Kyiv Council Fails to Approve Transfer of Literary Square Land

Kyiv City Council Votes Down Land Transfer for Literary Square

According to Главком: The Kyiv City Council did not pass a decision to transfer land plots of the Literary Square in the Shevchenkivskyi District to the municipal enterprise Kyivzelenbud for permanent use. Draft decision No. 08/231-45/PR received only 53 votes in favor, falling short of the required majority for approval. Prior to the vote, community protests took place, expressing concerns that some plots might lose their protected green zone status.

Literary Square is located at the intersection of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky and Oles Honchar streets. Starting in 2024, the disputed plots will become free of lease obligations because the previous user, the company MZhK Obolon, voluntarily relinquished its rights to these areas. All land in this district is municipally owned. City council members Viktoriya Ptashnyk and Dinara Gabibullayeva advocated for the square's protection and sent an appeal to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, demanding changes to the draft decision and consideration of the requirements from Electronic Petition No. 13255. The mayor also supported this petition.

Activist Position and Parliamentary Amendments

The draft decision was placed on the agenda as item 353. In 2024, poet and honorary citizen of Kyiv Lina Kostenko also appealed to the mayor to preserve Literary Square, highlighting the space's significance to the community.

Activists viewed the draft decision as a 'Trojan horse.' The core issue revolved around the square's boundaries: the project proposed formalizing only the main section of the territory. The risk was that several adjacent land plots, long targeted by developers, could be overlooked. The community believed that once the main part of the square was legitimized in this reduced form, the remaining plots would lose their green zone status, paving the way for new auctions and construction.

Parliamentary amendments in the community's interest proposed merging all five plots-including the disputed and undeveloped areas-into a single landscaping object covering approximately 0.9670 hectares. Additionally, the usage rights of MZhK Obolon for plots of 0.0170 hectares and 0.0314 hectares, previously designated for constructing a residential building with parking at 80b Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street, were permanently terminated. Kyivzelenbud was also authorized to develop a land management project for the entire square, changing the land's designated purpose to public green space. The Department of Territorial Control was instructed to enforce a previously issued order regarding this territory.

The unresolved issue of transferring Literary Square's land plots underscores the importance of public initiatives in urban planning decisions. Activists and community representatives advocate for preserving green spaces vital to the capital's ecology and cultural heritage. Similar situations could catalyze further discussions on protecting green areas in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

The recent decision by the Kyiv City Council highlights ongoing tensions over land use in the city, similar to the recent developments in the dispute over Zhukiv Island. As activists continue to advocate for the preservation of green spaces, the outcomes of these discussions could significantly impact urban planning and community rights in Kyiv.