Makarska to ban building of apartments blocks

ZAGREB, 16 Dec (Hina) – The Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction has approved the proposal to amend the zoning plan for Makarska, under which it will be forbidden to build blocks of flats and holiday apartments in this southern coastal town, the local administration announced on Tuesday.

The proposed amendments will be on the Town Council’s agenda on 22 December, Mayor Zoran Paunović said.

He said that this amendment of the zoning plan “is the most important decision of the local government in the last few decades” and the first step towards “rescuing and steering the town towards sustainable development”.

The zoning plan is going to be changed following the “worrisome findings” of a study on the town’s tourism capacity.

The local utility infrastructure, including the water and power supply systems, the sewerage network and traffic infrastructure, will collapse if the excessive building continues, he explained.

The study, prepared in cooperation with the Institute of Tourism, shows that half of dwellings in Makarska are not occupied on a permanent basis, whereas the construction doubled between 2016 and 2019.

The zoning plan, adopted in 2020, makes it possible for the construction of an additional 10,000 dwellings.

The mayor said that the housing units, envisaged under that plan, can be built since the present authorities cannot change the decisions made in the past.

However, no more building permits will be issued, Paunović emphasised.

During the peak of the summer season, there are 2.2 visitors per resident of Makarska, and according to some estimates, there are 10,000 undeclared accommodation units for tourists in the town, the mayor added.