Traditions are continued. LNTPA met with the Mayor of Vilnius and his new team.
Members of the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA) met with the new Mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, who officially introduced his team responsible for urban planning decisions in the city:
- Andrius Grigonis, Deputy Mayor;
- Adomas Bužinskas, Director of the Municipal Administration;
- Mindaugas Pakalnis, Chief City Architect;
- Milda Jurkė, Head of Construction Regulation Department;
- Benius Bučelis, Head of Territory Planning and Development Projects Department;
- Ramunė Baniulienė, Head of Cityscape Department;
- Aurelija Paškauskienė, Advisor to the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture.
According to the Mayor, a new management structure of the municipal administration will be presented at the Vilnius City Council meeting on June 28th. Commenting on the expected changes in departments responsible for processing and issuing construction permits, as well as shaping conditions, etc., V. Benkunskas emphasized that these changes were made based on an internal audit, which revealed the existing obstacles to expedite document preparation. After the restructuring of the departments, relevant processes will be accelerated and streamlined.
The Director of the administration, A. Bužinskas, added that there are no plans for radical changes in the structure but specified the departments responsible for processes related to construction works, issuance of construction permits, and territorial planning.
According to the representative of the municipality, the main change in the issuance of construction permits will be the creation of a single department, the Construction Permits Department, merging the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture and the Department of Construction Regulation. It is emphasized that specialists who have worked in other departments and have been involved in issuing construction permits (such as Infrastructure, Traffic Organization departments, etc.) will be transferred to the new department, ensuring a more rational and efficient workflow.
LNTPA representatives emphasized the importance of communicating precise and clear information about the standardization changes in the process of issuing construction permits, especially for architects.
LNTPA President Mindaugas Statulevičius once again stressed that the association seeks more active cooperation with the Vilnius City Municipality, organizing regular meetings and implementing set goals, which include:
- maintaining and updating a transparent and sustainable system of cooperation with the city’s political authority and administration;
- promoting high architectural quality and organizing architectural competitions for projects in important areas of the city;
- providing expert information based on the insights and experience of market participants;
- consulting on the implementation of development standards for projects that meet the interests of the residents. Additionally, they propose forming and applying quality standards based on clear criteria;
- having a clear housing strategy for the affordability and accessibility of housing in Vilnius;
- coordinating legislative projects prepared by the municipality with companies directly affected by their application;
- renewing periodic meetings between LNTPA representatives and municipality specialists;
- establishing an advisory board of urban planning and development experts to advise the Mayor on urbanistic matters.
During the meeting, LNTPA representatives initiated a discussion on the infrastructure tax and the management of city infrastructure. The Mayor of Vilnius shared guidelines regarding planned infrastructure works and upcoming major infrastructure projects, for which the responsibility lies with the Lithuanian Road Administration.
The Vilnius City Municipality committed to consider the proposals provided by LNTPA regarding the coordination of legislative acts and the establishment of an advisory board of urban planning and development experts.
The next meeting between the Mayor of Vilnius and LNTPA members is planned for September.
Translation is made by AI