Construction of 12-Story Buildings and Higher in Tehran Banned

The Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development announced that based on the latest resolution of the Supreme Council of Urbanism and Architecture, the construction of buildings 12 stories and higher in Tehran has been banned until the approval of 'high-rise construction regulations.' According to the website of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Pirouz Hanachi stated on Tuesday, July 7, 'According to the latest resolution of the Supreme Council of Urbanism and Architecture, the construction of buildings 12 stories and higher in Tehran is prohibited until the high-rise construction regulations are approved, as this capacity has been used excessively and inappropriately.' Mr. Hanachi did not mention the date of approval or further details of this resolution. Mohammad Shakarchi-Zadeh, head of the Housing Research Center, reported on July 5 that 'maps of the fault zones in Tehran' have been prepared, and based on the results obtained from these studies, 'important and sensitive' buildings should not be constructed on fault zones, and 'restrictions' have been imposed on buildings of 12 stories and above. The Supreme Council of Urbanism and Architecture had previously decided in a meeting on March 15, 2015, that 'high-rise construction is generally limited in Tehran unless specific cases and areas are defined, and the criteria for determining and selecting these areas along with regulations must be presented.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, announced on August 29, 2015, that permits for the construction of buildings 12 stories and higher are only issued in the Article 5 Commission, which includes representatives from the municipality and government agencies. The Supreme Council of Urbanism and Architecture had also previously called for the preparation of 'high-rise construction regulations,' but no report of its approval has been published in this council so far. Additionally, the Hamshahri newspaper reported on February 14, 2016, that 'the high-rise construction regulations prepared by the Article 5 Commission of the Tehran Municipality have not yet been approved and are 'gathering dust on the desk of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Urbanism.' The construction of high-rise buildings and towers in Tehran intensified during the mayoralty of Gholamhossein Karbaschi, and during that time and the management of other mayors of Tehran, some experts criticized the excessive sale of 'density' by the Tehran Municipality. Meanwhile, Mohammad Mehdi Tondgouyan, spokesperson for the Urban Planning Commission of the Tehran City Council, had described the resolutions of the Supreme Council of Urbanism as a 'media and publicity show' and accused the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of not taking any specific action if the Tehran Municipality does not 'comply' with the council's resolutions regarding the prevention of density sales. 'Density' is a permit issued by the municipality to increase the number of floors of buildings under construction, and builders are forced to purchase such permits to increase the height of buildings beyond two stories, which has created a source of revenue for municipalities.