Kiryat Tivon’s First Renewal Plan Sparks Fight Over Scale and Character

Kiryat Tivon is debating its first major urban renewal project, a plan that would demolish about 400 existing apartments and build roughly 1,400 new ones in their place. The proposal, filed with the Haifa District Planning Committee in February 2026, has split residents between those who want stronger protection and better housing, and those who fear the project will alter the town’s low-rise, green character.

According to the plan, 31 new buildings would be erected, including six five-story buildings, nine six-story buildings, six seven-story buildings, five eight-story buildings, four nine-story buildings and one ten-story tower. The local council says the plan has not yet received final approval and is still being reviewed, including possible reductions in building height and the number of housing units.

Several residents say the discussion focuses too much on scenery and too little on safety. They point to old buildings without reinforced safe rooms, in some cases without shelters that can be reached quickly during an alarm, and to deteriorating infrastructure. One resident said that during the war, people sometimes stayed home because they knew they could not reach a shelter in time. Others argued that preserving Tivon’s identity should not come at the expense of residents’ security and quality of life.

Opponents say they are not against renewal in principle, only against the scale of the construction. The “Committee for Renewal and Preserving the Character of the Town” says a strengthening-and-addition alternative would be less disruptive, while still adding safe rooms, balconies and an elevator, and upgrading building systems. Town council head Idan Greenbaum said the municipality will not advance the project without a transport solution, calling transportation the key unresolved issue in a town of just over 20,000 people.