Debate: if the new PUG will be kept in the proposed form (small) businesses in Sibiu will have to be closed. Mayor Fodor: “80% of the spaces correspond”

At the last public debate announced on the subject of the future general urban plan of Sibiu, a meeting dedicated to the HoReCa industry, restaurant owners declared that the proposed new limitations (minimum 50 sqm space, masked evacuations in the historic center) will lead to the closure of some premises in the area central. Mayor Astrid Fodor showed that there is still room for discussion and that, according to the estimates of the local administration, 80% of the premises in the central area also meet these new criteria.

In the areas of the city intended “exclusively for housing” or where this indicator has a “very high” weight, the opening of public food spaces will no longer be allowed, announced the architects employed by the City Hall to update the PUG of Sibiu for the next ten years.

“There is a set of conditioning. For public food, I think that the most significant conditioning is that of the obligation to develop such functions in non-residential buildings. Because the experience of public administration on this subject was with various problems, and in areas where there is an increased density of housing, the presence of certain types of public food can produce discomfort that translates into dissatisfaction and the related actions towards the public administration. It is an attempt to regulate this situation with a greater measure of control. In certain areas, public food is only allowed inside buildings, not outside. Where there is neighborhood, this aspect was taken into account,” said Alexandru Cristian, from Daedalus Proiect Sibiu SRL, leader of the association that won the one million euro contract for updating the PUG.

Approximately 30 people participated in the debate thus started on the topic of the PUG, which took place on Wednesday morning, in one of the premises of the Municipal Stadium.

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Examples of affected businesses

The fact that in the new PUG it is provided that public food premises, in order to receive an operating permit, must have an interior surface of at least 50 square meters, however, caused the most dissatisfaction among the owners of restaurants present at the debate.

“We cannot disfavor merchants with niche activities: coffee roasters, gelato shops, other spaces that do not need 50 square meters. For those in the historic center, with a storefront on the street, we do not agree that this limitation should be imposed”, raised the issue Horațiu Bujac, owner of a restaurant with a terrace in Piața Mare and representative of the Employers’ Organization of HoReCa Operators from Sibiu.

Horatio Bujac

In the limit of minimum 50 square meters imposed to allow the operation of public food spaces, only the indoor spaces are included, without taking into account any outdoor spaces.

Marius Georgescu, representative of some restaurants in Piața Mică, gave examples of local entrepreneurial initiatives, which due to the new provisions of the PUG will have to be closed. “Perhaps the limitation of minimum 50 square meters could be kept for those who have a kitchen. Because, for example, there is a 5toGo cafe on Filarmonicii street and there is also a gelateria on Tipografilor, a really good one, where the people there serve by the window. They don’t have 50 square meters and will have to close if these provisions are kept”.

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At least 20% of merchants would be affected

There is still room for negotiation, but not much, architect Alexandru Cristian said. “Maybe we were demanding, things can change. But I think it is important to establish a minimum scale. In this way, the opportunity for interpretation or a perhaps non-mainstream debate can be eliminated, and those interested know from the start what field they are playing on. Indeed, it is a problem of existing spaces, but I do not know the share of non-conforming spaces”.

Mayor Astrid Fodor showed that, following the signals received, it is likely that the limit of 50 square meters could be changed for certain situations. And he admitted that not all the existing merchants will fall under the new regulations, but the essential aspect of the proposed changes is that the public catering spaces meet the minimum equipment provided, moreover, in other normative acts: serving room or terrace , bathrooms with cold and hot water, kitchen equipped according to the specifics of the premises, laundry, bathrooms and changing rooms for staff.

“80% of the spaces in the center correspond, I checked. Especially those facing the street, old and well-known restaurants. It’s true, not all of them need a kitchen. But we agree that they need restrooms, they need spaces where employees can change. No one wants these small businesses to disappear, they are very nice and intimate locations, they have a specific character, they say something, a story. But these do not fall into the same category as those that are just a warehouse, used to go out on Bălcescu to put up a terrace. So it will be a regulation that will be adapted”, Astrid Fodor pointed out.

