Givataim Mayor Admits Halting Construction Was Successful

Givataim Mayor Ran Kunik stated at the Globes and Bank Leumi Israel Real Estate Conference that halting construction processes in his city was a successful move that garnered broad consensus. He believes the city's population will double, but not within a decade, perhaps in twenty or thirty years, and not through urban renewal, specifically rejecting Tama 38 (a national urban renewal plan) in favor of district-based renewal or encouraging public building construction. Kunik, a 58-year resident of Givataim, acknowledged the city, the second most densely populated in Israel after Bnei Brak, needs more housing but insists it should be through area-based renewal, not city-wide. He noted that developers now understand his approach, which he claims preserves the original character of many neighborhoods. Kunik added that building permits in Givataim will be tied to the progress of the metro construction, insisting on a phased approach where construction of 1,000 housing units along the metro line will not proceed without corresponding metro development. He also stated that if metro construction is delayed or taken over by the state, building rights in Givataim will not be granted.

In other remarks at the conference, Ofakim Mayor Itzik Danino described the challenges of his city's rapid growth, having absorbed 25,000 new residents in five years, doubling its population. He criticized the central government for leaving the city without adequate support, forcing him to fund educational resources himself and risking fines. Danino highlighted the bureaucracy hindering the implementation of government plans for the Gaza envelope region, despite a government decision to support education, welfare, and mental health in Ofakim. He stressed the need to reduce bureaucracy to provide immediate assistance.

Netanya's new mayor, Avi Selma, also discussed challenges in central-local government relations, even with a government housing agreement for his city. He pointed to shortfalls in education and welfare budgets, requiring him to chase officials in Jerusalem. Selma cited the city's expenditure of NIS 100 million annually on special education transportation, with the state reimbursing less than a third, and dictating criteria for services while the city bears the financial burden. Selma also expressed a desire for Netanya to acquire land from surrounding municipalities to accommodate its projected population growth beyond half a million residents, calling the current land distribution an anomaly.