1. Development curbs are years away: planner
Chloe Lai, SCMP, 27 June 2007
Areas facing intense development pressure, such as the waterfront, will be the first to face restrictions under a government plan to impose curbs, which, a top planning official said yesterday would take years and had to be done in secret.
Speaking to legislators, Planning Director Ava Ng Tse Suk-ying did not say how the government would tackle developers who rushed through their applications knowing that curbs were in store.
"It will take a number of years for us to complete the review. We will not disclose the timetable as it must be in strict confidence, or we would compromise the impact of imposing development restrictions," Mrs Ng told a meeting of the Legislative Council's planning, lands and works panel.
She said the impact of restrictions on views, traffic and air flow had to be studied.
Civic Party legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee said developers who rushed their planning would get their construction projects approved by the time the review was done.
"The review will be meaningless. Do you have any plan to stop this from happening?" she asked. Mrs Ng gave no response.
The Town Planning Board is reviewing all outline zoning plans to study whether it needs to impose restrictions on them, in light of a strong public outcry against high-rise and high-density developments.
The board announced this month that it would amend North Point's outline zoning plan. It proposed putting a 100-metre cap on new buildings constructed on the waterfront site of the former North Point estate.
But critics were quick to point out that height restrictions alone would not solve the problem of developers building wall-like towers to maximise sea views.
They demanded a reduction of plot ratios, which govern the amount of floor area developers can build on a site.
Mrs Ng defended the decision, saying height restrictions were more urgent.
She also said cutting the plot ratio was more complicated and would take longer to complete.
Of 108 existing outline zoning plans, 49 have restrictions on plot ratio and building height, in areas including Kowloon Tong and Aberdeen.
Legislators urged the administrators to be transparent about when the restrictions would be imposed, and in which districts; otherwise, small developers and the public might be disadvantaged.
They also called on the government to improve urban design by imposing restrictions through land lease and sales conditions.
2 Lawmakers condemn Urban Renewal Authority over woes of development
Chloe Lai, SCMP, 27 June 2007
Legislators across the political spectrum launched an offensive against the Urban Renewal Authority yesterday. They were particularly angry with the authority's decision to keep the financial information of individual redevelopment projects a secret, despite repeated requests, on the grounds of commercial sensitivity.
Legislators on the planning, lands and works panel also criticised the authority for acting too slowly on redevelopment, forcing people in run-down districts to live in dire conditions. They said it created conflicts between those who lived in the areas and people who had businesses there. They also accused the authority of not being committed to conserving heritage.
They cited the appalling condition of the 800-year-old Nga Tsin Wai village in Wong Tai Sin; the long-awaited Kwun Tong redevelopment; the row between residents and merchants caused by redeveloping part of Sai Yee, Nelson and Fa Yuen streets in Mong Kok - known as "Sneaker Street" for its profusion of sports shoe shops; and the pending demolition of the Bauhaus-style Wan Chai Market.
Deputy secretary for housing, planning and lands Olivia Nip Sai-lan said: "The authority is a player in the property market. How much it earns [in individual projects] has commercial sensitivity."
Albert Ho Chun-yan , chairman of the Democratic Party, said: "The authority [should not] think of making a profit when it is doing its job. Rehousing, compensation and heritage conservation are social duties."
Abraham Razack, of The Alliance, said he had given the Legislative Council financial information on individual projects in the 1990s. He used to head the dissolved Land Development Corporation, the authority's predecessor.
Veteran architect Patrick Lau Sau-shing, also an Alliance member, asked why, if it were committed to heritage conservation, the authority did not take the initiative and talk with developer Chinese Estates Holdings about finding ways to preserve Wan Chai Market.
The authority's executive director, Iris Tam Siu-ying, told the panel: "The contract had been signed and we have to respect the contractual spirit."
