Helsinki does not plan to expropriate land in annexed Sipoo area

Land deals free of tax at least until the end of January 2009

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The City of Helsinki is not planning to expropriate private landowners’ property in the area in the southwest of Sipoo that is to be merged with the capital city at the beginning of 2009.
      ”Negotiations are to be conducted on a voluntarily basis, which has always been the custom in Helsinki”, says Mikael Nordqvist, the head of the Helsinki Real Estate Department.
      The capital wants to conclude voluntary deals with landowners rather than issuing compulsory purchase orders, and to offer them land use contracts.
     
At the moment, land purchases would be more beneficial as they will be exempt from taxes until the end of January. In other words, if a landowner or a deceased person's estate sells land to a municipality, the seller will not have to pay the 5.6 % tax on the sale price.
      ”It would be sensible that the state would continue the tax exemption even after January”, hopes Nordqvist.
      Helsinki would also be willing to swap land with landowners. The capital has excellent prospects for engineering such a swap as it is the largest landowner in the annexed area.
      Helsinki owns 850 hectares of land and nearly 200 hectares of water in the area.
     
A number of landowners have already contacted the Real Estate Department, which is conducting the negotiations, Nordqvist reports.
      At the same time, it is being rumoured that some speculators have also tried to make deals with private landowners in order to benefit from the anticipated increase in the value of land later on when the development plan has been completed.
      ”If necessary, the capital will use its pre-emptive right”, the head of the Real Estate Department points out.
      Helsinki is interested particularly in the area between the Porvoo motorway and the Uusi Porvoontie road (see map), where new housing has been planned.
      ”The land areas owned by the capital are well located on both sides of the motorway”, Nordqvist notes.
     
However, zoning in the areas is still open, according to Nordqvist.
      ”Currently, the capital is having two surveys made, relating to where the new Metro line would be located and whether or not a light rail system would be a suitable option, among others”, reports Tuomas Rajajärvi, the head of the Helsinki City Planning Department.
      Helsinki intends to start discussing the planning principles of the annexed Sipoo areas before the end of the current year. The aim is to decide how many residents each district would have and what type of residences would be built in the area.
     
The plan is to build homes for tens of thousands of residents. Today, some 2,000 people live in the area.
      At the moment, a ban on new building applies to almost the entire annexed area, including even Sipoo’s Itäsalmi area, the zoning of which has already been confirmed.
      According to previous plans, Sipoo was supposed to build a large commercial centre in a site of 90 hectares in Itäsalmi.
      ”It is a valuable site, but no talks have been conducted with Helsinki in this respect”, notes Christel Liljeström, the chair of the Sipoo Municipal Board.
      A meeting with Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen will be arranged for residents on Tuesday November 4th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Sakarinmäki school in Sipoo’s Itäsalmi, address: Knutersintie 924.
      It will also be possible to follow the event online. The address of the new Helsinki channel is www.helsinkikanava.fi.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sipoo demands 10 to 40 times more than Helsinki ready to pay for annexation (23.9.2008)
  Minister of Housing believes in merger of Helsinki and Vantaa (19.9.2008)
  Helsinki gets go-ahead to annex southwest Sipoo (15.1.2008)
  Helsinki looks further east beyond Sipoo (16.1.2008)
  Helsinki wants to expand to western parts of Sipoo (20.6.2006)

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