Urban Planning Commission Considers Land Use Change for Riva Lido Pier
After the construction permits, the urban planning commission, convened under the presidency of Paolo Matteotti (the recent successor of Marco Tanas), has “noted” the derogation request submitted by Lido di Riva spa for the change in land use of the area where the floating pier at Baltera is located.
The derogation was presented by the councilor Mosaner, and will be discussed and voted on at the beginning of November in the municipal council.
Modifications and technical aspects of the intervention
Besides the change of zoning — which is the core issue — there are also minor internal adjustments requested by the fire brigade, and the construction of an external ramp on the south façade, leading to the entrance.
This operation will, provided the municipal council agrees, allow the Lido to save a few hundred million.
Urbanistic and financial implications
Premise: in the urban plan, the area is designated as a trade fair site, so once the urban planning tool is officially adopted, the floating pier, currently a craft-industrial building, will become an exhibition area in all respects.
Therefore, it would only take a few months to regularize the settlement from an urban planning perspective.
The decision to expedite this process, made when the approval times for the urban plan were even more uncertain than today, is primarily driven by financial considerations.
In fact, once the pavilions are officially designated as exhibition spaces, the province will be able to disburse the designated grants for creating the exhibition center, which were blocked as long as the buildings remained classified as craft-industrial.
These amounts total 10 billion lire in the 2000 budget and a similar amount in the following year’s budget. As explained by President Malfer, the Lido is eager to receive these funds.
To close the acquisition, based on approximately thirty billion lire, the company resorted to a bond loan of 10 billion from Tecnofin and the rest via the banking system.
While the Tecnofin debt has been canceled (through the sale of part of the company’s shares), the bank exposure continues to cost about 1.2 billion lire annually in interest.
Repayment of the capital — which will be feasible once the Lido receives the provincial grant — will save approximately one hundred million lire per month and free up resources for further investments, both at Baltera and on the congress center building.
According to the hopes of the councilor Mosaner, the municipal council should have no difficulty granting the derogation.
The craft designation of the area is contained in the old district plan, which is fourteen years old and considered largely outdated.
