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Last update - 22:14 13/08/2008 Call it the Safdie plan or call it Sam By Zafrir Rinat Tags: Jerusalem, Israel Yet again, plans are popping up to develop the land west of Jerusalem. Is the great Safdie plan, which would build dense housing on terrain spanning dozens of square kilometers of natural and planted forests, staging a comeback through the back door? When the National Planning and Building Committee canceled the Safdie plan to massively develop the land to Jerusalem's west, environmental organizations and the city of Jerusalem thought that was it: Now development efforts for the city could be diverted to other areas. The greens and the city itself had opposed the Safdie plan, named for architect Moshe Safdie, in part for the sake of leaving open land and green lungs in the Jerusalem environs, and also because other areas are available for construction. But Jerusalem is a uniquely difficult case. Planning authorities at the Prime Minister's Office and the Interior Ministry argue that for diplomatic reasons, developing the neighborhoods beyond the Green Line would be too tricky. They also argue that the land reserves recently approved for development will upset the balance between the various sectors making up the city's population - ultra-Orthodox and secular. Other possibilities must be considered, they insist. Advertisement The upshot was that the Prime Minister's Office and the Interior Ministry began to revisit the idea of building west of Jerusalem, on lands that had been included in the Safdie plan. Recently the Prime Minister's Office suggested to the Jerusalem municipality that it reconsider development along the Lavan ridge, west of Givat Messuah. The Prime Minister's Office insists that it isn't reviving the Safdie plan, which had called for constructing 10,000 apartment units on that ridge. No no no, protests the bureau, this is a completely different plan for the exact same area. In October 2006, by the way, Safdie told Haaretz that he had no problem with the plan for West Jerusalem being abolished. "I have no interest in the plan in and of itself, but in the welfare of Jerusalem," he said. The initiative to develop the hills west of Jerusalem arose following an internal discussion at the Interior Ministry two months ago. Following the meeting, Raanan Dinur, director general of the Prime Minister's Office, wrote to Shlomo Eshkol, the city engineer of Jerusalem: "Past government policy calls for building at least 3,000 apartments a year in Jerusalem by 2020 (altogether 36,000 apartments). At the discussion you attended, it was revealed that the land reserves available for development in Jerusalem by 2020 will suffice for only 12,000 apartments, excluding urban renewal housing plans. Therefore, I request that you do everything in your power to advance housing construction plans in West Jerusalem, including on Lavan ridge." The city of Jerusalem interpreted that letter as an attempt to revive the Safdie plan, which Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski opposed. The municipality argued that it was working with environmental bodies, and had formulated alternatives to the Safdie plan that would allow for the construction of 40,000 new housing units. Moreover, the city argued, its plans would connect between existing neighborhoods, and provide affordable housing for young couples (who have been abandoning Jerusalem in droves, partly because they can't afford to buy a home there. Moreover, the city claims that the prime minister's office canceled subsidies Lupolianski initiated to help young couples buy homes in the city.) A large part of the plans involve land annexed to the city after the Six-Day War. One plan calls for thousands of apartments to be built in Givat Ze'ev and Har Homa. The plans are feasible unless the government axes them at the United States' urging, the Jerusalem municipality says. Indeed, in recent months the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee has been working on the alternative plans. Last night it approved a plan to build 2,500 apartments in Givat Hamatos, in South Jerusalem, in four- to eight-story buildings. The committee also smiled upon two plans for "New Romema," involving 560 apartments for ultra-Orthodox families. There, the proposal is to build high-rises of 11 to 12 stories each. Also, the committee ruled that the industrial zone there could be turned into a residential area. Yet certain planning elements at the Prime Minister's Office claim that the city's plans don't apply to two population segments key to Jerusalem's future: the well-to-do and the young. The projects in Romema or at the site of the Shneller army camp would be populated by Haredim, and the wealthy don't want to live in Har Homa or Pisgat Ze'ev. The answer, they say, lies in other areas. Such as Lavan ridge. Greens sweat blood Meanwhile, the various green organizations are horrified by the revival of the plans for developing West Jerusalem. Pazit Shavid, manager of the Jerusalem branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, says the Interior Ministry and Prime Minister's Office can monkey around with semantics as much as they wish, but it's still simply a revival of the Safdie plan. "Note that the National Planning and Building Committee canceled the Safdie plan by an absolute majority," Shavid says. "It did so based on an analysis of land reserves for development." There are a host of plans to develop Jerusalem that would cater to the various groups, she argues, noting the plan to build thousands of apartments around Kibbutz Ramat Rahel, which has become quite the tony area in the town. About the city's concern of losing its best and brightest, not to mention the rich, Shavid points out that isn't only a matter of building housing. It's a matter of the general actions being taken to retain people. "If the government wants to keep the wealthy in the city, it has the means to do that. For example, it could increase the inventory of apartments for rent," she suggests. The planning authorities have been kicking around ideas for different parts of the city, according to the needs of given communities, in order to maintain the religios-secular balance in the city. The city's new master plan contains elements of this thinking. That said, it won't be easy to institute policy given the urgent housing needs of the ultra-Orthodox population and the difficulties in achieving ultra-Orthodox-secular understandings. The compilers of the master plan had more practical ideas, such as increasing the density in existing neighborhoods such as Kiryat Menahem, Beit Hakerem, Kiryat Yovel and even the German Colony. These neighborhoods attract more established population groups, but are aging. They could stand some rejuvenation. Among the multiplicity of plans for Jerusalem, somebody has to preserve open space in the city and protect nature. Shavid says the city is showing more readiness to cooperate, and elements of that are also showing up in the Master Plan. There are even plans to build some parks on the city outskirts, and two more parks inside neighborhoods. The city supported the Society's drive to preserve Emek Hatzvaim, she says. But plans are one thing, and reality another. Only time will tell if any of Jerusalem's unique natural features will be preserved, or if the hills will be alive - with a mass of crowded housing. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Safe haven reached 200 fleeing Georgia after the outbreak of hostilities arrive at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport. Fatal heartbreak Disabled man dies of heart attack after his girlfriend was arrested by Immigration Police.

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