Transcription Video in Englisch

Greetings to Your Majesty the King; the honourable Mayor of Maastricht, Aldermen and councilmembers; citizen council members, inhabitants of Maastricht and all individuals otherwise interested;

My name is Aurora Venancio and I am glad you are watching so you have a human face for reference while I paint you a picture regarding the file you will be discussing soon and will decide on next month.

On behalf of myself, mr. Gabriels and our three residents I would explain our situation to you:

We live in the centre of Maastricht. Mr. Gabriels, proprietor and owner of the house, was born in this very house 89 years ago, in one of these very rooms. Some residents live here for over 20 years; I myself have lived here for seven years. 

Three businesses are located here; there is a workshop and a warehouse hall, my own atelier can be found on the first floor; above the atelier are our living rooms located.

This unique setting, with a workshop on ground level and living space above, results in a unique architectural heritage location in my view.

There are three somewhat identical buildings next to ours; on the other side of our house are

garages located. Those buildings as well as the terrain of the large inner courtyard located behind our building are the property of the municipality of Maastricht. Neither those buildings nor the inner court yard have been maintained by the municipality which means renovation might not even be possible anymore. That is a crying shame.

For the development plan Palace Wyck, e.g. a new hotel (as if we need another one of those), the municipality is planning to change the zoning regulations. If these changes are realized we will no longer be allowed to reside in our own rooftop garden; I will no longer be allowed to exercise a profession of my own choosing in my own house and three enterprises will be forced to close down. And to add insult to injury the municipality of Maastricht has already started a procedure to expropriate our house.

The terrain, including the 300 m2 of which mr. Gabriels is the proprietor, have been sold to a real estate developer.

So, they pretend all this all belongs to the municipality of Maastricht (shows map of zoning area), but in reality the situation would be more like this (shows map of zoning area in which plot A6789 is no part).

This is a clear example of trying to have your cake and eat it too.

The price which real estate developer 2Rocks is willing to pay has been kept a secret and cannot be requested as long as the sale of the terrain has not yet been closed.

In other words, there is no way of verifying if the price the municipality has offered to us as compensation is in any way, shape of form close to the price they would receive for it.

They might sell the plot for a large profit?

In this scenario we will be left behind empty-handed in any case.

The civil servant ‘Grondverwerving en Onteigening’ (Acquisition and Expropriation of Terrain) painted a picture as if none of us could be reasoned with, but I would like to point out the calculation on page 24 of my Viewpoint Petition. This calculation can be requested for those interested. 

I have calculated that, for the price the municipality offered us so graciously at this time, it is impossible to find a replacement residence in the centre of Maastricht. I have looked into the prices paid for the buildings sold this year in our street alone. The offer of €750.000,- will result in barely a bit over half of the amount, once taxes and costs have been deducted. What to say…

Therefore I can not take this offer seriously nor accept it, since I will not be able to find a similar building elsewhere in our street.

Furthermore, an old oak cannot be replanted.

We do not wish to leave this beautiful place with its fascinating history and future full of potential. We wish to remain here.

I hereby request all of you;  Mayor, Aldermen and Councilmembers of the Municipality of the City of Maastricht, to find a solution as long as the zoning plans have not been changed.

If, however, you decide to change the zoning plans for the area anyway, I can no longer avoid a legal course of action.

I am not alone in this; there is by now a residential committee established, which has plenty of ideas for redevelopment of this city block and for ameliorating the quality of life. For example, several plots for first time home owners as well as young families with the possibility of services, arts and assiduity from home. Above all we feel it is imperative to mention that in our view the benefits offered to visitors should not go above and beyond our interests and benefits as residents.

We wish to see more cooperation and solidarity in our area after many years of impoverishment. An example of this would be the tiny sidewalk gardens which have been collectively realized and which have a beneficial effect on both residents and passers-by who adore this.

I would like to articulate my concerns regarding the foreseeable consequences of the new zoning plans when it comes to the relationship of the many different things which happen naturally in a town centre.

It mainly consists of the relationship between the function

– Consumption and Tourism (shops and hotels)

– Culture and (Social) Services (both paid and unpaid)

– Municipal/ Public Areas and Habitation. 

We believe that these last two functions transcend the significance of building yet another hotel in the centre; an idea which would only inconvenience other hotels nearby.

It is, in my humble opinion, of the utmost importance that the zoning plans for the entire area will remain unchanged, at least for the moment; or that an exception is made for our premises and office space/workshop and this building remains subject to old law.

For us residents it is of the utmost importance that we will be able to continue using our house just as we have always done and can use our rooftop terrace to enjoy the fresh air, the birds in the trees and the sunlight.

If, for whatever reason, you do decide to change the zoning plans on the 20th of April 2021, we politely ask for an exception for our house until the judge decides who the house belongs to in the first place.

I thank you for your attention and understanding,

I would like to tell you more about the activities of my enterprise Atelier Zonnewijzer, but for that I refer to the website www.zonnewijzer.org.

For more questions or a personal one-on-one conversation on a bench in a park (honouring the corona distance, of course) I am always available.

I am looking forward to your reaction, 

Yours sincerely,

Aurora Venancio