Thousands of new apartments are set to emerge in a coveted area as the Tel Aviv District Court greenlights a groundbreaking settlement agreement between the “Adam, Nature and Law” association and the state regarding building plans in Tel Hashomer.
The agreement facilitates the continued evacuation of the Tel Hashomer base and the promotion of thousands of housing units in the heart of the country. It emphasizes the ongoing validity of approved plans from 2016. The state, under the agreement, commits to a series of proactive steps to prevent harm to the general public, focusing on addressing pollution of the land and water in the area. Notably, the state pledges transparency by establishing a website to centralize information on pollution in Tel Hashomer, ensuring regular updates.
The focal point of the dispute revolves around two preferred housing plans in the Tel Hashomer area, already in progress. These plans constitute a significant initiative to develop a new residential quarter with approximately 11,000 housing units in the Ayalon Valley. This effort aligns with broader national objectives to relocate IDF bases from central regions, necessitating substantial resources and the provision of housing units in the desired location.
9,500 apartments on about 1,36 hectares
The National Committee for the Planning and Construction of Preferred Housing Complexes (TAMAL) 1001 “Tel Hashomer Center” extends over an area of about 136 hectares, within the jurisdictions of Or Yehuda, Kiryat Ono, and Ramat Gan, and includes the construction of approximately 9,500 housing units, employment and commercial areas covering about 440,000 square meters, buildings and public institutions, extensive open spaces, infrastructure, and more.
TAMAL 1002 “Tel Hashomer North” extends over an area of about 22 hectares, east of the Sheba Hospital in the jurisdiction of Ramat Gan, and includes approximately 2,000 additional housing units, a neighborhood park, public areas, and more. The plans allowed for the establishment of infrastructure called “critical infrastructure”.
These are significant and essential infrastructure on a regional level for the entire Ono Valley area. Examples of such infrastructure include the construction of a main sewage collection line crossing the Tel Hashomer camp area designated for evacuation, significant drainage system development, regional water lines, the execution and burial of electricity lines, and more. Over NIS 606 million have already been invested in development activities that have been carried out in the area, benefiting both programs significantly contributing to the entire region and the public interest.
Adam, Nature and Law’s petition primarily deals with the treatment of soil contamination discovered in the military camp area as a result of past military activities that took place there. Over the years, soil tests have been conducted on the site, some during statutory promotion stages and even before, and some after the approval of plans but before construction work began.
It is important to note that in any case, building permits were granted only after verification and approval from the Ministry of Environmental Protection confirming that the site is clean and meets the required threshold values, and that no further soil treatment is required.
Attorney Amith Barkah, CEO of Adam, Nature and Law, states: “We are the only organization in Israel that has been fighting for years against the irresponsible promotion of construction on contaminated lands, ignoring public health, such as the construction that the Supreme Court stopped in Apollonia due to soil contamination. This agreement is supposed to be a milestone in the state’s handling of pollution and transparency towards the public.”
Professional support for the arrangement is provided by Roni Bril, an environmental consultant specializing in environmental risks.
“Today, potential apartment buyers, in private and government projects, need to search for information in numerous websites where, at best, partial information is available that usually requires professional verification to understand,” Bril says.
“I hope that the agreement at Tel Hashomer is the first step towards opening up information to the public, with up-to-date information, real exposure to the actual situation, and the beginning of taking simple and relatively inexpensive measures to ensure the health and well-being of future buyers in security/military complexes and in general,” he says.
“In many countries, the government funds experts for the public who are located in decision-making centers throughout the process of rehabilitating contaminated sites to create genuine public participation. We are still far from this situation, but the integration of a specialist from the Environmental Protection Ministry alongside the accompanying team is a first and important step,” the environmental risk specialist says.
“Nevertheless, it is hoped that in the near future, the review stages of soil/groundwater and the rehabilitation phases will be advanced alongside the planning and construction stages, especially in residential areas, so that buyers can sleep peacefully knowing that the land their homes are on and their surroundings are clean and safe”.
