A construction site on the island of Mykonos, Greece, on May 10, 2023. The island is one of several suffering from a construction frenzy stemming from skyrocketing tourism. [Marco Arguello/The New York Times]
The success of the government’s sweeping restructuring plan for the country’s zoning regulations hinges very much on how it fares in the heart of the Aegean. The urban development proposals for the islands of Mykonos and Santorini were among the first to be presented and the different reactions they prompted on each island are indicative of just how complex the issue is. It also tells us that the Environment Ministry’s ambition for a swift reform of the zoning rules in two of the country’s most problematic areas was probably overoptimistic.
The introduction of new zoning regulations – in some cases for the first time – covering 70% of the country is one of the most impactful reforms of recent years. Now in full swing, the program began in 2018, was canceled a year later and was restarted in 2020. The target is to have the proposals for each area finished by the end of 2025 (according to Deputy Environment Minister Nikos Tagaras), as the scheme is being bankrolled via the European Union’s Recovery Fund. This, of course, does not mean that all the various zoning plans will have been ratified by the end of the 2025 – given Greece’s notoriously “flexible” adherence to deadlines, this is unlikely to happen before end-2026 – but that the private companies commissioned to carry out the studies for the plans for each area have delivered their reports and been paid. Ratification will come later, after the proposals are submitted for approval to the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court, and then signed off by the Greek president.
The zoning proposals for Mykonos and Santorini, however (as well as for the Municipality of Minoa Pediada in Iraklio, Crete, where a new airport is being planned), were fast-tracked under a special regulation cutting the time it takes to complete the regular procedures. The contracts for the studies for the two islands (which were awarded to the same bidder, the firm of Samaras & Associates) were signed in August 2022 but could not be completed within the timeframe of one year as foreseen by the fast-track regulation.
The first phase of the proposed zoning plan was presented on the respective islands in mid-November. It includes three “scenarios” for future urban development and, for these two cases specifically, a specific proposal that was put down on paper. The proposal promoted different reactions on the two islands: On Mykonos, the proposal to increase the minimum plot size for residential properties from 0.4 to 0.8 hectares and for tourist facilities from 1 to 3 hectares sparked intense pushback. On Santorini, in contrast, the municipal authority, stakeholders and citizens want as many restrictions on construction as possible and rejected a proposal in the study for the creation of two new areas for tourism developments. In both cases, the Environment Ministry responded that the final proposals would be put to public consultation in March this year.
The presentation of the zoning proposals left a bad taste with the communities of both Mykonos and Santorini. “We decided to commission a team of expert scientists to draft a counterproposal. The proposal that was presented to us is illegal and slipshod,” says Mykonos Mayor Christos Veronis.
“Mykonos was not tabula rasa; it has controlled residential zones (ZOE). The state can’t just come along and tell people who have made investments with the intention of building according to the rules of the ZOE that their land is worthless. You can’t just ‘move’ the industrial zone from Ano Mera to Hora in order to benefit specific businesspeople who are not from the island at the expense of the locals,” he adds.
Veronis has taken issue with the Environment Ministry for refusing to hand over the study on which the proposal for the island’s zoning reorganization was based. “The presentation was barely over when we learned that we were being thrown a bonus of an additional 0.4 hectares for primary residences. We’re not children to be pacified with a piece of candy,” he says.
“Mykonos’ case is very difficult because the situation there is very entrenched,” says architect and urban/regional planner Vasilis Gimisis. “There are no easy solutions and this was evident from the wide range of opinions expressed during the consultation. The proposal is trying to contain off-plan construction, but it does this in a way that seems quite violent. There is no transition phase or exceptions in important areas like residences. I’m afraid that if it goes ahead as is, it will never be implemented.”
On Santorini, locals are also up in arms following an announcement that Greece’s privatization agency, TAIPED, was being put in charge of a plan to upgrade the island’s ports. “This heralds the intention to hand over complete control of our ports to TAIPED, and if this happens, we won’t be able to implement any policies, for example, concerning cruise ships and touring boats. The government has blindsided us again by making important decisions of a local nature,” the island’s mayor, Nikos Zorzos, tells Kathimerini.
These issues are not unrelated to the zoning plan. “We have put together a team of experts to help us submit a comprehensive proposal. Our aim is to arrange a meeting with the Environment Ministry and the researcher [of the zoning proposal] soon. The municipal authority’s fundamental position remains the same: We don’t need any more tourist accommodation or any more concrete. It’s as simple as that,” says Zorzos.
“The choice of fast-tracking the zoning proposals for Santorini and Mykonos turned out to be way too ambitious. You can’t draft a zoning plan in a year, much less when you keep piling new demands onto the researchers, like carrying out a capacity study,” says the secretary of Santorini’s association of civil engineers, Chrysostomos Kypritzis. “As far as the data presented is concerned, it proves that the situation is critical even without accounting for short-term rentals. People have started to understand this and are much more open to the idea of restrictions.”
Kypritzis also believes that the proposal has not taken local sentiment into account. “There is a lot of skepticism about the so-called ‘tourism zones’ that are being proposed and about strategic investments. We accept having our rights curbed in order to save the island, but not so that outsiders can come in over our heads, on privileged terms.”
Rampant violations
For Kypritzis, the priority should be on imposing existing legislation. “The study said as much; 25% of the buildings on this island were constructed illegally. So the first thing that needs to be done is for the law to be implemented, for every window, however small, of illegality, to be closed. What I think needs to be done after that is the implementation of some kind of program, similar to what the Greek National Tourism Organization did in the 1970s, offering support to the owners of traditional houses in the villages to have them restored. Construction can then be funneled to remoter parts of the island, around the villages, but strictly for residential housing.”
How does he account for the different reception the proposal received on his island, compared to Mykonos?
“On the one hand, we had two very bad years from a tourism perspective. On the other, we feel that our quality of life has declined. What’s the point of tourism development when it comes back to hit you like a boomerang?”