Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – The Milan City Council approved a motion with 22 votes in favor, 6 against, and no abstentions. The motion calls for suspending the current Environmental Impact Assessment (SEA) process for the transformation of the San Siro area, including the project for the new Inter and AC Milan stadium and the partial demolition of the Meazza stadium, in order to initiate a unified process that integrates the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) with the Health Impact Assessment (HIA).
The motion was signed by, among others, Democrats Alessandro Giungi and Rosario Pantaleo, Mixed Group councilor Enrico Fedrighini, and Marco Fumagalli of LaCivica Milano.
The document was supported by the centre-right councillors, the signatories, the Democrats Michele Albiani and Federico Bottelli and the three Green Party representatives Francesca Cucchiara, Tommaso Gorini and Michele Sacerdoti.
Voting against the Speaker of the Chamber Elena Buscemi, the reformists Gianmaria Radice and Giulia Pastorella, the Democrats Elisabetta Nigris and Roberta Osculati, and Mauro Orso of LaCivica.
The aim of the agenda is to ask the proponents to prepare a single environmental report, no longer divided into two sections, which considers the entire Gfu San Siro project and its overall, immediate and cumulative effects on the area.
The document also calls for the inclusion of a binding VIS in the SEA procedure, to be made public prior to approval of the Implementation Plan, making health compatibility a necessary condition for the project's approval.
Any health requirements must be mandatory and translated into concrete commitments, with responsible parties, deadlines, thresholds, controls, and consequences for non-compliance. If critical issues arise, the project should be modified to address them; if a persistent health incompatibility persists, the proposed configuration should not be approved. The text also specifies that the absence of data cannot be considered proof of the absence of risks.
Particular attention is required for the most vulnerable population groups, with specific in-depth analyses of the effects on children and adolescents, pregnant women, the elderly, and vulnerable individuals. The analyses should also consider schools, including the Negri complex, healthcare facilities, and homes, extending the study area to include the actual impacts, even beyond the indicative distances of 100 and 500 meters.
Finally, the agenda requires the administration to report within 15 days to the relevant committees and the Council on the methods, timeframes, resources, and actions required to implement the commitments undertaken. It also provides for at least quarterly updates and timely communications in the event of environmental or health issues, with information publicly available and accessible to citizens.
Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo has expressed a negative opinion on the agenda. The SEA, Scavuzzo says, "concerns the entire implementation plan, which is the one we voted on together. The plan includes a first-level section and the partial demolition of the Meazza Stadium. Then there will be a second section, with tertiary and commercial functions. We are considering a single approach. We have already guaranteed, and it is in the process of discussions and further investigation, that a commission be set up to define the more complex technical aspects, from the initial opinion, to the collection of assessments, to the environmental and health impact assessment. The process is at its infancy. Therefore, I am issuing a negative opinion and will refer the proposal to a commission where the approaches can be further detailed."
Brothers of Italy group leader Riccardo Truppo emphasized that the vote "leaves the center-right coalition stunned by the sudden and sensational U-turn by the center-left majority. This political majority is literally laughable. It's surreal to see how they're only now realizing the validity of our arguments regarding the stadium's preservation and the risks associated with hasty decisions for the city. We firmly reiterate that not providing Milan with a new, modern and efficient stadium would represent serious economic and image damage for the Lombardy capital. At the same time, this latest short circuit irrefutably highlights how the center-left political leadership is completely incapable of managing the city's most complex and strategic issues."
Forza Italia city councilor Alessandro De Chirico emphasized that "this evening the city council voted on a motion to try to curb the arrogance of AC Milan and Inter, who think they can do what they think is right, ignoring public health in the new stadium project." "I have always believed that my neighborhood needs private investment to have a second chance, but no matter the cost. As public administrators, we cannot turn a blind eye, and for this reason, along with 21 colleagues from both the majority and opposition parties, I voted to request, within the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), an environmental report drawn up on the basis of a unified and comprehensive project. Furthermore, we requested a Health Impact Assessment (HIA), making compatibility with public health protection a prerequisite for the project's implementation," he concluded.
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