How do new buildings magically appear in our capital where just recently there was an unremarkable wasteland or even a small green forest?
All the secrets of land allocation and other legal nuances related to the development business are known in the City Property Committee of the Saeima. Its video recordings on the municipal portal do not make the hit list of views, although there is quite a lot of interesting content...
"In Order to Organize Legal Relations"
In particular, at the first meeting in 2026, the Committee Chairman Dainis Locis (National Alliance) called for "working as a united team." He then immediately passed the floor to the Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council's Residential House Privatization Commission Normunds Beinarovics. He promptly submitted for consideration a draft decision regarding the territory between Dzelzavas and Vaidavas streets as a "functionally necessary plot of land for a multi-apartment residential building."
The deputies were to approve the so-called thematic planning, based on the law, Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 522, and the Binding Regulations of the Riga City Council No. 177. The revision was carried out "in order to organize the legal relations of forced land leasing."
It is worth noting that the discussion was about a plot of 2.5 hectares – but consisting of 13 cadastral units (7 owned by individuals or legal entities, 5 by the city, and 1 in the process of privatization). This is how it is in Purvciems – to which your author has belonged for almost 33 years – a checkerboard.
No More Than 6 Floors
The documents indicated that this territory "is a functional zone defined by... a wide range of mixed-use. Or which is used or planned to be developed as a suburban center." "These territories primarily provide housing and public functions for the necessary quality of the urban environment. Production functions are limited."
In this area, buildings up to 6 floors can be constructed, and 40% of the land must be allocated for green spaces. Currently, there are 6 multi-apartment buildings here, of which only 1 belongs to the municipal Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks; 2 belong to the apartment owners' societies Vaidaviete and Selectum home; and another 1 to the cooperative society of apartment owners Nākotne. The state-owned Sadales tīkls owns a transformer substation.
In addition, there is an access road leading to the block – namely, "a road that does not have red line boundaries of streets, including the road to houses and the merchants' road, crossing one or more land units, providing access to one or more land units, buildings, other structures or their groups, including within blocks, and which can be defined as a road servitude in the understanding of the Civil Law."
In Historical Context
Here is how the Privatization Commission views the situation in general:
"The multi-story neighborhoods built during the Soviet era are a significant element in the settlement structure of Riga, as more than 60% of Riga's population lives in these areas, and their construction accounts for about 40% of the city's housing stock. After the restoration of independence, the process of restoring property rights restored land rights within their historical boundaries. The construction of structures during the occupation occurred without regard to the historical boundaries of the land. Thus, it often happened that one structure is located on several land units, and often only part of these land units is necessary for the operation of the structure. In the development of projects for the involved land plots (simplified detailed planning), the functionally necessary boundaries for multi-apartment residential buildings have been defined..."
The matter is, of course, good – but why has it taken so long? After all, according to the document, the process began back in 1999.
However, to vote "for," unanimously, the 8 members of the Riga City Council's City Property Committee needed about... 1 minute. Not a single question was asked of Mr. Beinarovics – none. Let’s hope (hope dies last!) that the colleagues at least glanced at the masterful 116-page description of this block.
To speak frankly, this is somewhat disrespectful. Not to mention the residents, but also to the workers of the privatization authority of the Riga City Council, who worked so hard. It would have been good to hold an on-site meeting, perhaps. Although currently the entire land is covered with snow, it is still better to see once than to hear a hundred times.
Unanswered Questions
Then reasonable questions would arise – for example, why, if the functional land at the house on Dzelzavas Street 21 has a 76% intensity of green spaces (let's remember, with a minimum of 40%), is there only 49 parking spaces for 70 apartments? Instead, there are a whole 70 bike spaces!
By the way, not everything that is required is being fulfilled. "On the land plot functionally necessary for a multi-apartment residential building, parking lots have not been built (the green zone on the side of the access road is used for parking vehicles)."
Such an approach is not suitable for a plot that – see above – is intended to be made a "suburban center." It would have been great if a resident of Purvciems were among the members of the City Property Committee and hinted at what is going on there. For example, that the plot "does not meet the access requirements for fire equipment, as in some places the width of the access roads is less than 3.5 m."
Here is another outstanding masterpiece of bureaucratic slang: "self-worn pedestrian paths between multi-apartment residential buildings." Actually, it’s not you who built them, nor do you live there, bureaucrats. If for 60 years – and that is the age of these brick "Khrushchyovkas" – residents have been walking familiar routes, then it turns out that the people's path will not overgrow. It is time to take an asphalt roller and – cultivate it.
The Official Likes to Play
But, again, our deputies have no time for discussions about all this. They need to hurry to make their videos, for the sake of vanity.
And such a situation is only beneficial to officials, who, it turns out, actually govern the capital, while the elected officials perform the functions of extras. By the way, in his position, N. Beinarovics served back when mayor N. Ushakov was in office, and he indicated his political views through modest donations to the party of the then vice-mayor A. Ameriks, "Honor to Serve Riga."
It seems he will not become poorer – for in 2024, Mr. Beinarovics's income at his workplace amounted to 39,425.34 euros, and he also received, according to the official's declaration for the State Revenue Service, "gifts" from SIA Olympic Casino Latvia – 1,387.02 euros, and from Olybet Latvia – 1,590.33 euros, as well as winnings from Latvijas Loto – 111.40 euros. Well, some people are lucky in gaming halls and lotteries...
