CPU members call for more balance in defining land purposes

The Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) should be more balanced and not opt for a single and restrictive purpose when considering uses of land plots, said members of the Urban Planning Committee (CPU) yesterday.

Álvaro Rodrigues, supported by Vong Kock Kei, among other committee members, noted the DSSCU should allow land owners and developers more options when deciding land purposes for private land plots under the urban conditions plan (PCU).

The DSSCU has proposed only commercial purposes (C1 and C2) for a land plot at Rua Formosa, 16-16A, in central Macau. It has not considered other options, such as residential, for which is what the current building has been used since at least 1966, according to Rodrigues.

The four-story Edifício Campo building is currently  dedicated to housing, including the ground floor.

The DSSCU’s decision under a PCU to change the building’s purpose to commercial use surprised several CPU members with Rodrigues saying that even the building registry shows the building is residential use only.

Another member noted that a PCU issued for the same plot a few years ago referred to its “non-industrial purpose,” a former designation indicating land plots can be used for all purposes except industrial units.

The DSSCU rejected several members’ proposal that an H2 (residential) purpose be added as an option.

The committee’s vice president defended the C1 and C2 designation saying “this area is considered a commercial area and that is why we defined it as commercial purpose,” noting that while other purposes are not excluded, the designation demands that at least 50% of the area should be dedicated to commercial spaces.

Independently of the purpose, the DSSCU has attributed to the plot a maximum construction height of 20.5 meters, a fraction of the height authorized around two years ago to the land plot immediately next door at Rua Formosa 12-14, which the PCU capped at a maximum height of 75 meters and with the number of stories ranging between 20 and 24.

Although some members expressed dissatisfaction, including the architect and President of the Board of Directors of the Architects Association of Macau, Christine Choi, the PCU was approved with the DSSCU’s initial proposed conditions.

Praise for Coloane land plot’s changed purpose

Committee member Kou Ngon Seng praised the government for withdrawing its plan to use a Coloane land plot to store hazardous materials and repurposing it for the construction of a recycled water plant.

The land plot became the center of an uproar when a few years ago, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, announced the government’s intention to use it as a storage facility for hazardous materials and products.

Residents protested the idea citing safety concerns.

The government has now proposed the construction of a recycled water plant occupying 2,930 square meters instead.

The building has a maximum proposed height of 20.5 meters and 30% of the area is to have planted vegetation or be filled with green potted plants.