Approved Chai Wan Outline Zoning Plan No

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BRIEF Town Planning Ordinance (Chapter 131) APPROVED CHAI WAN OUTLINE ZONING PLAN NO. S/H20/25 INTRODUCTION At the meeting of the Executive Council on 4 May 2021, the Council ADVISED and the Chief Executive ORDERED that the draft Chai Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/H20/24A should be approved under section 9(1)(a) of the Town Planning Ordinance (the Ordinance). The plan is now renumbered as No. S/H20/25. AMENDMENTS TO THE APPROVED CHAI WAN OZP NO. S/H20/23 SINCE ITS REFERENCE BACK 2. Since the reference back of the approved Chai Wan OZP No. S/H20/23 on 7 January 2020, the draft Chai Wan OZP No. S/H20/24 (the draft OZP) incorporating the amendments was exhibited on 19 June 2020 for public inspection under section 5 of the Ordinance. The major amendments were mainly to take forward (i) an approved s.12A application No. Y/H20/4 submitted by the Fire Services Department (FSD) for rezoning a site for the proposed ambulance depot and departmental quarters (DQ) of FSD, which was agreed by the Metro Planning Committee of the Board on 28 July 2017 (under Amendment Item A); and (ii) a proposed public housing development (under Amendment Items B1 and B2). Details of Amendment Items A, B1 and B2 are set out below: (a) rezoning of a site at the junction of Sun Yip Street and Siu Sai Wan Road from “Government, Institution or Community” (“G/IC”) to “G/IC(4)” with stipulation of building height restriction (BHR) of 100mPD for the proposed ambulance depot and departmental quarters (Amendment Item A); and (b) rezoning of (i) a site at Cheung Man Road from “Green Belt” (“GB”) and an area shown as ‘Road’ to “Residential (Group A)” (“R(A)”) with stipulation of BHR of 135mPD for proposed public housing development (Amendment Item B1) ; and (ii) two strips of land near Cheung Man Road from “GB” to areas shown as ‘Road’ to reflect an existing pedestrian staircase/passageway and proposed road widening works (Amendment Item B2). REPRESENTATIONS AND COMMENTS 3. During the public exhibition of the draft OZP, a total of two valid representations were received. On 1 September 2020, the representations were published for comments and a total of four valid comments on representations (comments) were received. The representations and comments were heard by the Board at its meeting on 29 January 2021. The main grounds of the representations and comments together with the main points of the Board’s responses and decisions are highlighted in the following paragraphs. Representations 4. Among the two valid representations submitted by individuals, one representation (R1) was supportive to Amendment Item B1 and the other representation (R2) objected to all amendment items (i.e. Amendment Items A, B1 and B2). The main grounds/views of the representations and the representers’ proposals are summarised below - Supporting Representation (R1) (a) R1 supported Amendment Item B1 and proposed that elevators or escalators should be installed for the public to travel between Cheung Man Road and Island Eastern Corridor for easier access to Eastern Hospital and the adjoining schools from the MTR Chai Wan Station; Adverse Representation (R2) Amendment Item A (b) R2 queried why the ambulance depot and DQ had to be developed at the Amendment Item A site and the “G/IC” site should be used to meet community needs especially in providing elderly and child care facilities; (c) there would be noise impact arising from the operation of the ambulance depot on the nearby area, i.e. the sirens of ambulance especially at night time, even with the mitigation measures implemented; Amendment Items B1 and B2 (d) Amendment Item B1 site was a vegetated area zoned “GB” and formed an integral part of the green lung. The area should be preserved amid the densely populated area for visual, Page 2 environmental and ecological concerns. The public housing development would involve felling of trees and vegetation and compensation planting could not improve the local air quality; and (e) the air ventilation assessment and visual impact assessment showed negative impacts arisen from the proposed public housing development. The use of acoustic installations with non- openable windows in the proposed building would block natural ventilation. The impacts arising from the existing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility near Cheung Man Road and traffic noise had been downplayed. Comments 5. The four comments were submitted by MTR Corporation Limited (C1) and three individuals (C2 to C4). The major grounds of comments are summarised below - (a) C1 expressed that noise from train operations could be a concern to the future occupants of the proposed public housing site under Amendment Items B1 and B2. The Housing Department (HD) should conduct an Environmental Assessment Study including a Railway Noise Impact Assessment and implement any necessary noise mitigation measures at the site to ensure full compliance with statutory requirements; (b) C2 supported Amendment Item B1 for developing idle area for residential use. The Government