Gyeonggi-do Improves Development Restriction Zone Regulations on Unreasonable Water Quality Issues... Development Projects Expected to Gain Momentum

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

From now on, even if the environmental assessment water quality is rated 1 to 2, it will be possible to initiate the deregulation of Greenbelt (GB) areas if improvement measures such as water pollution prevention and reduction that meet the Ministry of Environment standards are prepared. Gyeonggi-do expects that this measure will give momentum to the development of areas rated 1 to 2 in Greenbelt deregulation projects.

Gyeonggi-do announced on the 29th that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport prepared a revision of the "Guidelines for Establishing Urban and County Management Plan Amendments for Adjusting Greenbelt Areas" with this content on the 24th.

The environmental assessment grading system investigates the natural and environmental status (elevation, slope, agricultural suitability, flora, forestry suitability, water quality) of land within the Greenbelt and classifies it into grades 1 to 5 based on conservation value. Among these, grades 1 to 2 were fundamentally ineligible for Greenbelt deregulation.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi-do submitted a system improvement plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last August to allow Greenbelt deregulation even for water quality grades 1 to 2 if improvement measures such as water pollution prevention and reduction are established, so that these areas can be included in project sites.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reflected Gyeonggi-do’s argument in the revised guidelines that water quality grades within the environmental assessment grading system should be treated as an exception in the deregulation guidelines because, unlike agriculture, forestry, and flora which inevitably suffer damage during development, improvement effects can be expected through appropriate measures using advanced technology.

Gyeonggi-do expects that this guideline revision will provide relief for local projects in the northeastern region of Gyeonggi, where there is little land available for development due to various regulations such as Greenbelt, water source protection zones, and the Capital Region Readjustment Act.

Lee Gye-sam, Director of Urban Housing Office of Gyeonggi-do, emphasized, "We will continue to actively identify and improve unreasonable regulations that do not reflect some realities."