A debate on the municipal settlement structure plan is due to start on April 7 at the Zurich City Council and is expected to last for several days, details of which can be found in an article appearing in the Swiss daily newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). The municipal settlement structure plan serves to enable the Zurich City Council to plan for future growth in a more differentiated manner. For example, the canton has defined a target according to which the city of Zurich must house an additional 80,000 residents over the next 20 years. Structure plans are used to show where additional schools or roads are to be built as well as highlighting areas that should remain as open spaces.
The new plan provides for reserves for this growth “above all to the west and north of the city, in areas such as Altstetten and Oerlikon/Seebach/Affoltern”, as the NZZ article explains. In this regard, the structure plan is firstly designed to meet the requirements for urban densification while also aiming provide reserves for future growth. Specifically, the structure plan also provides “that private courtyards, gardens and roof landscapes should be open to the public”, according to the NZZ.
However, the new plan has also attracted its fair share of controversy. While the SP and Greens are both backing it and the AL has welcomed the proposal, the FDP and SVP are rejecting it, the NZZ explains. The FDP are concerned that powers under the structure plan are too wide-ranging, while the GLP want job creation targets to be clearly defined.
