The place is near Lake Mašēnu, where the Lielā Jugla flows along one side. The State Environmental Service (VVD) has previously pointed out flood risks and warned that ongoing activities in such areas are prohibited. Meanwhile, construction work is underway in the area and electricity cabinets are piled up in the meadow.
The spatial plan designates the area as a green and water area. The previous local plan, which would have given the green light for the construction of private houses, was suspended by the VARAM on June 25 with the signature of Minister Inga Bērziņa (New Unity).
"In this case, we received applications and during the contestation period, we assessed and found that essentially the whole activity of the local plan was carried out in order to legalize the previous activities that did not comply with the regulatory enactments. These are also listed in the Minister's Order," said Ilze Aigare, Deputy Director of the Spatial Planning and Land Management Department of the Ministry.
The Ministry lists 10 non-compliances with the requirements of the laws and regulations. However, the developer and the municipality are not satisfied with the findings and are trying to resubmit the local plan in a new wording. Its public consultation started on October 22. Vita Paulāne, Chairwoman of the City Council, explains that the developer has submitted an improved version of the local plan with new documents, suggesting that the area is not flood-prone.
The newly added documents include certificates from 2007 and 2009 obtained from archives. The latter relates to a dam built along the river in the 1970s, which, it has now emerged, was renovated in 2009 to protect the area from flooding. However, the renovation project was never commissioned.
The 2009 project attached to the local plan shows that the dam was built together with a drainage ditch, the so-called pioneer ditch, as a joint construction. This can also be seen in satellite images from that time, but at least since 2022 there has been a plain. Neither the dam nor the pioneer ditch can be seen when the area is surveyed, However, there are references to the dam and the municipality has no reason to doubt its existence.
The developer also believes that the different landscape in real life does not change anything and that the dam is still there. "The level that used to be the level of the dam is simply the level of the ground in that place. So you don't see an additional dam, but the level of the dam is the level of the land that is there now," says Kārlis Opincāns, the developer's representative.
Although raising the ground level to prevent excessive humidity is precisely one of the criticized actions, the developer does not agree with doing anything against the rules and denies any accusations.
The VVD, which is still assessing the attached documents, is again planning to give its opinion. At the moment, the service has requested information from the municipality that has not been attached to the local plan.
After the approval of the local plan, if it is approved, the VARAM will assess whether and how the previous infringements have been resolved. This time, however, the Ministry of Climate and Energy will have to be involved, as since July it has been in charge of environmental issues that were previously under the responsibility of the VARAM.
The municipal construction authority does not know anything about the dam, as it does not have a project and has never inspected its condition. However, the area is regularly inspected, including this year, when several plots of land were found to have been filled with debris without authorization, for which administrative proceedings have been initiated.
