PKF Servisshina LLC continues legal disputes for the right to build a high-rise residential complex on the street. Mokroy, 14-A.
After this company managed “through the servants of Themis” to appeal part of the Detailed Territory Plan (DPT), which includes a leased land plot, and to obtain from the Kyiv City State Administration the issuance of urban planning conditions and restrictions (GUO) for construction design, it is trying to appeal those enshrined in the latter document requirements on the height of the future building. Officials limited it at 44.9 m due to the fact that this land is part of the Central Historical Area, but PKF Servisshina believes that this figure should be 82.6 m, because the Kyiv city authorities are not all clear registered in their urban planning documentation. Recently, this LLC (part of the orbit of the famous businessman Leonid Yurushev, in the collage on the right) won in the court of first instance. If this verdict is supported by the appeal court, then the local community, which opposes the compacting development of this area, will obviously have to come to terms with the appearance of another residential candle.
As it became known, PKF Servisshina LTD LLC is currently trying to get the amendments to the municipal management agreement for the design of development on the street in court. Mokroy, 14-A (former name – Kudryashova St., Solomensky district).
The company requires the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) to make changes to this document, published by the specified structural unit of the Kiev City State Administration on January 11, 2023. The Municipal Organization stipulated that the height of the residential complex (LC) that should appear there cannot exceed 44.9 m, but PKF Servisshina LLC believes that it should be 82.6 m. The company during 2023 years, she applied several times to the specified structural unit of the capital’s mayor’s office to make changes to these “urban plans,” but she was refused.
The height restrictions in the relevant department of the Kyiv City State Administration were explained by the fact that the land plot falls on the territory of the Central Historical Area of Kyiv, the boundaries of which were approved by order of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine No. 599 of August 2, 2021. However, PKF Servisshina LLC notes that this order is not urban planning documentation at the local level, and therefore, they say, it cannot be referred to when determining the height. From this and other factors, the company’s argument allegedly follows that the mayor’s office did not prove that the design object, taking into account the position of the current legislation in the field of construction, is located within the central historical area.
On June 10, 2024, the Kiev District Administrative Court fully satisfied the claim of PKF Servisshina LLC. The Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration and the capital’s lawyer and human rights activist Alexander Dyadyuk, who decided to intervene in this case as a third party, undertook to appeal this court verdict.
They have already filed relevant appeals with the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, but so far there is no information in open sources about whether proceedings have been opened on these complaints. In particular, on July 17, the said court left Dyadyuk’s complaint without progress and gave the specialist 10 days to correct the shortcomings - they say, he needs to prove that the decision of the trial court in some way affects him. As Alexander Dyadyuk told the media, he has already corrected the shortcomings in his complaint and sent the relevant documents to the court, but so far he does not know whether the servants of Themis have accepted his complaint.
Background
On March 18, 2004, the Kiev City Council, by its decision No. 125/1335, agreed on the lease of the land plot on the street to PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC. Kudryashova, 14-A with an area of 0.3874 hectares (cadastral number 8000000000:72:143:0003). The land was leased for 10 years for the reconstruction of a service station for trade and warehouse buildings and structures, with subsequent operation and maintenance.
On July 1, 2004, a lease agreement for this land plot was concluded between PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC and the Kiev City Council. Subsequently, on April 5, 2016, the parties entered into an agreement to extend the said lease agreement - again for 10 years.
Shortly before this, on September 24, 2015, the Kyiv City Council, by decision No. 46/1949, approved the DPT within the boundaries of Vozdukhoflotsky Avenue, Solomenskaya, Mekhanizatorov, Kudryashov streets and railway tracks in the Solomensky district. Then it was determined that the DPT covers an area of 196.14 hectares, of which 69.2 hectares fall under residential development, 69.5 hectares under construction for other purposes. Also, the document stated that the land plot on the street. Kudryashova, 14-A, which is leased from the capital's company by PKF Servisshina LTD LLC, according to its functional purpose it primarily belongs to the territory of special-purpose land plantings, and partly to multi-storey residential buildings. The customer for the development of this DPT was the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration, the general designer was Proektgenplan LLC, and the investor was Kiybud LLC.
On March 23, 2017, the then director of the Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration, Alexey Polishchuk, registered with the Kyiv City Council draft decision No. 08/231-799/PR on changing the intended purpose of the land plot on Kudryashova Street, 14-A. The document stipulated that the specified site could be used for the construction, operation and maintenance of a residential complex with parking, which the capital’s officials had been asked to do by PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC several months earlier. On October 3, 2017, this document was approved by the Kyiv City Council commission on urban planning, architecture and land use. However, already on October 12, 2017, the department of legal support for the activities of the Kyiv City Council returned this draft decision for revision - for what reasons it is not reported in open sources.