should adopt a multi-pronged approach in increasing housing land supply; (c) C3 supported R2 against Amendment Item B1 as land in the New Territories could be developed for residential use, and traffic conditions of Cheung Man Road and the whole Chai Wan area would suffer after the public housing development was completed; and (d) C4 (i.e. R2) opposed the rezoning of “G/IC” site under Amendment Item A as there was a shortage of elderly facilities in the district and the site should be developed for elderly facilities. The Board’s Decision 6. On 29 January 2021, after giving consideration to the representations and comments, the Board noted the supportive views of representation No. R1. The Board also decided not to uphold representation Page 3 No. R2 and considered that the draft OZP should not be amended to meet the representations for the following reasons: Amendment Item A (a) the “G/IC(4)” zone with a BHR of 100mPD was considered appropriate for the proposed joint ambulance depot and DQ development. Relevant technical assessments had been conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed development. No noise issue was anticipated as suitable mitigation measures would be implemented; (b) the Government had adopted a multi-pronged approach with long, medium and short-term strategies to identify suitable sites or premises for the provision of more welfare services which were in acute demand. Elderly facilities would be provided in the proposed public housing development at Cheung Man Road in Chai Wan to address the current shortfall; and Amendment Items B1 and B2 (c) the “Residential (Group A)” zone with a BHR of 135mPD was considered appropriate to facilitate the proposed public housing development to meet the housing need of the community. Relevant technical assessments had been conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed public housing development. There was no insurmountable technical problem after the implementation of all the relevant building design and mitigation measures. 7. A folder containing the statements submitted by the representers and commenters, and their submissions, if any, presented to the Board at the meeting, and the relevant Board papers and minutes of meetings have been deposited at the Executive Council Secretariat for Members’ inspection. IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSALS 8. The approval of the draft OZP itself has civil service, economic, financial, environmental, family, gender and sustainability implications. 9. On civil service implications, the rezoning proposal under Amendment Item A would provide land for the reprovisioning of the existing sub-standard ambulance depot at Hing Wah Estate to meet civil service needs and the current standard, and to expedite DQ projects for FSD. 10. On economic implications, residential units will be provided for FSD’s staff and qualified general public under Amendment Items A and B respectively. The two proposals will help meeting the overall housing demand in Hong Kong. Page 4 11. Regarding financial implications, all Amendment Items do not involve any land acquisition and should have no land revenue implication. The capital cost of the ambulance depot and DQ for FSD's staff under Amendment Item A will be funded under the Capital Works Reserve Fund, while the capital cost of the public housing development under Amendment Item B1 will be borne by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. For the proposed social welfare facilities, the construction and fitting-out cost will be met by Lotteries Fund, and additional resources for the operation cost of these facilities, if required, will be sought under the established mechanism. 12. Regarding environmental implications, insurmountable environmental impacts arising from the rezoning proposals are not anticipated. For the proposed ambulance depot and DQ at Amendment Item A site, the environmental assessment carried out under the approved s.12A planning application No. Y/H20/4 has concluded that with implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, adverse environmental impacts, including noise impact from the proposed ambulance depot, are not anticipated. For the proposed public housing at Amendment Item B1 site, insurmountable environmental impacts (e.g. air and noise impacts) arising from the proposed development are not anticipated with implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. Preliminary Environmental Review and Environmental Assessment Study will be carried out by the relevant departments at the detailed design stage to ascertain the environmental acceptability of the proposed ambulance depot and DQ, and public housing development respectively 13. Regarding family implications, under Amendment Item A, the provision of departmental quarters could help improving the overall living environment of some families of the civil servants and greater family harmony could be fostered. Under Amendment Item B1, the provision of social welfare facilities including a Day Care Centre for the Elderly and Home Care Services for Elderly Persons will have positive impact on families.

Load more