The restaurant owners let it be understood that even in the situation where there will be derogations from the limit of minimum 50 sqm, the imposition of spaces with a specific destination will not be able to be respected. “Rents are very, very high. There are entrepreneurs who pay 5,000 euros for 50 square meters. In the center the rents are increasing, and there everyone manages their space as they can. Talk about serving space, changing rooms… You can’t ask a small restaurant to have the same spaces as a large one: cutting spaces, cold rooms and so on,” Bujac pointed out.

Astrid Fodor emphasized once again that the restrictions are intended to discourage entrepreneurs who ultimately do not respect customers. “We know rents are high. But these problems arose that various questionable premises, which were approved by other authorities, turned into public catering premises. We are not absurd: if it has 40 square meters, it has everything it needs, we will not stop the operation. It would be good if you send us some written proposals, we are in the analysis phase and we are looking for the best solution”, urged Fodor to those present in the hall.

The Ice Cream War Link

An important reason for the introduction of such criteria is related to the situation in the historical center of Sibiu: those who bought or rented various small spaces in the central area only to be able to request, later, the rental of the public domain for the location of terraces . The profits obtained from the rental of the public domain are not reflected in the arrangement of the interior spaces (some do not even have toilets for customers), and in this situation there were several terraces for the sale of ice cream by weight, terraces that generated extensive discussions at the management level of the Sibiu City Hall recently.

“It doesn’t seem normal to me that the restriction is different for those who have frontage to the street, compared to those who have space inside the yards. Rather, the restriction could be that the place of service be the same as the area that is rented on the public domain, that is, if it has two tables inside, it has the right to two tables outside”, proposed Lucian Costea, the owner of an ice cream business in the historical center of Sibiu.

Astrid Fodor revealed that an urban plan for protected built-up areas is being worked on in the historic center, which will “detail the regulations on almost every building”. “But those who front the street have a history behind them. I don’t want to go into detail with a space in the stairwell or one with a small table and a chair «called public food spaces» and that want to rent the public domain. We have everyone’s statistics. 80% have no problem, they fall within the new provisions. And I’m not talking about those gelaterias or cafes that don’t even ask you for tens of square meters to place a terrace”.

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The situation of smoke, steam and odor evacuations from the historic center

One of the big problems for some HoReCa entrepreneurs would be the obligation to remove chimneys and apparent ventilation systems in historical protection areas. In other words, the restaurant kitchens will have to have ventilation systems linked to the chimneys of the historic buildings and no longer be mounted apparently, on the facades or on the back walls. “The issue is for the central area: there should be no elements that disturb the appearance of the buildings in the protected built-up areas”, said the architect Alexandru Cristian.

HoReCa representatives showed that there are many buildings where the chimneys have been decommissioned or there are situations where the owners on the upper levels block access to these chimneys.

Even in the face of these protests, those who drafted the new PUG showed that there is no room for negotiation. “The meaning of the restriction is appearance, not the non-existence of these facilities. Compromising a historical heritage just to have a restaurant may not be worth it. I’m not generalizing, I’m not saying that’s the attitude, but maybe there are situations when the interest of historical value has to take precedence. Destroyed chimneys can be rebuilt. There are gas purification systems that stop at the level of the facades, because the purification is so efficient that the exhausted air is clean. Obviously, there are higher or lower costs depending on the efficiency of the facilities”, Alexandru Cristian appreciated.

Agreement only from the neighbors of the walls

One of the changes that has already been taken into account in the new PUG is the one related to the agreement of all neighbors to change the destination of a space. “The provision was mitigated only for those with common walls”, announced Dorin Nistor, the secretary of Sibiu City Hall.

Sibiu City Hall is waiting for reactions on the topic of the new PUG until April 17. Those who want more details are expected in the exhibition hall in Piața Mare, where the plans of the new general urban plan are exhibited. “An information counter is also open here for those interested, where specialists from the developer will provide information and clarifications. The schedule of this counter is Tuesday between 12:00 and 14:00 and Thursday, between 17:00 and 19:00, throughout the public consultation period”, the representatives of the Sibiu City Hall also state.

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Photos by Silvana Armat

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