LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BRIEF Town Planning Ordinance (Chapter 131) APPROVED TSEUNG KWAN O OUTLINE ZONING PLAN NO. S/TKO/28 INTRODUCTION At the meeting of the Executive Council on 1 June 2021, the Council ADVISED and the Chief Executive ORDERED that the draft Tseung Kwan O Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/TKO/27A should be approved under section 9(1)(a) of the Town Planning Ordinance (the Ordinance). The plan is now renumbered as No. S/TKO/28. AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT TSEUNG KWAN O OZP NO. S/TKO/26 SINCE ITS REFERENCE BACK 2. Since the reference back of the approved Tseung Kwan O OZP No. S/TKO/26 on 17 December 2019, the draft Tseung Kwan O OZP No. S/TKO/27 (the draft OZP) incorporating the amendments was exhibited on 19 June 2020 for public inspection under section 5 of the Ordinance. The major amendments to the matters shown on the draft OZP include the rezoning of: (a) a site at Chiu Shun Road from an area shown as ‘MTR Pak Shing Kok Ventilation Building’ and “Green Belt” (“GB”) to “Residential (Group A)8” (“R(A)8”) with stipulation of building height restriction of 130mPD to allow for residential use (Amendment Item A); and (b) a strip of land along Chiu Shun Road from an area shown as ‘MTR Pak Shing Kok Ventilation Building’ to ‘Road’ to form part of the future footpath (Amendment Item B). 3. The amendments to the Notes of the approved Tseung Kwan O OZP No. S/TKO/26 include the revision to the Remarks of the Notes for the “Residential (Group A)” zone to incorporate development restrictions including plot ratio (PR) restriction of 6 for the “R(A)8” zone; and technical amendments in accordance with the latest version of the Master Schedule of Notes to Statutory Plans. Opportunities had also been taken to update the Explanatory Statement to reflect the latest status and planning circumstances of the draft OZP. REPRESENTATIONS AND COMMENTS ON REPRESENTATIONS 4. During the exhibition of the draft OZP, 130 valid representations were received. On 4 September 2020, the representations were published for comment and six valid comments on the representations (comments) were received. The representations and comments were considered by the Board at its meeting held on 19 February 2021. The main grounds and proposals of the representations and the comments together with the main points of the Board’s response and decisions are highlighted in the following paragraphs. Representations 5. 129 out of 130 valid representations were adverse representations objecting to the amendment items. Among them, 100 representations (R1 to R10, R13 to R102) objected to both Amendment Items A and B and 29 representations (R11, R12, R103 to R129) objected to Amendment Item A only; and the remaining one representation (R130) provided views on the amendments. The adverse representations were submitted by 12 members of Sai Kung District Council (SKDC) (including two then members of SKDC) (R1 to R12); the Owners’ Committee of Nan Fung Plaza (R13); two concern groups, namely, No More Junk Bay (R14) and Sai Kung Planning Concern Front (R15); and 114 individuals. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (R130) provided views on the amendments. Grounds/Proposals of Representations 6. The major grounds and proposals of the representations on Amendment Item A are summarised below1 – Adverse Representations (R1 to R129) Housing Needs and Infill Residential Development (a) the density in Hang Hau/Tseung Kwan O was already too high. The rezoning of the site for the proposed building height restriction (BHR) of 130mPD did not comply with the stepped height urban design principle in the area. Infill residential development could not resolve the housing shortage. Additional public housing had already been provided at Chiu Shun Road. The Government should consider other available land use options, such as brownfield and the Tseung Kwan O Area 137. The proposed private housing development could not meet the public housing need and the Government failed to provide public and private housing in the ratio of 70:30; Impact on Greenery (b) the proposed development was not in line with the planning intention 1 R1 to R10, R13 to R102 objected to Amendment Item B without providing any ground/reason. Page 2 of the “GB” zone. It would reduce the greenery provision in the area and cause damage to the natural hillside area. The existing trees which were recommended to be removed appeared healthier than the descriptions in the tree survey report. Green panorama could mitigate odour and environmental impact of landfill; Impacts on Air Ventilation and Local Environment (c) the proposed high-rise development would create and/or exacerbate the ‘walled effect’, which would adversely affect the wind circulation. It would also generate adverse air ventilation impact on the surrounding area and lead to ‘heat island effect’ and increase the use of electricity from air-conditioning. The Air Ventilation Assessment report did not provide sufficient information on the impact on the wind corridor along Chiu Shun Road; (d) the proposed development would worsen the air