RIGA, Dec 23 (LETA) - Jurmala city council will contest at the Constitutional Court the decision of Environment Protection and Regional Development Minister Arturs Toms Pless (For Development/For) to suspend the regulations of Jurmala local council to start charging entrance toll on motor vehicles entering the town year-round from April 1, and increasing its size, LETA learned from the council's spokeswoman Zane Leite.

Jurmala city council lawmakers today decided not to lift the new regulations. The lawmakers agreed to contest the decision of the minister at the Constitutional Court.

The local council will ask the Constitutional Court to assess the compliance of the minister's decision with the Constitution, the State Administration Structure Law and the Law on Taxes and Duties.

The local council said that the new regulations were adopted in line with the current legislation and their goal is protection of public health and the environment.

As reported, according to the council's decision of September 30, entrance fee should be charged all year round instead of five months a year, and the price has been increased from EUR 2 to EUR 3.

Pless said that the ministry had asked the local council to revise this decision. "Unfortunately, the local council has not assessed the intensity of the tourism sector, transit traffic flow, air pollution. The council has not assessed the overall necessity of these regulations and public interest in this respect. Therefore the ministry has issued a decree to suspend these regulations," the minister said.

The local authority said earlier that the resort city is changing the regulation in order to reduce the intensity of transit traffic through Jurmala and encourage people to use more environmentally friendly modes of transport.