After the balcony collapse at Villa Turković, the City states that the safety of private buildings falls under the jurisdiction of the construction inspectorate, while public areas are being addressed in phases.
The recent collapse of a balcony in the courtyard of Villa Turković at Šetalište XIII. divizije 44, where two minors were saved only by the swift intervention of firefighters, has raised questions about the safety of hazardous locations on Rijeka's Pećine. The City of Rijeka has responded to Novi list's inquiry about remediation and oversight plans for these areas.
The city administration stated that the balcony collapse does not fall under municipal order but rather concerns the safety and stability of the building's load-bearing structure, for which the Construction Inspectorate of the State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia is responsible.
The response emphasizes that the City of Rijeka has no legal basis or authority to order a private owner to remediate a building's structure or secure the interior of private property. "The City of Rijeka has no legal basis or authority to issue an order to a private owner for the remediation of the building's structure itself or to secure the interior of private property, which falls under the jurisdiction of the construction inspectorate, nor to take action against citizens who enter private spaces without authorization, which is the responsibility of the police," the City of Rijeka's response states.
To nonetheless encourage resolution of the issue, the City has sent a letter to the Construction Inspectorate and has called for the implementation of measures within its jurisdiction, namely conducting oversight of neglected privately owned buildings in the city area.
The City particularly appeals to young people and parents of minors to avoid entering abandoned and dilapidated buildings and to refrain from jumping into the sea from rocks, piers, breakwaters, and other places not designated for that purpose. "Such behavior can have very serious consequences," the City warns.
They also note that under Article 31 of the Law on Ownership and Other Real Rights, property owners are obliged to act considerately toward general and other interests, while Article 108 of the Law on Construction defines the obligation of the investor, i.e., the owner, to take urgent safety measures in case of damage to eliminate immediate danger to people and property. "Placing physical barriers, fences, warning signs, and actively preventing third parties from entering dangerous and damaged private property is a legal obligation of the owner themselves," the response states.
Regarding municipal enforcement, it conducts oversight in the part related to the cleanliness and tidiness of building parts and courtyards visible from public areas, within its legal authority. In the specific case of Villa Turković, the courtyard directly borders a public area, so oversight is conducted precisely in that visible part.
On the question of cooperation with relevant ministries and the State Attorney's Office to untangle property-legal relations on the maritime domain, the City notes that this is a very complex issue, especially for buildings from previous historical periods. "Drafting proposals for maritime domain boundaries constitutes extraordinary management of the maritime domain, while regular management of the maritime domain falls under the City's jurisdiction," they explain.
In the area of the City of Rijeka, a cadastral survey is currently underway, which serves as the basis for renewing land registries, as the state of land records is inconsistent with the actual situation on the ground. In these procedures, the competent authorities are the Ministry of Justice, Administration, and Digital Transformation, the State Geodetic Administration, and municipal courts, with the City of Rijeka also participating.
The City of Rijeka emphasizes that all critical sites are included in long-term remediation and development plans, but due to the scale and high financial and technical demands of interventions on the maritime domain, the implementation pace must be phased. "All critical structures and locations will be covered by remediation, but budgetary and operational resources dictate addressing them by urgency, as unfortunately, not all projects can be realized simultaneously," they state.
The City's professional services continuously inspect the entire coastal belt at Pećine, and based on field surveys and detailed condition assessments, the Maritime Domain Maintenance Plan is systematically developed and updated. "All potentially dangerous locations are promptly and adequately addressed or at least temporarily secured. In this regard, the priority is fencing off physically unsafe areas until permanent remediation, with the aim of maximizing the protection of human life and health," they convey.
As an example of good practice, they cite the protection of rock slopes at Grčevo, Sablićevo, and Glavanovo beaches carried out in recent years. A public procurement procedure is currently underway to select a contractor for slope protection works on the stretch from Borik to Ružićevo beach.
"Our primary strategy is to first fully resolve the safety issue, and only after these areas are declared completely safe for movement are further aesthetic and functional improvements of the promenades and accompanying paths planned," the City of Rijeka concludes.
