On Tuesday 11 December 2018, the Urban Environment Committee of City of Helsinki looked into focusing the District Plan of Malmi Airport area in the subareas Nallenrinne and Airport Blocks. The matter has been brought to the Committee on a fast schedule. The District Plan, used as the starting point of detailed planning, is now to be taken to a more detailed level in preparation of changing the Detailed Plan. The order of business is reversed.
The District Plan has been formulated and approved in 2016 to conform with the General Plan. Now feedback has been received about the Detailed Plan, requiring the District Plan to be changed so that the Detailed Plan isn’t in contradiction with the General Plan.
Nature values must be taken into account in planning
In the Committee, Mr. Atte Kaleva made a counterproposal, seconded by Mr. Nuutti Hyttinen, to require that in focusing the District Plan, the very significant nature values of the airport area must be taken into account. The proposal was accepted by a 5 vs. 3 vote.
The councilpersons in favor of taking natural values into account were:
Asko-Seljavaara Sirpa (Coalition), Hyttinen Nuutti (Finns), Kaleva Atte (Coalition), Kivelä Mai (Left Alliance), Stranius Leo (Green League).
The councilpersons against taking natural values into account were:
Rautava Risto (Coalition), Rissanen Laura (Coalition), Sinnemäki Anni (Green League).
The matter was problematic to many councilpersons. Heinäluoma Eveliina (Social Democrats), Lovén Jape (Social Democrats), Modig Silvia (Left Alliance), Rantanen Tuomas (Green League) abstained. The chairman Osmo Soininvaara (Green League) was absent.
The citizens’ opinions have not had any effect on the plan. In the report on the interaction process statements in favor of residential building are emphasized even though a great majority of feedback criticized the detailed residential plan. The interaction report is available (in Finnish), as is the collected feedback from the public (Excel file here). E.g. no estimate of the prices of flats has been given, even though it is described as “affordable”.
The Committee’s decision bulletin is available here (in Finnish).
Counterproposal
Kaleva Atte + Hyttinen Nuutti
In the area of Malmi Airport, there is in general a great diversity of species, especially a population of the endangered burren green moth and the parti-colored bat which is rare in Finland.
The meadow of the airport is also one of the most important resting areas in Finland to the especially protected and critically endangered great snipe during migration.
Add to item one of the the decision proposal (1):
– to approve the focusing of the District Plan regarding Nallenrinne and the Airport Blocks, as presented in appendix (n:o 3) dated 4 Dec 2018, as a basis for changing the Detailed Plan in such a manner that the focusing takes into account the preservation of the extremely important nature values of the airport area.
The vote
YEA proposal: According to proposal
NAY proposal: Counterproposal 1 / Kaleva Atte
YEA: 3, NAY: 5, abstained: 4, absent: 1
YEA: Rautava Risto, Rissanen Laura, Sinnemäki Anni
NAY: Asko-Seljavaara Sirpa, Hyttinen Nuutti, Kaleva Atte, Kivelä Mai, Stranius Leo
Abstained: Heinäluoma Eveliina, Lovén Jape, Modig Silvia, Rantanen Tuomas
Absent: Soininvaara Osmo
The Committee accepted the counterproposal by 5 votes against 3, 4 abstained, 1 absent.