Odesa appointed an expert examination of the lease on Otrada Beach

In Odesa, a court ordered an examination of an artificial beach on the coast to determine the legality of its lease. The prosecutor's office is challenging the agreement and demanding that the land be returned to the city.

This is stated in the ruling of the Economic Court of Odesa Region.

The Primorskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Odesa challenged in court the lease agreement for an artificial beach of 2,400 square meters on the territory of Otrada beach. The lawsuit was filed in the interests of the state and Odesa City Council against the city's Department of Communal Property, the Department of Engineering Protection of the Territory and Coastal Development, and the private enterprise Geviot, which leases the site.

The prosecutor believes that the lease agreement of August 15, 2018 is a sham. According to him, under the guise of leasing a coastal protection structure, the company received a part of the beach area of the Black Sea coastal protection zone for use without formalizing the land plot and without holding land auctions, as required by law. In addition, the prosecutor's office argues that the artificial beach is not a building or hydraulic structure, and therefore cannot be considered as a real estate lease.

During the preparatory hearing, the private enterprise Geviot filed a motion to conduct a comprehensive engineering and land technical expertise to determine whether the disputed plot belongs to a land plot or a structure. The court granted the petition and ordered the Odesa Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to conduct the examination. The cost of the examination was borne by the company.

The Department of Communal Property and the Engineering Protection Department did not object to the examination, but pointed out the legal incorrectness of some of the questions proposed by the prosecutor and expressed doubts about the expert institution chosen by him. The prosecutor insisted on changing the wording of the questions and proposed to appoint an expert examination in another institution.

The proceedings were temporarily suspended until the examination is completed, which should help determine whether the lease of the beach was legal and whether it should be returned to the territorial community of Odesa.

Also in early December, the head of the Odesa Dolphinarium was notified of suspicion over unauthorized construction on Lanzheron Beach. The company Nerum LLC leased only 0.5 hectares of land to accommodate the dolphinarium and the Nemo hotel and entertainment complex, but the construction went beyond the permitted area.

Анна Бальчінос