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Jakarta Post

Don't ignore Kemang residents

The city administration should involve residents in its plan to convert Kemang in South Jakarta into a legal commercial hub, an urban planning expert said Tuesday

Triwik Kurniasari (The Jakarta Post)
JAKARTA
Wed, April 8, 2009

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Don't ignore Kemang residents

The city administration should involve residents in its plan to convert Kemang in South Jakarta into a legal commercial hub, an urban planning expert said Tuesday.

Suryono Herlambang, head of Tarumanagara University's urban planning and real estate department, said there should have been a transparent review of the plan before the administration announced the transformation issue.

"As far as I know, it's normal to have a review of some areas in a city, because a city tends to change dynamically," he told The Jakarta Post.

"The review mechanism must be transparent and involve local residents. But so far, I see the administration has not done this. It has turned out to be a one-sided plan."

He added the administration had offered the public nothing.

"This plan affects many people, especially residents in the area, but it seems the administration only planned the transformation for the sake of business owners' needs."

Wiriyatmoko, head of the city spatial planning agency, said previously the administration planned to turn Kemang into a "modern kampung" with no high-rise buildings. In the plan, businesses will be legalized. The area will be developed like Kuta in Bali, he added.

Kemang used to be a residential area, but has developed into a commercial zone, with dozens of restaurants and bars packing the area.

Currently, there are some 60 caf*s and restaurants, and several hotels in the area. The businesses have to pay regular fines for violating building use regulations.

Suryono said that in planning a face-lift for an area, people who benefitted from the plan should give something back to the public.

"Business owners in the area, for instance, should give part of their land for road-widening work, because they stand to benefit increased property value from the transformation plan," he said.

"If the public demands sidewalks, they should be willing to provide land for the development of the public facility."

Wiriyatmoko said the administration was still discussing arranging a gubernatorial decree on the Kemang master plan.

"There are some plans on Kemang, including restricting on-street parking that has long taken root in the area," he said.

"There have been many violations in the area and we will enforce the law more strictly against violators."

He added houses would still remain in the area, but the administration would not allow high-rise buildings, defined as more than eight storeys tall, be built.

The administration, however, will allow high-rise buildings for residential purposes, he added.

"Some buildings will be removed. If I'm not mistaken there are two buildings in breach of regulation," Wiriyatmoko said.

He said the building managements had requested permits, but had built the buildings before obtaining the permits.

The issue of Kemang's face-lift came to the fore last January.

It was embraced by Stevan Lie, secretary of the Indonesian Association of Caf*s and Restaurants.

Lie said the plan would encourage investment in the city, adding the administration needed to draw up a comprehensive review before starting the development project.

Several residents, however, expressed concern over the impact of such development, including constant noise, traffic jams and pollution.

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