Elite village quietly grows in Northwest Chelyabinsk forest

Since the end of last year, residents of Chelyabinsk have been worried about the fate of the ski base on Komsomolsky Prospekt and the forest behind it due to plans for high-rise construction. But residents of the northwest say this is not the only threat to the place where city dwellers love to spend time. The fact is that several years ago, a plot in the center of the forest began to be developed with elite cottages, and today there are already about two dozen of them. We walked around the village, talked to residents, and found out whether the construction is legal.

«Why is construction allowed?»

A resident of the Northwest contacted the editorial office of 74.RU, concerned that nothing will be left of the forest in the coming years.

«While everyone is discussing the issue of development at the ski base on Komsomolsky, in the very center of the forest, elite cottages are being built. Previously, there were a few houses (the legality of which is unclear), but now, in two years, their number has doubled or even tripled. Moreover, construction is still ongoing. The houses are fresh, new, and no one even lives in them yet. And for some reason, everyone is silent about this. On what basis and why are they allowed to build elite cottages there? Why are there more and more of them every year?» — said Dmitry, outraged. — «While everyone is looking at the »Brusniki« corner, no one will notice how the forest is cut down from the very center.»

Originating from the 90s

We went to the location and walked around the elite village in the forest. The access road leads from Zakharenko Street, although the road is illegal.

In the village, there are several inhabited houses, but most are indeed still under construction and unoccupied. Almost all — behind high fences and of immodest size. And even if not all look luxurious yet, the surroundings are peaceful — no cars, neon signs, here even on a winter day, tits sing, the rhythmic tapping of a woodpecker is heard, and the pure white snow dazzles to tears. Not far from the houses, a ski track is groomed; from time to time, skiers, owners with dogs, and simply walkers who decided to breathe fresh air flicker between the trees.

«Yes, they are illegal, they should be demolished!» — grumbled in response to my question about the houses a passing elderly skier.

Catching the homeowners on a weekday is not easy, but we were lucky.

«These plots were allocated back in the early 90s. They have practically all been resold many times over,» — says the owner of one of the cottages.

The man recalls that he bought the plot he liked in the 2000s, started building the house in 2010, and moved in in 2014. So, he — is one of the old-timers of the village. We ask why most of the houses only started being built now?

«Because there was no electricity here, nothing at all, and now electricity has been connected, construction began. Everyone hopes that gas will be connected,» — he says. — «There»s no road either, the access — is not a road. Water — from a well, sewage — a septic tank.«

According to the homeowner, several years ago electricity was extended to the plot, but the line was too weak, and there were interruptions. And in 2024, the line was reconstructed, and for now there are no problems with electricity, but not all houses are occupied, and they are huge, so consumption will be high.

Despite the absence of civilization«s comforts, the homeowner says he likes this place — silence, peace, and even vacationers try to bypass the village.

By the way, we looked at a listings website; one of the cottages, with an area of 260 square meters with a sauna and garage, is listed for sale for 65 million rubles (approximately $650,000 at current rates).

A plot in the forest, but it«s not a forest?

We asked representatives of the city administration how cottages appeared in the forest on Zakharenko? And the mayor«s office responded that everything is legal.

«The territory for individual residential development on Listvennaya Street was formed in 1994–1996 as block No. 30 in microdistrict No. 56. In this block, 28 plots were formalized and provided for ownership for the construction of individual residential houses. For a long time, the territory was not developed by the owners. Now they are building individual residential houses here, which corresponds to the provisions of Chelyabinsk»s general plan and the city«s land use and development rules. Construction on Listvennaya Street is carried out on legal grounds,» — assured the mayor«s office. — »Construction permits are issued by the urban planning permits department of the Chelyabinsk administration.

That is, the plots in the forest were allocated even before the construction of the Parkovy microdistrict began. In theory, they were supposed to become the outskirts of the city, but now they are effectively in the center of the Northwest. The mayor«s office says that at that time, the plot with birches and pines did not yet have the status of a city forest.

«This plot belongs to zone V.1.2, where individual housing construction is permitted — estate and cottage-type houses. This block does not have the status of a city forest and is outside the land plot formed on May 30, 2016, for the operation of the city forest,» — added the administration.

Now on the cadastral map, the plot with cottages is highlighted as a white spot. It is clearly visible from satellite, and if compared on the map, for example, with 2019, it is evident that the number of houses has noticeably increased, but the development spot has not changed.

The mayor«s office assured that expansion of block No. 30 is not planned. We can only hope that it remains so.

Recall that in 2020, in the forest on Zakharenko, trees were cut down for an illegal road to the cottages.

And also, there is a lonely panel building in the grove. You«ll be surprised, but it has all the permits. We tell how this was pulled off.