Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (May 18):
Question:
In submitting applications for development to the Town Planning Board ("TPB") and the Administration, real estate developers will invariably propose some development contents or measures to increase the planning merits of their applications for development, such as improving the environment, pedestrian flow and road traffic as well as bringing other additional benefits to the local community, etc., with a view to gaining favourable consideration by TPB and the authorities concerned in vetting their applications. Once an application for development is approved, such contents and measures will be included in the land lease conditions and the conditions to the planning permission (planning conditions) to be executed by the real estate developer concerned. Regarding the execution of these lease conditions and planning conditions, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of current cases in which real estate developers have failed to discharge the relevant lease conditions or implement the requirements under the planning conditions after the completion and occupation of their developments, the locations, outstanding conditions and requirements as well as developers involved, and the reasons for the delay; and
(b) whether the authorities will consider amending their policy by not including in the relevant lease conditions or planning conditions those conditions which the Administration cannot oblige real estate developers to comply with and execute, so as to avoid the possibility of TPB being misled; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
At the outset, I wish to point out that if after the completion and occupation of a development a developer still has not complied with the lease provisions which are planning conditions imposed by TPB it does not necessarily mean that there has been delay on the part of the developer. It may be that the stage where the pre-requisite conditions start to take effect or certain works which enable the implementation of such facilities has yet to be reached.
My reply to the two-part question is as follows:
(a) According to the record, there have been two developments where compliance with some of the requirements under the planning conditions imposed by TPB and included in the relevant lease conditions has yet to take place after the completion and occupation of the developments. Details are provided in the Annex.
(b) When a planning approval is granted, TPB introduces conditions to it under the authority conferred by section 16(5) of the Town Planning Ordinance. To decide whether conditions are to be included in a planning approval, TPB will consider, on the basis of the following three basic principles, namely whether the conditions are-
(i) consistent with the planning intention;
(ii) appropriately and reasonably relevant to the development; and
(iii) reasonable.
If TPB considers any conditions not enforceable, it will not include such conditions when granting the planning approval. As a matter of general principle, Lands Department only incorporates conditions which are enforceable in land leases.
At present, planning enforcement in the urban area is executed generally through land leases and the Buildings Ordinance. If amendments to the land lease or executing a new land lease are involved in any development, conditions to the planning permission will be incorporated into the land lease conditions, requiring the developer to implement such conditions. Moreover, if it is found that the development cannot fulfil the requirement of the conditions to the planning approval in respect of a site when the concerned building plan is vetted, the Administration can refuse to approve the building plan in pursuance of section 16(1)(d) of the Buildings Ordinance.
As the current practice is effective, we consider that there is no need to make any amendment.
Ends/Wednesday, May 18, 2005
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