Gallery: Businessman sows grain on plot of land in Tallinn's Old Town
Heino Viik, a businessman who has been arguing with the Tallinn City Government for ten years about a plot of land in front of St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town and grew potatoes on the land last year, decided to sow grain there this year.
On Friday, the land at Harju 30 was ploughed and grain seeds were sown in the fresh soil.
Last year, Viik, who has been locked in dispute for the past decade with Tallinn City Council over the plot of land located in front of St. Nicholas' Church, finally decided to make practical use of his land and planted potatoes there. The 715 square meter property at Harju 30 is owned by Viik's company Uranos OÜ.
A zoning plan involving the property and allowing for construction was approved in 2000, but was not implemented.
In accordance with a March 9, 2006 decision of Tallinn City Council, it was decided to landscape the property and erect a monument to the March 9, 1944 bombing of Tallinn there.In 2007, the city, unauthorized, built two structures on Viik's property: a reinforced concrete wall on Trepi Street, and one post of Nõelasilma Gate, paving the way for lengthy litigation.
The owner of the property at Harju 30, OÜ Uranos, had not given its consent for this construction work.
According to the businessman, however, the bigger issue is the fact that while the property's intended purpose is officially zoned as 50 percent residential land and 50 percent commercial land and Uranos OÜ has paid nearly €60,000 in land tax over the past 14 years, he nonetheless cannot use the property, as the city is blocking the necessary permits.
Viik noted that he would actually like to sell the property to the city, with an asking price of €1.6 million. According to the owner's calculations, the 715 square meter property is currently worth €3.2 million, but he is willing to sell at half price.
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Editor: Helen Wright