Decision : 35 COM 7B.103
Historic Centre of the City of Yaroslavl (Russian Federation) (C 1170)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,

2. Recalling Decision 33 COM 7B.120, adopted at its 33rd session (Seville, 2009),

3. Takes notes of the information provided by the State Party in its state of conservation report and expresses its deep concern about interventions carried out by the State Party, as well as a large number of completed and proposed development and construction projects that have not been submitted to the World Heritage Centre in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;

4. Reiterates its utmost concern about the lack of follow-up in response to the 2009 reactive monitoring mission recommendations, and in particular the:

a) establishment and approval, in conformity with the official juridical documents, of the process of review and delivery of the building permissions within the boundary of the property and its buffer zone,

b) official submission of all projects which could impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property to the World Heritage Centre, for review, prior to any approval and delivery of the building permissions,

c) transparency of the planning and decision making processes,

d) designation by the Federal authorities of the administration in charge of the process of monitoring of the state of conservation of the property,

e) adequate human resources for the management and monitoring of the property,

f) establishment of a limitation for excessive use and opening of underground spaces within the boundaries of the World Heritage property and its buffer zone,

g) avoidance of the use of new and inappropriate materials (such as metal and glass) as main materials on the facades,

h) implementation of restrictions of outdoor advertisements;

5. Strongly reiterates its requests to submit to the World Heritage Centre information on any construction or development projects that may have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property in conformance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and requests the State Party to halt any such ongoing projects which may have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, until these projects can be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the World Heritage Committee;

6. Strongly urges the State Party to establish an appropriate management system for the property to handle planning permissions in a clear and transparent manner, and to ensure that there is an effective coordination between the authorities concerned and stakeholders;

7. Expresses serious concern that the ongoing changes to the horizontal urban skyline, and the quantity and scale of new construction and development projects within the property have had a negative impact on the urban planning scheme of the 18th century and the architectural monuments of the 16th and 17th centuries, and therefore constituting an ascertained threat to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;

8. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to the Historic Centre of Yaroslavl to assess the state of conservation of the property. This mission should also review the existing management system and decision-making mechanism for the property, including legislative and regulatory framework, institutional arrangements and existing planning tools;

9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2012, a state of conservation report for the property that addresses the above points for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.