San Siro, TAR rejects appeals against stadium sale to Inter and Milan

Green light for the definitive design of the new plant. The administrative court of Lombardy has rejected the five appeals presented by associations and citizens that have been presented over the years, the oldest in 2022, against the sale of the San Siro stadium and the surrounding areas by the Municipality to Inter and Milan. The various appeals were brought together in a single hearing which took place on 23 June: in particular, four were declared inadmissible for procedural reasons, while one was rejected on the merits. This is a fundamental step to accelerate the clubs' project for the construction of the new stadium and the consequent demolition of the Meazza.

The appeals

The administrative court does not go into the merits of the "grievances" presented by the appellants in their appeals, except in one case, because as stated the "positions would be non-homogeneous since", for example, "depending on the territorial proximity, the type of injury alleged, the intensity of the damage alleged and the concrete benefit that each appellant could obtain from the possible annulment of the contested acts would change". "Therefore, the prescribed requirement of the identity of substantive and procedural positions constantly required by jurisprudence for the admissibility of the collective appeal would not exist - explains the TAR -. The appeal would be configured, in essence, as a collective initiative aimed at contesting the entire urban planning-patrimonial operation by asserting a plurality of non-overlapping interests and, in part, attributable to a civic or political criticism of the administrative action, which, as such, would not be admitted in our order". The TAR instead rejected on the merits the appeal presented by the municipal councilor of the mister group Enrico Fedrighini who contested the methods with which the Council had given the green light to the sale of the stadium, complaining about the failure to convene some commissions for example and then the use of the so-called kangaroo sub-amendment, with which 214 amendments were eliminated during the discussion. But the TAR rejected the objections.

Municipality: "Rules respected and project improved"

"On San Siro the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court spoke clearly: the city council worked in compliance with the rules", declared the deputy mayor of the municipality of Milan, with responsibility for urban regeneration, Anna Scavuzzo. "Five Commission sessions, over fifteen hours of discussion in the Chamber, a long and true discussion. The resolution was examined correctly and the appeal on the procedure was rejected on the merits. The other appeals were declared inadmissible". "I respect - continues Scavuzzo - those who chose to turn to the judges. But today there is also a political fact: on San Siro the city discussed, debated and in the end chose. That discussion was not a waste of time. It improved the project and set precise commitments. Now it is up to us to respect them: half of the green area, resources for public works, rigorous anti-mafia checks and maximum attention to the quality of the works and the construction site. Now - concludes Scavuzzo - we have the responsibility to best achieve what has been decided."