quality in the locality due to the reduction of green area and lesser air ventilation. It would also obstruct natural sunlight and affect the residents’ well-being. Open views of the nearby residents towards the green hillside would be adversely affected; Noise and Air Quality Impacts (e) the proposed site was unsuitable for living as there was significant traffic noise. The construction of the proposed development would cause noise nuisance/ air pollution to the surrounding residents; Traffic Impact (f) the proposed development would increase traffic flow and exacerbate the traffic congestion in the area (e.g. at Tseung Kwan O Tunnel). Existing transport facilities (including parking spaces)/services (including bus and minibus services) and the already saturated MTR rail facilities/services were inadequate to support the proposed population; (g) the Traffic Impact Assessment did not cover all the affected areas and failed to demonstrate the impact of the proposed development on the whole Tseung Kwan O area; Provision of Community Facilities (h) the provisions of educational and medical facilities, hospital, recreational area/open space were inadequate in the area. The amendment would further reduce recreational and public space in Hang Hau. Additional recreational, educational and other community facilities (e.g. municipal building, market, recreational space, elderly centre, community centre or car park) should be provided in the area/at the site; Page 3 Impact on Traditions (i) the impact on fung shui and burial grounds in nearby villages (e.g. Fat Tau Chau Village) had not been considered; Other Aspects (j) there would be potential health issues to the future residents living atop the ventilation building as well as potential safety risk for the proposed development in close proximity to the slope; (k) there were no precedent cases and evidence showing that the operation of the ventilation building would not be affected. The proposal would involve complex construction works and huge cost. It was unfounded and unscientific to justify in the technical assessments that there would be no adverse impacts based on the small scale of the development; (l) there had not been sufficient public consultation and the views of SKDC and the opposing views of residents nearby (i.e. La Cite Noble) had not been taken into consideration; (m) the proposed development involved transfer of benefits between the Government and MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL); and Representation Providing Views on Amendment Item A (n) as the proposed development was in close proximity to a high pressure pipeline along Chiu Shun Road, the future developer should conduct a Quantitative Risk Assessment and consult the Hong Kong and China Gas Co. Ltd. (R130) as appropriate. Comments on the Representations 7. Among the six valid comments from MTRCL (C1) and individuals (C2 to C6) received, one commenter (C6) was also a representer (R94). The grounds/views of the comments are summarized below - C1 to C4 (a) the proposed residential development was an initiative in response to the Policy Address to explore the development potential along railways with the objective to increase housing supply. Technical assessments conducted confirmed that no significant adverse impact would result from the proposed development from air ventilation, environmental, traffic, sewerage, drainage, geotechnical, landscape and visual aspects. Given the scale of the proposed development, it was unlikely to cause any adverse impact on existing roads, infrastructure, railway network and government, institution or community (GIC) facilities; Page 4 (b) the proposed development utilised an idle site to increase housing supply. Green space was more than sufficient in Tseung Kwan O, hence the proposed development would not cause any impact on the nearby residents; (c) there were precedent cases of residential development atop ventilation building in Yau Tong and rezoning “GB” sites to residential sites in Tseung Kwan O and appropriate requirements, such as improvement on pedestrian crossing facilities and provision of more parking spaces and recreational facilities, could be imposed to help alleviate adverse impacts on the nearby residents. Besides, appropriate planning and design measures could alleviate adverse air ventilation impacts on surrounding developments; (d) single ownership at the proposed development could speed up housing development; C5 and C6 (e) the proposed development would increase the burden on the already inadequate community/social welfare facilities. The Board should question whether there were any GIC facilities that could be relocated to the site to free up better locations elsewhere for elderly and child care facilities, while maintaining the current low rise and unobtrusive ambience; (f) the main function of the “GB” zone was to preserve the natural environment, beautify the city, improve the landscape, and limit excessive development. Its original intention was violated; and (g) as there was no open tender for the proposed development, it appeared to be a transfer of benefits between MTRCL and the Government.