Nice-Première: In Le Point you stated that “We cannot continue to waste space. You questioned whether we should continue to issue building permits for small houses, often in poor taste, that blight the landscape and pose accessibility problems in case of fire, and that you preferred to advocate for quality collective housing.” Will Méridia and Azuréa meet your expectations, and isn’t there a possibility for the city to reclaim unoccupied homes in or near the center?
Dominique Estrosi: In your question, you present the full range of what can be done in the housing sector. There is not just one approach to addressing housing and the crisis we are currently facing. Within our responsibilities as a local government, we can intervene or issue opinions. If we want to achieve a better match between housing supply and demand, to meet the expectations of our citizens already settled here before those who will join our area for various reasons, to help our economic fabric continue to develop by welcoming the needed workforce, we must intervene in several areas.
That includes the construction or improvement of social housing. The City and Canca have a direct hand in this as they can both find land or have property they can transfer to social housing providers to develop housing. They then provide subsidies to balance these operations, which are increasingly hard to achieve given market prices. The City of Nice and Canca assist social housing providers in acquiring or rehabilitating some of the needed housing considering that 70% of the population financially qualifies for social housing. There is basic social housing but also intermediate housing. For this, a couple with two children must earn €4,000 per month. This concerns a large majority of the middle classes and the active population. We can act on this point with an adopted PLH (Local Housing Program). We met our goals in 2006.
This demonstrates our political will, supported by Canca and its 24 mayors and the City.
Nice Méridia and Nice Azuréa are two impressive projects we needed. Azuréa is solely office buildings, completing Nice Arénas with this area left undeveloped for about twenty years. There was a need for office real estate. Nice Méridia is the flagship project of CANCA. It promotes mixed-use development. It includes an intellectual component with all things university-related and the continuation of Sophia Antipolis, along with an economic component with offices and housing. We need to move in this direction. We can no longer have housing on one side, and economic and commercial activities on the other.
Under the PLU (Local Urban Plan), it was decided that where there already was housing density with significant buildings, why not continue to densify? This does not pose problems since nearby there are all necessary shops, all the public facilities. When there is an undeveloped plot, we can create quality density with impressive projects.
However, we must preserve spaces on the Hills considering communication means that are not always easy. The roads may not keep up. Commuting from the hills with sometimes two vehicles per household would be congested. There aren’t the public facilities, which would be lacking for the population. We also need to consider budgetary constraints that account for all this. It is a natural aspiration of citizens, when they have the means, to want an individual house. It is legitimate, and I understand it. Given the cost of land, people will have a very limited budget to build the house on the land they acquired. They may end up building structures that do not always meet what we’d like to achieve. This aspect needs consideration even if we don’t have direct control in this domain. It is part of each individual’s freedom but also of each mayor of the metropolitan area, responsible for land rights and the building permits they issue. I do not want to interfere, but we need to think about it. In some places, there are no problems. We can question others. We do not have enough land to continue wasting it this way. It’s better to concentrate on human-scaled housing, which we know how to do well (collective buildings of two or three stories or small townhouses of nearly individual type). They do not harm the environment and meet the needs of our citizens. These are paths…
NP: In the center, there aren’t many plots left to reclaim…
DE: That’s true. When there are, internal services examine the possibilities. The City of Nice can exercise its right of preemption when it involves the general interest and adds value in the housing field. We can’t exercise this right all the time to avoid disadvantaging private individuals interested in the same property.
NP: Are there any projects in this direction?
D.E: There are. They are not well established, but our services are engaged in identifying potentially interesting spaces: A building where no one or only some part is occupied, a neighborhood building where real social diversity can be established. We then assert our right of preemption.
NP: What is the timeline from spotting to creating housing?
DE: Between two and three months for the right of preemption. We need to approach a social housing provider. They must study the situation, present an operation, balance it based on the grants that can be provided. Once all this is done, it takes 18, 24, or 36 months for the building to be constructed. It is relatively long. By 2008, we will see efforts in the housing field. We act in consensus with all actors: local authorities, architects, social housing providers, consular chambers like the CCI. It’s somewhat new. Everyone is mobilized and comes together to move things forward.
NP: Are you also involved in housing rehabilitations?
D.E: It is planned through urban renewal operations involving demolitions, but some remain. Rehabilitating them is an important part of providing a better quality of life to tenants. We can intervene in private parks with owners-occupiers through programmed operations to improve the habitat. It allows residents, often elderly and without means, to upgrade to safety and comfort standards, renovate common areas, secure elevators, and rehabilitate façades. If the owners are occupants, it will improve their living conditions. If they leave it vacant, it may encourage them to rent it out. Depending on the subsidies provided for the work, they are required to charge a regulated rent close to social rental for nine years. If they choose an intermediary rent, the subsidies will be less.
