been increased to a point where
only 1.5 meters separates from five story apartment buildings on four
sides.
At the site, Avag Shin has already posted a schematic of what the new
"multi-functional" building, replete with underground parking, will
look like.
Area resident Rita Karapetyan says that if high-rise is built it will
block out any air and sunlight to the surrounding buildings.
Her neighbour, Levon Choukaszyan, points to the two huge holes in the
ground and notes there isn't any rock bed on which to build such a
huge structure. He says that aside from a seismological issue, if an
earthquake ever hit, residents living in the surrounding buildings
would be caught in a death-trap since the entire four street entrances
lead inside.
The protests of the residents prompted Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
to set up an inter-departmental working group to review the matter on
May 18.
But this too is just for show.
Just days later, representatives of Avag Shin knocked on the door of
Ghoukas Choubaryan, a sculptor who lives at the site. They told him to
remove the sculptures from his small garden. They told him the area
was "eminent domain" and that it would be bulldozed.
What interests does Avag Shin actually represent? Who will benefit
from the eminent domain zoning decisions?
Local residents say former Yerevan Mayor Beglaryan is the godfather of
the entire deal.
Some of the former kindergarten kids now attend Beglaryan's
kindergarten in Medaks.
Others point to Police Chief Alik Sargsyan as a major player in the
real estate deal. After all it was the Police Department that sold the
site to Avag Shin in the first place.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Ararat Davtyan
hetq
20:39, June 2, 2011
Environmental activists and urban planners in Yerevan are voicing
their concerns over the rehiring of Narek Sargsyan as the capital's
chief architect.
Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan, elected to the position a few months
ago, has stated that the no new construction in the city will be
permitted at the expense of the capital's dwindling green spaces.
Can the mayor be taken at his word? Sargsyan, who formerly served as
Yerevan Chief Architect, has been criticized for allowing a host of
dubious construction and planning projects that many say have
distorted the urban landscape of the Armenian capital, transforming it
into a jumbled melange of architectural styles with no redeeming
aesthetic sensibilities.
Mayor Karapetyan promises that he will put a stop to this construction
free for all.
Developments on the ground, however, raise a host of doubts.
Take what is happening at 106/1 Nalbandyan Street in the heart of Yerevan.
A kindergarten at the site, where 100 children attended classes, has
been torn down by a company called Avag Shin.
Local residents have protested the destruction of the school and the
surrounding trees. They have sent letters to various government
officials and staged demonstration.
In response, the Ministry of the Environment declared that no
permission had been granted to cut down trees. Vardan Vardanyan, the
Minister of Urban Development, has said that the company only had
permission to demolish the kindergarten and that there is no
documentation approving any new construction there.
Back in March, the Yerevan Municipality told residents in writing that
construction paperwork hadn't even been drafted or approved.
Heritage Party MP Stepan Safaryan even submitted a notification to the
General Prosecutor's Office regarding the illegal construction.
In May 2010, the government (the real estate was held by the RA
Police) sold the kindergarten's real estate to Avag Shin for 886.2
million AMD.
Sedrak Baghdasaryan, who heads a civic group that defends citizens
whose property has been expropriated by the government in the name of
eminent domain, says that RA Police had no right to grant the company
permission to build there and that only the Yerevan Municipality could
do so.
Mr. Baghdasaryan says that in June of last year, then Mayor Gagik
Beglaryan presented the government with a plan to have the site
declared "eminent domain" and to register Avag Shin as the new owner.
But the Ministry of Finance raised objections, arguing that Avag Shin
hadn't offered evidence that it owned substantial resources to
properly meet its construction obligations.
One of the Avag Shin founders, Vard Gasparyan, then sent the Ministry
a letter that seemed to partly dispel its concerns about the company's
finances.
For the past six months, Baghdasaryan has been trying to get the
courts to force the Yerevan Municipality to disclose that document.
The case continues to drag on.
In September 2010, the government deemed the entire kindergarten site
as "eminent domain" and transferred the title to Avag Shin.
This goes against a 2005 law which clearly states that pre-school
buildings considered state or community property can only be sold off
in "exceptional" cases.
Sedrak Baghdasaryan also points out that at the time Beglaryan
proposed a much small area to be appropriated than what actually
happened.
In fact, the "eminent domain" site has been increased to a point where
only 1.5 meters separates from five story apartment buildings on four
sides.
At the site, Avag Shin has already posted a schematic of what the new
"multi-functional" building, replete with underground parking, will
look like.
Area resident Rita Karapetyan says that if high-rise is built it will
block out any air and sunlight to the surrounding buildings.
Her neighbour, Levon Choukaszyan, points to the two huge holes in the
ground and notes there isn't any rock bed on which to build such a
huge structure. He says that aside from a seismological issue, if an
earthquake ever hit, residents living in the surrounding buildings
would be caught in a death-trap since the entire four street entrances
lead inside.
The protests of the residents prompted Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
to set up an inter-departmental working group to review the matter on
May 18.
But this too is just for show.
Just days later, representatives of Avag Shin knocked on the door of
Ghoukas Choubaryan, a sculptor who lives at the site. They told him to
remove the sculptures from his small garden. They told him the area
was "eminent domain" and that it would be bulldozed.
What interests does Avag Shin actually represent? Who will benefit
from the eminent domain zoning decisions?
Local residents say former Yerevan Mayor Beglaryan is the godfather of
the entire deal.
Some of the former kindergarten kids now attend Beglaryan's
kindergarten in Medaks.
Others point to Police Chief Alik Sargsyan as a major player in the
real estate deal. After all it was the Police Department that sold the
site to Avag Shin in the first place.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress