The Cottage Residence Residents Association, which also represents the interests of the owners of adjacent houses (300 properties in total) held a press conference. People are outraged by the significant discrepancy between the originally approved urban planning norms and the reality on the construction site. According to the zoning plan approved by the Chisinau Municipal Council in December 2022, four apartment buildings with a height of 9 to 12 floors were planned to be built on the site. However, the issued building permits allow the construction of nine buildings with a height of 16 to 22 floors.
“The planned residential area was 37 thousand square meters, in fact it will exceed 120 thousand square meters. We are talking about triple excess of building density and serious violation of distances between buildings. If the norms provide for a minimum distance equal to the height of the building, then in our case 60-meter apartment buildings are erected only 16 meters from our fence,” said Andrei Burduja, Chairman of the Association of Residents.
In addition, the Association presented information according to which the deputy head of the main department of architecture, town planning and land relations, who signed the disputed construction permits, allegedly took a loan of 350 thousand euros from the manager of the construction company in 2024.
“We consider this a clear conflict of interest and a disguised form of influence, so we have notified the National Integrity Office,” Andrei Burduja said.
Residents say they have contacted government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, which confirmed that the permits were issued without the required environmental impact statement. Requests have also been made to the government and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development for state control by the National Inspectorate for Technical Supervision. But so far these requests have been rejected or ignored under the pretext of lack of grounds.
The dispute has now moved to the courts, where two cases are pending, one concerning the revocation of construction permits and the other before the Court of Appeal challenging the authorities’ refusal to stop the works.
The association is asking the central authorities to intervene urgently to verify the legality of the building permits. The residents are not demanding a complete halt to the development of the neighborhood, but only a return to the legal parameters established by the Zoning Plan.
The Main Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations in its response states that the City Hall issued permits strictly in accordance with the current legislation – Law No. 163/2010 “On Permission to Perform Construction Works” (valid until 30.01.2025) and the Urban Planning and Construction Code.
The land plots are located in areas with the urban planning code “R7”, which allows the construction of residential buildings of 10 floors and higher. And Code “C2” (commercial zone). The permitted project complies with the development standards set forth in the City’s Zoning Urban Design Plan (ZUP). The permit legislation contains explicit conditions to protect neighborhoods and prevent disturbances caused by construction activities. Also, decisions on the location of construction are consistent with the PUD and do not affect the integrity of adjacent residential neighborhoods. The Authority is confident that all required documents, including environmental notifications, have been submitted and verified in accordance with the regulations.
