A seaside Netanya landfill will soon be transformed into a site for more than
2,000 housing units, the Israel Lands Authority announced on
Wednesday.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, ILA director Bentzi
Lieberman, Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Attias and Netanya Mayor
Miriam Feirberg Ikar signed an agreement on Tuesday night to bring about the
area’s revival.
Under the agreement, the state will fund the evacuation
of more than 2.5 million cubic meters of waste from the landfill at a cost of
NIS 230 million, the ILA said.
While the original plan for the site
called for the construction of 3,200 hotel rooms and 300 homes, the plan signed
on Tuesday will create 2,062 residences and only 1,100 hotel rooms, the ILA
said.
“Evacuating the landfill and promoting the building plan instead
will completely change the character of the western part of the city,” Feirberg
Ikar said. “This plan will bring more residents to the city, will expand hotel
development, will increase the iris reserve areas and will give Netanya
residents green spaces and gardens that will significantly enhance their quality
of life.”
The landfill is located along the shore, in an attractive area,
where trash removal could have far-reaching environmental implications, the
municipality said. When Feirberg Ikar took office 14 years ago, she ordered the
closure of the waste transfer station located there and that Netanya’s trash be
sent outside the city. At the same time, the municipality began promoting a
rezoning of the site as a “southern sea front,” with the participation of
environmental groups, the city said.
The revamped site, which will occupy
about 76.5 hectares (190 acres) of land, will leave 53.3 hectares of that area
as open space, the municipality added. This decision is part of the city’s
overall goal to go from 56 percent open space to 70 percent. Prepared by
architect Amos Brandeis and the city engineering department, the plan involved
environmental impact assessments and received the full approval of the
Environmental Protection Ministry, the municipality stressed.
The garbage
evacuation process will take approximately five years, the city said.
At
the agreement signing, Steinitz emphasized the importance of transformation a
garbage dump into thousands of housing units that are highly in demand.
Meanwhile, Attias said that this decision would lead to the evacuation of other
sites in the country’s center – like army bases and Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov Airport –
and hasten the construction of the Gush Dan light rail.
By initiating
this project, Netanya has joined other municipalities that see the importance in
local government’s participation as a catalyst for improving the nationwide
housing process, Lieberman said.
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