Private Landowners Challenge Shde Dov Plot Lottery Over Soil Contamination Concerns

The dispute over the allocation of private lands in the large Shde Dov block has escalated as some landowners, represented by attorney Doron Kochavi, petitioned the court to halt the planned lottery until soil contamination tests are completed. The lottery, intended to distribute rights among approximately 1,700 landowners in the area, was postponed from its original date to August 11 following requests to clarify the extent and impact of contamination discovered in the Shde Dov neighborhood.

The court had previously ruled that waiting a few weeks was justified due to the potential significant differences in contamination levels between plots, which could affect land values and remediation costs. However, as of August 12, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) reported that contamination test plans had not yet been approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, with approval expected to take another month, delaying the start of actual testing.

Managers of the large block argue that the current lottery phase involves only the allocation of clusters, not individual plots, and that the process should proceed despite the delays. They submitted an expert appraiser's opinion stating that without new contamination data, there is no basis to change the valuation coefficients set in February. The court requested input from retired Judge Eitan Ornstein, chair of the lottery committee, by September 1.

Opposing landowners counter that contamination could materially affect the distribution even at this stage, as the current coefficients were determined before contamination concerns arose. They emphasize that the chance of contamination being evenly distributed among clusters is zero, making the lottery unfair and flawed if conducted now. They urge the court to postpone the lottery until contamination results are available and valuations updated accordingly, and to require the state to report progress on testing.

This legal standoff highlights the complexities of managing land rights amid environmental uncertainties in a key Tel Aviv area, with significant implications for property values and development plans.