A UOC priest from Gribovitsa wins a court against building inspection

The Holy Protection community of the UOC of Gribovitsa village, Volyn region, is gradually returning to their full-fledged parish life

On March 15, the Lvov Administrative Court of Appeal examined the claim of the priest, rector of the Holy Protection Church of the UOC of Gribovitsa village of, Volyn region, against the Office of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate in Volyn region.

The lawsuit dealt with the recognition as unlawful and cancellation of the resolution of the inspector of the regional department of the State Property Committee, in which the priest was accused of an administrative offense and was fined UAH 4,250 – allegedly for violating the rules for starting construction work on his land plot.

The case was considered in the first instance on December 22, 2017, and by the decision of the Lutsk regional court the claim of Igor Margita was satisfied. The decision of the Lvov Administrative Court of Appeal left this decision unchanged.

Earlier, the priest of the UOC had donated his own piece of land to Gribovitsa community of the UOC, who were left without their temple as a result of the UOC-KP raid. A new object was built on the plot for the needs of the faithful, which was designed as a household structure. The first divine service in the temple – a construction donated here by the community from Kiev region – took place in August 2017.

The construction passport was issued in Ivanychev Regional State Administration on April 14, and the works began on April 21, 2017. A day earlier, in accordance with the requirements of the law, the priest had sent a notification letter to the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate about the beginning of the construction works. However, it was not registered.

On April 25, 2017, at the request of Ivanychev District Council and Gribovitsa village council, the inspector visited the priest’s construction site with an unscheduled inspection regarding the compliance with the requirements of town-planning legislation.

A protocol was drawn up on the administrative violation, and the inspection stated that Igor Margita had to eliminate the "administrative offense" within three months and pay a fine over UAH 4,000.

The court, which the clergyman appealed to, canceled these penalties, because, in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On the regulation of town-planning activities", the customer has the right to perform construction works on such objects after the submission of the notification message, one calendar day before their commencement.

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