In August and October 2019, PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC twice applied to the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration with a request to issue a municipal management organization for designing the reconstruction of a complex of non-residential buildings located on the specified site into a residential complex with a parking lot. But officials twice, in September and November 2019, informed the specified company about the refusal to provide “urban plans”. The reason for the refusals was the discrepancy between the intentions regarding the development of the site and the requirements of urban planning documentation at the local level, as well as the provision by the company of an incomplete package of documents specified in Part 3 of Article 29 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Regulation of Urban Development Activities”.
Thus, officials informed PKF Servisshina LTD LLC that, according to the General Plan of Kyiv, the specified site, according to its functional purpose, primarily belongs to the territory of green spaces for public use. At the same time, the above-mentioned DPT provides that this land belongs to the territory of special purpose land plantings, and partly to residential multi-storey buildings.
At the beginning of 2020, PKF Servisshina LTD LLC filed a claim with the District Administrative Court of Kyiv (OASC, now liquidated) against the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration. The company asked that the actions of the officials who refused to issue the MOU be recognized as illegal, and also that they be obliged to issue this document. On August 25, 2020, the said court denied PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC to satisfy his claim. Servants of Themis then recognized the authority of the refusal of the relevant department. The court also noted that “the decision in this case affects the protection of the public interest in restoring the rule of law when resolving the socially important and socially significant issue of planning and territory development at the local level.”
On November 25, 2020, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, to which LLC PKF Serviceshina LTD filed an appeal, upheld the decision of the OASC. The company’s attempt to appeal the actions of officials and, accordingly, the verdicts of the courts of the first two instances was also unsuccessful in the Cassation Administrative Court - on February 9, 2023, it also refused to satisfy this LLC’s demands.
Even before the decision on this case was made by the court of appeal, in November 2020, PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC filed another claim against OASC. The company demanded to cancel the above-mentioned decision of the City Council No. 46/1949 of September 24, 2015 on the approval of the DPT - at the same time, the company appealed not the entire detailed plan as a whole, but only in the part that concerns the site on the street. Kudryashova, 14-A. The defendant in this case was the capital city council.
During this legal dispute, the company pointed out that the presence of green spaces on the above-mentioned site (a sign of a green space zone - media) was not documented. One of the arguments is that this land is not assigned to the Department of Housing, Communal Services and Construction of the Solomenskaya District State Administration in the city of Kyiv (RGA), which “ensures the implementation of a complex of works on the creation, care and operation of green spaces.”
Also, PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC noted that there are contradictions in the controversial DPT. They say that this detailed plan determines the functional purpose of the site on the street. Kudryashova, 14-A in the Solomensky district as an area of public green space, but the General Plan of Kyiv supposedly classifies this area partly as communal and warehouse areas, and partly as residential multi-storey buildings. At the same time, as reported above, earlier the OASC, in the framework of the case regarding the municipal management, admitted that the General Plan defines this land again as an area of green space for public use.
These and other arguments of the company convinced the servants of Themis. As a result, the courts of all three instances were on the side of PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC, and the final decision in this case was made by the Cassation Administrative Court on December 14, 2022.
While this legal dispute continued, in December 2021, PKF Servisshina LLC again applied to the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration with a request to issue a municipal permit for the design of the reconstruction of non-residential buildings on the street. Kudryashova, 14-A under a residential complex with parking. However, in the same month, officials again refused to the company - the official reason was the submission of an incomplete package of documents necessary to obtain “urban plans”, in particular, “the indicated intentions necessary for making decisions on the provision of municipal infrastructure” and “a copy of the topographic and geodetic plan M 1:2000”.
In this regard, at the beginning of 2022, VKS Servisshina LTD LLC filed another lawsuit with the OASC to appeal the refusal of the relevant department and the obligation of officials to issue an MOU. To substantiate their demands, the company noted that they provided all the data necessary to make a decision on issuing a municipal license, including those whose absence was indicated by the relevant department of the Kyiv City State Administration. Therefore, they say, the refusal of the capital’s mayor’s office is unfounded and groundless.
On June 2, 2022, OASC satisfied the claim of PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC. The Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration tried to appeal this court verdict, but on December 14, 2022, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal refused to open appeal proceedings for officials on their respective complaint. The reason was that the department missed the deadline for appeal. Officials also attempted to appeal this refusal in the Court of Cassation, but were unsuccessful. Therefore, the decision of the OASC, which was beneficial for PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC, was upheld.
