[News Terms] Seoul Urban Master Plan Underpinning the '35-Floor Rule'

Seoul Gangnam Area / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] With the final approval of the '2040 Seoul Basic Urban Plan (Plan)' by the Seoul City Council, confirming the abolition of the '35-floor rule,' interest in the 'Seoul Basic Urban Plan' is rising.

The Seoul Basic Urban Plan is the highest-level spatial plan that serves as a guideline for various plans promoted by Seoul City. It presents the future vision and development direction of Seoul 20 years ahead, integrating and coordinating sectoral plans such as housing, parks, transportation, industry, environment, culture, and welfare. Seoul City has established the Basic Urban Plan four times since 1990, and this is the fifth.

What is the '35-floor rule' regulating apartment floor heights?

The Seoul Basic Urban Plan is revised every five years according to the 'Act on Planning and Use of National Territory.' The 35-floor rule, which limited the height of apartments in Seoul, was included in the '2030 Seoul Plan' established in 2014 during former Mayor Park Won-soon's administration. The core of the 2030 Seoul Plan was to limit the maximum number of floors for apartments in Type 3 General Residential Areas to 35 floors or less. The riverside adjacent areas along the Han River were subject to a 15-floor height restriction. The purpose was to prevent supertall buildings from monopolizing sunlight and views and to harmonize with low-rise buildings and natural scenery. However, some criticized it as one of the 'big nails' that stifled the reconstruction market.

Of course, the 35-floor rule was not applied uniformly across all of Seoul. There were differences in height restrictions depending on the zoning area. In downtown, sub-centers, and areas designated by the Basic Urban Plan, construction of supertall mixed-use buildings over 50 floors was permitted. The Songpa-gu Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex was one such exception. It was located near Jamsil Station, a 'metropolitan center,' despite being in a Type 3 General Residential Area. A metropolitan center refers to an area that secures urban functions such as culture, business, and exhibitions. In 2017, Seoul City upgraded the zoning near the Jamsil Station intersection to quasi-residential, based on the introduction of metropolitan center functions, allowing the Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex reconstruction project to build up to 50 floors. Later, due to conflicts over securing school sites, the project was effectively halted. However, earlier this year, the reconstruction maintenance plan amendment and landscape review for Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex were approved, confirming and advancing the reconstruction into a mammoth apartment complex with up to 50 floors and 6,815 units.

2040 Seoul Basic Urban Plan to be announced within the year... Seoul skyline to become more diverse

On the 21st, the first application of the '335-floor height limit' regulation repeal at the Daechi Mido Apartment reconstruction complex / Photo by Seoul City [Image source=Yonhap News]

With the final approval of the 2040 Seoul Basic Urban Plan and the abolition of the 35-floor height restriction, reconstruction projects featuring supertall apartments like Jamsil Jugong 5 Complex are expected to proceed one after another. For example, the Mido Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, which was completed 39 years ago this year, had its reconstruction plan approved last month on the 21st to build up to 50 floors with 3,800 units. This is the first reconstruction case applying the abolition of the 35-floor restriction under the new plan. Although reconstruction had been pursued since 2017, it was delayed due to market instability and other adverse factors. However, after being selected as a 'Rapid Integrated Planning' project site by Seoul City in November last year, progress has accelerated.

Meanwhile, Seoul City plans to finalize and announce the 2040 Seoul Basic Urban Plan within the year after follow-up measures related to the plan, which passed the Urban Planning Committee review on the 30th of last month.

This plan, which will function as the highest guideline for Seoul's urban planning over the next 20 years, was completed reflecting the opinions of 110 experts and citizens. The ultimate goal of the plan is to shift from rigid and uniform urban planning regulations to a flexible urban planning system, focusing on citizens' everyday living spaces. This is why the '35 floors or less' height standard for residential buildings such as apartments has been removed. However, apartment heights adjacent to the Han River remain restricted to 15 floors.

Key Points of the 2040 Seoul Urban Master Plan / Photo by Seoul City Website Capture

The plan is broadly divided into six major spatial plans: ▲'Walking Daily Zone,' encompassing jobs, leisure, commercial facilities, and public transportation hubs within a 30-minute walk; ▲'Waterfront Reorganization,' creating urban landmarks along waterways such as rivers; ▲'Strengthening the Three Downtowns' of Seoul City Center, Yeouido, and Gangnam; ▲'Beyond Zoning,' which abolishes the 35-floor height restriction on high-rise buildings and removes distinctions among residential, business, and commercial districts; ▲'Undergrounding of Ground Railways'; and ▲expansion of 'Future Transportation Infrastructure' such as autonomous driving and Urban Air Mobility (UAM).