No Follow-up Administrative Procedures Conducted After Urban Management Plan Decision Announcement
Location map of the Bucheon City industrial area relocation urban management plan district. [Source=Bucheon City]
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The relocation plan for the Songnae Station area industrial zone, which is being promoted alongside the development of the 3rd phase new town Bucheon Daejang District (Daejang New Town), is struggling to gain momentum. Since the announcement of Bucheon City's urban management plan (Songnae Station area district unit plan) decision (change) in March, administrative procedures such as urban management plan changes have not progressed, raising concerns that the establishment of the advanced industrial complex being promoted with the Daejang New Town development will be delayed.
According to Bucheon City and the real estate industry on the 3rd, the plan to relocate and create a semi-industrial area in the old town area as part of the 2030 urban master plan, promoted alongside the Daejang New Town development, was scheduled for June but has not proceeded. Additionally, one of the follow-up administrative procedures, the disclosure of the strategic environmental impact assessment items, was announced in July, but subsequent administrative procedures have stalled.
Initially, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Bucheon City, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced the 3rd phase new town development plan and established a plan to create an urban advanced industrial complex within Daejang New Town. In particular, to secure competitiveness for the advanced industrial complex, the necessary land was to be utilized by relocating the deteriorated old town industrial area.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Land and Bucheon City held a meeting of the Metropolitan Area Readjustment Working Committee in 2020 and initiated the urban management plan service for industrial area relocation in August 2021. Subsequently, in March this year, the Metropolitan Area Readjustment Committee reviewed and decided on the industrial area relocation, completing the reorganization of the Bucheon Songnae Station area district unit plan covering about 1,181,369㎡ (357,000 pyeong) in the Jung-dong and Songnae-dong areas.
From the perspective of maintaining the industrial base, the main point is to transfer about 200,000 pyeong of semi-industrial area volume from the existing old town area to the Daejang New Town advanced industrial complex volume and change the existing semi-industrial area (old town) into a pleasant residential area.
However, the project has effectively been halted as the subsequent administrative procedures that should have followed have been postponed without any particular reason. Remaining administrative procedures such as drafting the urban management plan and the strategic environmental impact assessment draft, hearing opinions from the city council, drafting and consulting on the main strategic environmental impact assessment, review by the urban planning (architecture) committee, and announcement of the urban management plan (zoning) decision have no scheduled dates for implementation.
The problem is that according to Article 30 and Article 32 of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act and Article 25 of the Enforcement Decree of the same law, if the reorganization project is not finalized within two years (by March 2024), a new reestablishment procedure must be undertaken. In such a case, there is a possibility that the project could be canceled.
Regarding this, a Bucheon City official stated, “There is absolutely no possibility of the project being canceled, nor is there a comprehensive review of the entire project,” adding, “It is just that detailed aspects of the development are being reviewed, so the administrative procedures are somewhat delayed.”
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