In pursuance of this court verdict, on January 11, 2023, the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration nevertheless issued the above-mentioned municipal authorities to PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC for the design of the reconstruction of non-residential buildings on the street. Kudryashova, 14-A under a residential complex with parking. According to this document, the company was allowed to design the construction of a building with a height of up to 44.9 m, but the final height must be determined by the design documentation. Among other things, “Grodnostroy” noted that this documentation should be developed taking into account the above-mentioned order of the Ministry of Culture No. 599 of August 2, 2021 “On approval of the boundaries and modes of use of the territory of historical areas of Kyiv.”
Already during the legal dispute over the “editing” of these MOOs, on June 4, 2024, the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning (DIAM) issued the said company permission IU013240527868 to carry out construction work on this reconstruction. According to it, PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC plans to build one 14-story building (13 above-ground floors and one underground) with 87 apartments (their total area is 5.3 thousand sq.m.). Also in this residential complex it is allowed to equip an underground parking for 148 cars. The general contractor for these works was Masterbud LLC.
It should be noted that the website of the development company Forum Capital has now published information about the planned construction of a business class residential complex at the specified address - it was named Wet - from the English “wet”, in honor of the street. It is noted that this complex will have 26 floors, and it is planned to equip 178 apartments and 177 parking spaces. Also on this territory it is planned to build a public building with 4 floors, in which it is planned to create offices.
What do the locals think?
As the media reported, over the past decade, at least since 2017, residents of the Solomensky district “fought” against construction on Kudryashova Street, 14-A.
Thus, according to local Internet portals, PKF Serviceshina LTD LLC planned to build a 26-story residential building at this address by 2020. At the same time, the construction site, and later the potential high-rise, supposedly should have been located directly above the old collector sleeve, which was declared unsafe many years ago. According to these media reports, every vibration during construction work or pressure from the mass of the building could provoke a man-made disaster and flood the residents of the Solomensky district with feces. In addition, it was noted that a 26-story building would simply block sunlight from entering the surrounding buildings, which would damage the nearby kindergarten.
In turn, other media reported that Solomensk residents expressed complaints about this potential high-rise building and in connection with the densifying development of their area. They say that in recent years more than a dozen new residential complexes have appeared in this area, but there are no more schools and kindergartens.
Let us also recall that the previously mentioned DPT has already been the subject of litigation. Back in 2017, citizen Igor Gorbasenko filed a claim with the OASC against the Department of Urban Planning of the Kyiv City State Administration, Proektgenplan LLC (general designer) and Kiistroy LLC (investor in the development of the document) to cancel the aforementioned decision of the Kyiv City Council No. 46/1949. This individual justified his demand by the fact that public hearings to discuss this document were held with gross violations. In addition, according to him, the DPT project does not meet the requirements of the Law “On the Regulation of Urban Development Activities”, since the minutes of the meeting of the urban planning and architecture section indicate completely different technical and economic indicators than in the project itself.
On July 1, 2019, the court fully satisfied the claim, canceling the decision of the City Council to approve this DPT. Kiybud LLC filed an appeal against this court verdict to the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal: on August 19, 2019, appeal proceedings were opened. However, this complaint was never considered on its merits, because on February 17, 2020, Igor Gorbasenko sent an application to the appellate court to abandon the claim, and already on March 3, 2020, this court granted this application. In this regard, the decision of the OASC dated July 1, 2019 was declared invalid, which means that the specified DPT de jure remained legal.
Who's going to build
According to the Youcontrol analytical system, Kiev-based PKF Servisshina LLC was founded in June 1993. The head of the company is Evgeniy Malichenko, the founder is ZNIKIF Forum-Capital JSC, and the final beneficiary is Andrey Manzheley, a resident of the village of Ivankovichi, Obukhovsky district, Kiev region. He, together with Turkish citizen Orhan Atmadzhoy, are co-owners of Masterbud LLC, which is declared as the general contractor for construction on the street. Mokroy, 14-A.
According to media reports, Andrei Manzheley is the nephew of businessman Leonid Yurushev. The latter is known, in particular, as the owner of the capital hotels InterContinental Kiev, Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv, Riviera House and Alfavito. Also in its orbit are companies involved in woodworking, mechanical engineering, construction and the production of building structures. According to NV magazine and the investment company Dragon Capital, in 2019 Yurushev ranked 26th in the list of the richest Ukrainians with a fortune of $202 million. And in 2020, with an income of $18 million, he took 16th place in the list of the largest Ukrainian rentiers according to Forbes (i.e. those entrepreneurs who earn money by leasing real estate, are engaged in the hotel business, etc. - media) .
The position of director of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration has been held since November 1, 2016 by Alexander Svistunov (on the collage on the left). Since June 29, 2021, the Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration has been headed by Valentina Pelikh (served as the head of this structure since April 2, 2021). From July 27, 2018 to April 1, 2021, this department was headed by Petr Olenich, who since April 2, 2021 has been holding the position of Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration and oversees land and urban planning issues in Kyiv.
