Hundreds of Legally Permitted Buildings Could Be at Risk
Former Kalymnos mayor and current municipal councillor Dimitris Diakomichalis has warned that failure to formally recognise the island’s municipal road network could have serious consequences, potentially affecting even properties constructed with valid building permits.
In a letter dated July 22, 2026, addressed to Mayor of Kalymnos Ioannis Mastrokoukos, Mr Diakomichalis calls for the immediate mapping, recognition and legal safeguarding of the island’s entire municipal road network and public spaces as part of the Local Urban Plan currently being prepared.
According to the letter, the issue had already been highlighted by the Technical Chamber of Greece’s Standing Committee in Kalymnos and by the three-member committee acting as a liaison with ROIKOS S.A., the company responsible for preparing the Local Urban Plan.
Mr Diakomichalis argues that the municipality should already have commissioned a comprehensive study documenting all existing roads within Kalymnos’ settlements, together with every municipal public space under the ownership or control of the Municipality of Kalymnos.
The study, he says, should be followed by a regulatory decision of the Municipal Council formally recognising the roads and organising their legal operation. The resulting data should then be incorporated into the Local Urban Plan and aligned with the relevant cadastral records.
The former mayor warns that unless this process is completed promptly, roads long considered municipal could suddenly emerge as unrecognised or even “administratively non-existent.”
Such a development, he argues, could place dozens or hundreds of buildings in legal uncertainty, despite having been constructed under valid permits. Many of those permits were issued on the basis that the properties faced a recognised municipal road. If the roads are not formally recorded in urban-planning and cadastral documents, the legal status of the affected buildings could be called into question.
Mr Diakomichalis is urging the mayor to bring the issue before the Municipal Council immediately and commission the necessary road-mapping study, ensuring that it corresponds with cadastral records across all settlements, beginning with Pothia.
He also calls for a legal review to confirm that roads and public spaces have been properly registered in the name and ownership of the Municipality of Kalymnos. He proposes assigning the process to a specialised law firm, citing measures reportedly taken by other island municipalities in the Dodecanese, including Symi.
“Your responsibility is enormous, and you have not understood the scale of the damage that could occur,” Mr Diakomichalis states in his letter, urging the municipal administration to recognise the seriousness of the issue and take immediate action.
