Fixing the Environmental Flaws in the Planning of the New Western Neighborhood in Mitzpe Ramon
Toward the end of 2017, the Plan for the new Western Neighborhood of Mitzpe Ramon (Noga) was deposited for objections. The plan for the Western Neighborhood foresees the development of 185 exclusive, single family homes, each on a plot of half a “dunam,” i.e., 500 sq/m. Each owner will also be entitled to build two vacation units. The Western Neighborhood is adjacent to the Gevanim neighborhood, the last neighborhood that was built in the 1990s. It is therefore still called “the new neighborhood” by Mitzpe Ramon residents.
Environmental planning shortcomings
Degraded Desert Areas Not Designated for Construction – A review of the deposited plan documents, conducted by the Planning and Environment Division of Keshet NGO, revealed that despite detailed requirements from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Construction and Housing, the initiator of the Western Neighborhood plan avoided submitting a rehabilitation plan for approximately 40 dunams of land that had been degraded in the 1990s. These areas were degraded during the development of the Gvanim neighborhood and were never restored by the Ministry of Construction.
A buffer strip between the construction area and the desert – The Ministry of Environmental Protection also required the creation of a clear buffer strip between the developed areas and the open land. Instead of planning a buffer strip that would both protect the open spaces and serve as a desert promenade to enhance the quality of life for the neighborhood’s residents and visitors, the Ministry of Construction only planned a dirt road for sewage trucks.
Past experience shows that such paths on the outskirts of neighborhoods bordering the desert eventually turn into illegal dumping sites for construction waste and trimmings, improvised storage areas, and land encroachments for private garden expansions. The local council struggles to enforce regulations and maintain the outskirts of neighborhoods, resulting in accumulating hazards that ultimately harm nature.
Waste collection sites for recycling – Despite the requirement in the landscape appendix, the construction plan did not include designated areas for recycling bins for paper, glass, packaging, and bottle recycling.
Past experience shows that the lack of prior planning for these sites leads to the sporadic placement of large waste collection containers in areas designated for other purposes. This contributes to a “cluttered” atmosphere in the neighborhood, poor maintenance of the collection sites and containers, and a decline in residents’ motivation to engage in recycling and maintain clean waste collection areas.
Keshet’s objections to the Plan:
- Planning the restoration of degraded areas – conditioning the development permit for the neighborhood on the submission of a restoration plan for the degraded areas.
- Planning a buffer strip – Instead of the sewage truck path, we demanded the design of a landscaped scenic trail designated for walking and cycling, surfaced with asphalt or interlocking stones and bordered with a curb. The trail should incorporate scenic viewpoints with seating areas and shaded spots, connecting it to the neighborhood.
- Planning designated waste collection sites for recycling – We requested an amendment to the building annex map to include dedicated areas for public waste collection containers that are currently missing, such as bottle recycling bins, glass, and paper collection containers. This includes a logical distribution of these sites throughout the neighborhood at reasonable distances while ensuring accessibility and an adequate operational radius for collection vehicles.
The decision of the Regional Committee
The regional planning committee accepted most of the objection clauses, significantly improving the neighborhood’s planning and the quality of life for its future residents.
- Rehabilitation of degraded areas – The committee decided that a condition for obtaining a handover certificate for development work would be the removal of construction waste and the implementation of rehabilitation according to a rehabilitation plan in all adjacent areas.
- Buffer strip – Along the outer edge of the sewer road, a landscape rehabilitation strip with a minimum width of 15 meters will be planned. In this strip, landscape rehabilitation will be planned, including a scenic trail with extensive maintenance, scenic viewpoints, and vegetation restoration coordinated with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
- Recycling complexes – Regarding waste collection, the committee decided to reject the objection. We hope that at the detailed planning stage, the planners will take this issue into account.
Neighborhood development
Keshet continues to monitor the inclusion of local planning committee’s instructions in the detailed planning of the neighborhood.
July 2020 Update
During 2019-2020, the neighborhood plots began to be auctioned by the Israel Lands Authority according to a marketing plan initiated by the local council.
The 49 Inferior lots, which face the ‘Gvanim’ neighborhood, were allocated for private construction (build your home project), 25 of them in favor of the community. 136 plots were allotted in favor of a single building contractor committed, according to tender documents, to establish an employment facility, 2,000 square meters in size.
The two tenders that took place yielded zero bids, while the first ‘build your home’ first auction ended with a low demand of only 16 plots. In other words, the demand for neighborhood plots as of this date is less than 8%.
Despite the low demand, the local council and the Ministry of Construction nevertheless decided to develop all the neighborhood plots with a special budget of NIS 24 million, which the Ministry of Construction transferred to the economic development company Mitzpe Ramon. In terms of the local council and the Ministry of Construction and Housing, the development constitutes a “marketing act” to show potential contractors “seriousness”.
The Corona crisis, along with the climate crisis, teach us that harming nature and open territories has a heavy economic, social and environmental cost. May we not at this time, learn the lesson and to minimize necessary further destruction of habitats and natural areas, especially in areas with high ecological sensitivity?
Due corona crisis, the state of Israel is increasingly facing the economic crisis worst in its history. Is it right to spend public money currently budgeted project, yet to be proven that he can be realized?
For these reasons, the association initially approached the CEO of the Mitzpe Ramon Development Company, Attorney Naama Dahan, and later the CEO of the Ministry of Construction, requesting to postpone the start of the neighborhood’s development until at least 50% of the plots have been successfully and demonstrably marketed.
Unfortunately, Mitzpe Ramon local council and the Ministry of Construction ignored the environmental and economic logic underlying reference and decided to proceed anyway with development. We can only hope that the neighborhood will not become another local failure like the never built airport (100 hectares), or the industrial area (150 hectares) developments which destroyed natural desert land that became a wasteland.
December 2024 Update
Ultimately, only in May 2021, after a third tender was conducted in the manner we proposed—dividing the area into sub-complexes—the local council, the Ministry of Construction, and the Israel Land Authority successfully marketed the residential plots in the neighborhood. The earthworks for the establishment of the neighborhood’s infrastructure have been progressing slowly for over four years.
From our inquiry, it appears that the land rehabilitation plan, which was supposed to use topsoil from the prepared plots, as well as the plan for restoring the bank of the wadi separating the Noga neighborhood from the Gvanim neighborhood, were never prepared, and, of course, the necessary restoration work was never carried out. Our repeated inquiries in recent months to the engineering department of the local council have yet to be answered.
In contrast, the neighborhood’s perimeter promenade was constructed as part of the development work and serves as an adequate buffer between it and the desert, replacing the originally planned sewage maintenance path before the objection.
We intend to continue insisting on the restoration of the degraded lands and the edge of the wadi until full completion, in accordance with the plan’s regulations.
