This week in Jerusalem: Back in the pool

Published date02 June 2023
AuthorPEGGY CIDOR
Publication titleJerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)
The Jerusalem Pool will reopen in September, following six years of closure and 14 years of public struggle. The residents' struggle and the intervention of the municipality enabled the developer to obtain concessions regarding its construction, in exchange for returning part of the area to the residents. The new pool complex will include a communal gym and sports center

Neighborhood representatives pulled out of an agreement with the municipality in 1980, in which it was stipulated that the pool area would be transferred to the ownership of the municipality, which in turn would lease the part of the pool back to the developers on a 49-year lease. At the end of the lease, the plan was to extend it for another 49 years, but joint owners Ella Brothers and Moshav Shoresh claimed that the pool had become a nonprofit, since at the time it was the only pool in Jerusalem, whereas today there are quite a few public pools in the capital.

The owners also claimed that the high property tax that they had to pay to the municipality, as well as the lack of parking spaces in the area, would incur severe losses. At the end of a hearing held at the Magistrate's Court, Judge Tamar Ben Asher ruled: "In light of the language of the 1980 agreement and in light of its purpose, the obvious conclusion is that the agreement is valid and exists, according to which the defendants must fulfill their obligations under it and continue to operate the Jerusalem Pool in the format in which it has been operated until today and the repairs and renovations that will enable its proper operation."

The Supreme Court referred the parties to mediation, and finally a new agreement was signed between the owners of the pool and the municipality. Among other things, it was determined that part of the land belonging to the owners could be used for residential purposes, with the rest being used for the new pool complex, operated by the community administration.

Noise pollution solution

Important news for those who live next to the route of the upcoming light rail Blue Line on Emek Refaim. The Moriah company is planning to install soundproof windows in homes along the route to reduce the noise for residents in the German Colony caused by the construction of the tracks over the next two years.

Moriah representatives have already started meeting residents in the area in order to compile a list of all the windows facing Emek Refaim Street. Upon completion of the report, it will become clear if additional...

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