Residents of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof and the adjacent town of Beit Zayit on Thursday morning attended a district-level hearing to voice opposition to three planned towers slated for construction on Hai Taib Street in Har Nof.
The hearing was originally scheduled for June, but was postponed due to Operation Rising Lion. The site in question is currently zoned for a public institution and, like its neighbors, has a maximum construction height of two stories above street level due to its proximity to the forest, which the planned towers would violate.
At the hearing, Planning Committee officials presented the details of the plans, showing a bird's-eye view of the area and offering concrete details of the construction in question.
One resident of Beit Zayit noted that the towers would block her town's view, create a large amount of air pollution, harm local plants and wildlife, and overwhelm the existing infrastructure in the area.
A resident of Har Nof noted that those behind the construction see the area as empty, instead of seeing it as a site for which there are already existing developments.
A representative for the planners stressed that their construction will improve access to the public areas of the site, which are currently underdeveloped and sometimes difficult to access. He also said that Beit Zayit had been taken into consideration and that the plan aims to improve their quality of life as well.
Another representative insisted that the plan is not residential in nature, but rather offers public spaces and a vacation and sports center that will benefit the residents of Har Nof. "You cannot speak of this as if it were a residential plan, because it is not, it offers exactly what you complained it would harm," he said.
Miri B., who lives in Har Nof exactly opposite the planned construction site, stressed, "I am speaking in the name of all the residents, I live in Har Nof and was raised in Har Nof, I've lived here all my life. I absolutely believe that Har Nof needs to grow and develop, but when I heard about the scope of it, the height, the numbers, my knees buckled. The road there is a dangerous road already, I don't cross the street there. It's scary to raise kids there, there is already so much traffic there. These buildings are going to overshadow the entire neighborhood."
She also noted that their quality of life will be severely harmed by the plan, and the value of their homes will drop as well.
"Even the air, the air we breathe comes from there, we will have less oxygen, these buildings will block the airflow. The street, the neighborhood, was built around the green and the nature, these buildings will take that all from us."
One elderly attendee, Miriam, said every time she waits for a bus, she "trembles in fear watching the young children, it's so dangerous here. I don't cross the street anymore, it's too dangerous."