Residents of the Primorski district in Varna reported another garden taken over, this time by a restaurant. One morning the green area in front of the entrances “B” and “C” on the Blvd. “Chattalja” 49 became dark with cut trees. “We have planted the trees in the garden and they cut them at 3 am in the middle of the night. Their place was concreted, then tables were put for the visitors of the restaurant,” people from the block complained to Ecovarna.info.
Residents of both entrances claim that the Titti restaurant has received permission from the municipality for an additional 20 sq m of pavement right to the existing 30 sq m, but in practice the owner has “taken over” a much larger area. People also complain about excessive noise, claiming that the restaurant has not installed the necessary soundproofing. Amid the lack of green space to walk and the noise, the smells wafting from the site remain the least of the problems, but there they are. The restaurant’s ventilation pipe is routed under residents’ windows, and unpleasant odors waft to both residential entrances.
The residents of Varna, who live above the restaurant, have sent an official signal to the Primorski district, where they expect a response within the legal one-month deadline. People doubt that someone in the municipality has deliberately turned a blind eye to “omissions”. In their complaint they even name a specific person who they do not want to participate in the inspection “due to conflict of interest and close relations with the owner of the restaurant”.
The alert sent to the Primorsky district also states, “Regarding the garden in front of the “B” entrance, which was concreted by the owner of the restaurant “Titti”, located in front of the restaurant. The Municipal Property, Economy and Economic Activities Directorate of the Municipality of Varna has given its positive opinion to allocate an additional area of 20 sq. m to the existing 30 sq. m. Please, in the presence of the house manager, measure the actual square footage of the additional concrete part of the garden,” the people of the area addressed the municipal officials. They allege that in the course of renovation work on the premises, “all the walls in the premises have been knocked down and a load-bearing column has burst, raising doubts about the stability of the building”. The complaint asks for an inquiry into the legality of the renovation work and whether a structural engineer had issued a written opinion on the work. Residents in the block doubt that the facade of the building has been compromised due to “broken gable and side walls” and a larger entrance door to the establishment being made.
People also complain of “systematic violation of noise norms in the entrance”. “We wonder who gave permission to build a restaurant without soundproofing under the residents’ bedrooms,” the alert added.
Ventilation at the entrance was designed to be through basement windows, which were blocked with metal shutters with small holes. The residents are asking the town hall to check the legality of the blocked vents and the ventilation of the restaurant, which is directly 2 meters below their windows.
Ecovarna.info is following the case and will publish the response and the results of the inspection of the Primorsky district, which are expected within the legal one-month period.
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The development of both a sustainable and harmonious urban environment and small and medium-sized local businesses is the duty of municipal authorities. For this, both citizens and businesses pay taxes and fees. And they have the right to demand security, legality and healthy living conditions. And that only happens when we have active citizens. Small stories like this show that environmental protection can only happen when it becomes everyone’s self-interest.
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This article is created with the support of the “Pro Veritas” organization and the site zaistinata.com as part of the “Development of independent regional journalism” project.
