Forgeries in the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee? Committee members claim that decisions made by the committee are sometimes changed in the protocols and decisions published by the municipality.
At the Jerusalem City Council meeting held today (Thursday), Council member Moshe Leon submitted a motion to order the matter, in which he criticized the municipality's licensing committee, which does not publish agendas and organized minutes of the committee's discussions, but in addition there are also allegations about changes being made to the decisions of the Planning and Building Committee.
Leon wrote: "In light of the recent publications about the conduct of the local planning and building committee, which indicate that committee members admit that changes were made more than once between the committee's decisions that were actually made and the published minutes. This conduct indicates a lack of transparency at best, and unfortunately, falsification of minutes, which is a criminal act.".
""In light of this publication, and especially now that the ink has not yet dried on Judge Rosen's ruling in the Holyland trial, it is appropriate for the Jerusalem Municipality to take action to prevent further corruption.".
Mayor Nir Barkat responded at the council meeting that the claims are baseless, and that he did his homework before the discussion and came to the conclusion that the things are not true at all. However, Barkat added that if Leon has specific claims, he is invited to approach the legal advisor to the municipality and the municipal auditor, and clarify his claims.
Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman called on Leon: "If you have any complaints, file a complaint with the police.".
However, documents obtained by Haredim10 indicate that changes were indeed made to the protocols of the Planning and Building Committee.
In one plan for a community center in Givat Mordechai, several discussions were held on the subject, and it was proposed that as part of the plan, the developer would allocate 300 square meters to the Jerusalem Municipality for public needs. This proposal was accepted by the committee members, and in the committee's decisions dated January 1, 2014, it was stated: "The committee noted before it the commitment of the developer of the plan that after the building is built, he will allow the Jerusalem Municipality to receive full use of 300 square meters in the new building, in light of the existing need in the neighborhood." This protocol is signed by the chairman of the Planning and Construction Subcommittee and Deputy Mayor Kobi Kahlon.
The procedure is that after the minutes are distributed among the committee members, they are submitted for approval by the next committee. However, on 14.1.14, Haim Reli, the committee coordinator, sent an email to the committee members stating: "Regarding the minutes, plan No. 14051-1 (the plan in question) was also accidentally attached. The plan will not be approved tomorrow." This was despite the fact that no further discussion took place among the committee members.
In the protocol dated February 12, 2014, dealing with this plan, the section requiring 300 square meters for public purposes was removed, and it was even written that the sections from the first decision (dated May 20, 2013) should be canceled, because "the plan in its current form does not offer public space for the benefit of the municipality in the building proposed in the plan.".
As stated, no discussion took place between members of the Planning and Building Committee in which they decided on the aforementioned changes.
Another case that reached the Haredim10 system concerns a plan for a building in the Ramot neighborhood. During the committee discussion, a heated debate broke out between committee members and the professional ranks, with the professional elements claiming that the plan could not be approved, claiming that it harmed the exterior appearance of the building. On the other hand, some committee members claimed that this was not true and that the plan blends in with the surroundings. After a long discussion, the committee members decided to approve the plan, to build an entrance bridge to the building.
But surprisingly, the committee's decision, as published on May 18, 2014, actually stated: "Entrance bridges - cannot be approved, constitute a visual nuisance." After several committee members contacted professional authorities, the decision was deleted from the municipality's website, and to this day no decision appears regarding this file.
Sources involved in the affair tell Haredim10 that things like this happen more than once, and that they intend to put an end to the matter, and to act with all means at their disposal.
The Haredim10 received additional complaints and testimonies, and they will be published later.
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