Old trees in Taipa stir CPU debate

A group of 10 trees, said to be over 100 years old, were the subject of debate at yesterday’s meeting of the Urban Planning Committee (CPU).

The trees are located by the side of the road in Caminho das Hortas street in Taipa, in an area known as Cheong Ka Village.

The debate over whether to preserve the trees resulted from discussion of an 

Urban Conditions Plan (PCU) for a private land plot located in the area.

In an explanation of the plan by the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), it was mentioned that there were 10 trees on the land and in the contiguous area, so the land owner should submit a plan for the protection of trees to the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM).

The IAM representative at the CPU immediately intervened to clarify that the trees are not inside the plot of land, but on the roadside. The need to establish a plan to protect them is indirectly related to the land plot because, according to the Urban Plan for the North of Taipa, the government aims to widen this narrow road to become an important new road link in Taipa, connecting to the Avenida de Guimarães and Avenida de Sun Yat Sen at the Sun Yat Sen roundabout.

According to the IAM representative, it is the widening of the existing road that poses a risk to the trees. The IAM has therefore expressed a wish to change the current plan.

The change would involve a modification of the area reverting to the government, from the mentioned land plot, for the purpose of the construction of the new road.

Committee member and lawyer Álvaro Rodrigues reminded the members that the debate is over privately owned land and not a concessional land plot.

“I don’t think the government can do anything to force private [owners] to develop these [plots of] land. It’s not a concession. So, I think [owners] can do whatever they want. The government cannot expedite their development,” Rodrigues said.

This came after another member, Choi Wan Sun, called on the government to accelerate the development of land located in this area of Taipa Island.

The IAM representative, Lo Chi Kin, insisted on the bureau’s intention to modify the project to protect the trees, stating that “there are bigger values to protect.”

Although understanding the need to protect the trees, the members, in general, did not show much support for Lo’s contention that the only solution would be to change private projects according to the needs of the government. They called on the IAM to find other solutions, such as moving the trees to the green corridor that is also planned for the area.

The topic sparked the most heated debate of the day, provoking an even broader discussion than the PCU for land plots C1 to C4 of Nam Van Lake.

To break the deadlock, the CPU president, and acting director of DSSOPT, Wong Chiu Man, decided that the PCU for the land plot would be considered provisionally approved, with a promise to negotiate with IAM at a later date to find a better solution for tree protection. 

“Although there is technology to move the trees and replant them in another place, the risk of [this] procedure is very high for the trees’ survival and should not be done (by law) unless there is a great reason of justified public interest involved,” Wong said.

The development on the land was approved, with conditions, for the construction of two residential towers with a maximum height of 90 meters. Following these conditions, the landowner would have to cede to the government around 1,700 square meters of land, from the total area of 3,762 square meters, to be used for new road links, access and public space.