The bidding between neighborhood groups and developers in the city of Córdoba has been going on for several years. A quick review of the topic allows us to take as background the protection presented in September 2018 by the neighborhood center of the Cerro de las Rosas neighborhood, in order to preserve the neighborhood as it was in its origins to prevent commercial expansion and the development of new entrepreneurship.
Also in September, but this time in 2023, the Business Chamber of Urban Developers of Córdoba (Ceduc) released an institutional statement in which it stated its position and warned about the situation generated by neighborhood groups opposed to the implementation of real estate ventures. “Specifically, we reject the irresponsible and arbitrary use of resources such as environmental protection to stop projects that comply with all the regulations requested by the municipality. Giving rise to these unjustified unjustified measures violates the right to work, housing and property to the detriment of the progress of the entire society,” the document stated.
According to the Chamber, this situation discouraged private investment in Córdoba and put more than 20 thousand direct jobs at risk (including operators, technicians and professionals of various specialties). The concept proposed was that the city needed to densify and generate new proposals that modernize it to be more efficient and sustainable. Likewise, Ceduc highlighted the opportunity to reconvert neglected areas and build a more attractive city.
New approach
In mid-April 2024, neighborhood centers, self-convened neighborhood groups from different areas of Córdoba Capital and an environmental organization released an “open letter to the mayor of Córdoba”, a document in which they asked Daniel Passerini to: “Govern to the residents of the city and not for the developmental entrepreneurs, who pursue economic benefits regardless of the socio-environmental costs.”
The document bore the signatures of the neighborhood centers of the Cerro de las Rosas, Jardín Espinosa and Ampliación Jardín Espinosa neighborhoods, La Carolina, Nueva Córdoba, Parque Chacabuco, Villa Belgrano, and Villa Rivera Indarte, the regularizing commissions of the neighborhood centers of Argüello , El Refugio, Quisquisacate, Villa Warcalde and Alto Hermoso, self-convened groups of neighbors from the Alberdi, Villa Belgrano, Villa Cabrera, Villa Los Ángeles neighborhoods, and the Civil Association Friends of the San Martín Reserve.
The proposal was a new turn (after the change of municipal authorities in December 2023) in the process of neighborhood conflicts over the authorization of large real estate, commercial and service developments that, according to dissatisfied neighbors, impact their daily lives, in the urban structure of large areas, in the architectural and historical heritage, in the quality of life and services, and in the environment. Within this context, the appeal for protection presented by the Villa Belgrano neighborhood center before the Administrative Litigation Chamber No. 2 of Córdoba in defense of that neighborhood in the northwest of the provincial capital was still pending.
In search of a solution
In March 2024, the Urban Development Secretariat of the Municipality of Córdoba presented its general management goals. One of the key chapters of the document is the “Neighborhood Plan”, a figure that allows the integration of actions, works and projects in a specific urban sector for intervention, articulating public and private actors with the goal of open, sustainable neighborhood development. , equitable, humane and quality.
Last Wednesday, June 6, the ruling party in the Deliberative Council of Córdoba dispatched to the General Legislation Commission the draft ordinance that seeks to order the growth of the Villa Belgrano neighborhood, in the northwest area of the city. Change the zoning: extend zone F to all plots facing the Suquía River from the Circunvalación to the Villa Warcalde bridge. In this framework, the proposal is part of the “Neighborhood Plan” presented at the time, which extends beyond Villa Belgrano and also includes Parque Modelo and the south of Argüello.
The rest of the area located south of Recta Martinoli to La Carolina is established as F5. In this zoning, the FOS (the surface of the land that can be occupied by construction) is lowered to 40% in lots of more than 800 square meters. The number of units per batch is also reduced. Thus, grouped homes can be built on plots of more than 2,500 square meters, but with a functional unit every 350 meters of land (today, 200 m). Meanwhile, collective housing is only allowed in Martinoli, Gauss and Laplace, on plots of more than 2,500 m2 and with a functional unit every 200 m2 (180 m2 today), and a soil waterproofing factor is incorporated (FIS ) of 60% (a permeable surface per lot must be maintained of at least 40%).
In zone F, collective housing is allowed on lots of more than 5,000 m2 and grouped on those of more than 2,500 m2 (today, part of 1,000 m2); The FOS is 40% in group housing and 35% in collective housing, and the back and side setbacks are four meters in group housing and eight meters in collective housing. The maximum FIS is 60% and proposes new provisions on the Suquía River front. The first is the “double front”: the 10.5 m height goes above the street level and on the front towards the river, so floors can no longer be added.
The new regulations could have final sanction in the venue this week.
Reactions
Self-convened members of Villa Belgrano together with the Argüello neighborhood center, the Cerro de las Rosas neighborhood center and the Friends of the General San Martín Reserve Association argue that the draft ordinance lacks citizen participation and does not have the necessary environmental and technical reports, what they consider a violation of their rights. Thus, they demand the nullity of public-private agreements that affect their neighborhoods, the prohibition of new constructions in environmental preservation areas and greater neighborhood participation in urban planning. In this framework, they request the urgent intervention of Justice to prevent the implementation of the project and protect the integrity of their communities and the natural environment. Thus, the solution to this conflict of interest could be delayed.
For its part, Ceduc expressed deep concern as a result of the draft ordinance being discussed in the Deliberative Council of the Municipality of Córdoba regarding a reform to the urban planning regime of Villa Belgrano. “We consider that, if this new urban planning regime is approved, all citizens would be harmed: neighbors, owners, developers, citizens who legitimately intend to acquire their own home, and even environmentalists, generating immeasurable damage to the City and his neighbors. The costs of public services and their infrastructure will increase even more, making the city less efficient. At the same time, investments in the sector will stop, causing the process of expulsion of the inhabitants of the City of Córdoba to neighboring towns to accelerate, and consequently thousands of jobs will be lost, further increasing the crisis in the construction sector. ”, the document stressed.
Thus, Ceduc assesses that no one benefits from the possible new regulation and considers it essential that the treatment of the rule modification be dealt with in time and in a space for debate where all the actors involved can contribute their vision to reach agreements that guarantee security. legal and generate a quality alternative that benefits the entire city of Córdoba.
Some details of the municipal proposal
In zones F and F5, parking is established with one space per one-bedroom apartment and two spaces plus 20% free parking in two- or three-bedroom units. In F5 there are greater setbacks: on the sides and in the back, four meters in grouped homes and eight meters in collectives.
An area of public interest of 35 meters is created from the riverbank line, which even takes 7 meters of the private lot that must be preserved. Over the remaining 27 meters, there is a transfer to the public domain on which a 15-meter strip of green space and a 12-meter coexistence promenade are proposed.
Green terraces can be counted as 20% of the FIS, the concept of “green plot” is incorporated and community facilities inside the neighborhood are prohibited, as are shops and offices.