NP: How to reclaim homes rented only during the summer?
DE: We have not taken a position, it’s the issue of secondary residences. Other communities have done so. It’s the case of the French Riviera Urban Community or CASA, particularly affected. We are less so. The CARF has clearly identified in the PLH the issues of secondary residences through a legal channel. We also live off tourism, we cannot underestimate what we need. We have no means of action. It comes down to each person’s freedom to rent or not even if they only come one month a year. There is a tax on vacant housing, but some prefer to pay it than rent. They fear damages, unpaid rents knowing that eviction procedures are lengthy. It is more of a national issue with legislation that could evolve. We can only encourage landlords to rent, but we can’t go further.
NP: When on the Promenade des Anglais, we see many closed shutters. It’s an important housing potential, especially for students. Is there really no possibility?
DE: It’s true that it is a potential. It involves everyone’s freedom unless there are incentives or guarantees for these owners that might encourage them to see that it is worthwhile to rent their properties.
NP: Do you have a solution to lower rental prices? Do a municipality and an urban community have real influence on this aspect?
DE: It’s the law of supply and demand. Selling prices are €5,000 per m² for new constructions and €3,400 in older ones. Rental prices are proportionately equivalent. In social housing, rates are set nationally with indices that social landlords apply. In the free market, we cannot do much. It’s part of personal freedom.
Association:
NP: The association space website is somewhat outdated but effective. Very useful yet sometimes overlooked. Is there a project in this regard or any improvements being considered?
DE: The Association spaces were created four years ago. It’s a considerable plus in the associative world. The Garibaldi Association space has an amphitheater for conferences, a large exhibition hall with offices. The one on the Promenade du Paillon is more operational for associations to work in good conditions with offices, a computer room with Internet access. From feedback from associations using them, there is great satisfaction. They benefit from a very modest fee for all the services offered to them. Smaller associations can find there legal services, internet, meeting, management, administrative, reprography services while it’s increasingly complicated to manage an association.
These spaces are located in areas affected by tramway work, facing access issues. There is also a signage problem. Efforts have been made, with the elevators finally repaired as it was difficult for disabled people to access. The City of Nice has done its part. City’s services ensure cleanliness, particularly on the Promenade du Paillon where it’s difficult to keep the space clean because of the location’s configuration. The Territorial Directorate has made efforts. Once the Tramway works are completed, there will be better signage. This will contribute to the renewal of the entire neighborhood. I’m sure these spaces will function even better than they do today.
To ensure better dynamics, we have decided within the Associative Life service to create several events throughout the year. These can be exhibitions on the esplanade, conferences. This will occur every two months to attract some people unfamiliar with the locations to discover and frequent them.
NP: There’s the issue of communication for associations. There are many, and they don’t always have enough media space to express themselves. We experience this at Nice-Première, as they frequently contact us. Don’t you think Nice associations deserve a true medium to talk about their activities and announce their events?
D.E: On the city of Nice’s website, there is an Associative Life portal where associations can intervene. In the Associations Spaces, there are sites made for associations and some have been able to benefit from the creation of a site. Anything that can further and more media-intensively relay the rich activity of the local associative fabric, I agree, deserves its place.
We have just published, at the Associations’ meeting, the first four-page newsletter of the association space. This will also be a medium for the associations wishing for coverage. It’s planned to be quarterly. It is distributed in public places, annex town halls, territorial directions.
NP: What do you think about the tax on the use of public domain for associations? It is a blow for them. How can the town hall assist them in compensating for this additional expense?
DE: No one in the town hall denies that it is a blow. When the ordinance was issued in June, we considered that we apply laws and ordinances. The Senator Mayor intervened with the government to request the withdrawal of this ordinance. The solution found by the City of Nice is the least bad. A resolution was presented to the municipal council for associations using public domain for humanitarian, social purposes, solidarity and welfare works to only have to pay a €5 tax. It is almost symbolic. It is currently the least bad solution, hoping this ordinance will be repealed to revert to the previous situation.
NP: Is it possible to find compensatory solutions, maybe advertising?
DE: If it represents a sum too significant for the associations’ purpose, at the time an association submits its grant request to the City of Nice, regardless of the concerned service, we can include this amount in the allotted grant.
