The fate of Lanzheron beach was decided in Odesa: who owns the coast

A court in Odesa has requested documents in the case of the Lanzheron artificial beach and resumed consideration of the lease agreement. The prosecutor's office demands that the territory be returned to the community.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Economic Court of Odesa Oblast.

The court considered a case brought by the Deputy Prosecutor General in the interests of the state represented by the Odesa City Council against the Department of Communal Property, the Department of Engineering Protection of the City Territory and Coastal Development of the Odesa City Council, and Oldtime LLC. The subject of the dispute is an artificial sand beach lease agreement dated April 8, 2019 between the city council and the company, as well as the issue of returning the 2,100 square meter territory located between the traverses No. 1 and No. 2 on Lanzheron Beach.

The prosecutor argues that the agreement is a sham transaction, as the artificial beach is located in the coastal protective sea lane, and its lease is contrary to the land law. In this regard, the territorial community of Odesa should get the beach back, and Oldtime LLC should be held liable for violating the rights of the state.

The preparatory hearing, which was supposed to take place on December 22, 2025, did not take place due to the announcement of an air alert in Odesa and the region. By a court order of December 26, the hearing was scheduled for January 12, 2026.

In addition, the prosecutor filed a motion to subpoena documents from the Department of Engineering Protection of the City and Coastal Development. We are talking about design specifications and working drawings of landslide protection measures on the coast from the Lanzheron to Arcadia beaches in 1958, designs of landslide protection structures, acts of commissioning the artificial beach in 1962, as well as annexes to the commissioning acts, working drawings, work logs, acts of sand refilling, primary accounting documents, passports of the technical condition of the structure, and master plan diagrams.

The prosecutor emphasized that the availability of these documents is necessary to establish the actual condition of the beach, determine the boundaries and design features of engineering structures, as well as to conduct a comprehensive land, technical and construction expertise. The relevant documents, according to the prosecutor, are in the management, and their absence in the case file complicates the proper resolution of the dispute.

The court ruled to request all of these documents and noted that in case of failure to provide them without good reason, procedural coercion measures may be applied.

The Odesa Prosecutor's Office also appealed to the court to cancel the lease agreement for an artificial beach of 2,400 square meters located on the territory of Otrada Beach. The prosecutor's office emphasized that the artificial beach has no signs of a structure or hydraulic facility, and therefore cannot be considered real estate and leased.

Анна Бальчінос