Muğla Municipality files 189 lawsuits against zoning permits in four years

Turkey’s Aegean Muğla Municipality has filed 189 lawsuits over its four-year term against the government’s rezoning attempts in the area. Rezoning attempts seek to allow development in cultural and natural heritage sites in Muğla.

Friday December 01 2023 05:20 pm

Duvar English

The municipality of Muğla, one of Turkey’s tourism hubs, has filed 189 separate lawsuits over four years against the rezoning decisions of the government. The decisions changed the grade of natural heritage areas in the province which opened them up for development.

The municipality won 24 of these lawsuits so far, and 42 lawsuits are still in progress.

The fight against development in Muğla’s natural site areas is ongoing, according to Mayor Osman Gürün. “We are working to preserve Muğla’s countless natural attractions, and leave our children the blue and the green of our province intact,” told Gürün.

One such case concerned the ancient city Myndos in the tourist hub Bodrum. The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Muğla had decreased the preservation grade of the ancient city to “3,” which allowed development in the area.

The municipality sued the Directorate decision in June 2022 and warned such development could serve as a precedent for the 110 ancient cities in the province.