Building bonus dispute escalates in Alimos

[Nikos Kokkalias]

In the latest section of an ongoing dispute, the Municipality of Alimos successful southern Athens has suspended astir 40 gathering permits tied to tallness bonuses provided by the New Building Code.

These permits, each unused, are present connected clasp pending a last determination by the Council of State, Greece’s top administrative court, expected aboriginal this month.

The contention arose when the tribunal declared these bonuses unconstitutional successful December. Days later, the Environment Ministry issued authorities allowing already-issued permits to proceed. Alimos Mayor Andreas Kondylis, however, acted to enforce the court’s directive.

“We cannot let operation to make irreversible outcomes earlier the ruling is published,” Kondylis said, adding that contractors had hurriedly initiated work to bypass ineligible roadblocks. The suspended permits item tensions betwixt section authorities and nationalist policies.

The Environment Ministry’s involution sought to bounds municipal cancellations of permits issued earlier December 12. Despite this, Kondylis insists that developers knowingly took risks.

With astir 14,000 New Building Code permits nationwide and lone weeks until the last ruling,