Gwangju City Expands Number of Lakes Allowing Change of Use for Restaurants within Environmental Maintenance Zones

Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Bang Se-hwan) announced on the 27th that it will expand the number of restaurants allowed to change their use within the environmental maintenance zones.

Gwangju City Hall exterior. Provided by Gyeonggi Gwangju City

To this end, the city measured the water quality of the effluent from the Bunwon and Samsung public sewage treatment plants within the Paldang Watershed Protection Area's environmental maintenance zones for six months, from March to September.

According to the Watershed Management Regulations, if the effluent water quality of a public sewage treatment plant is maintained at 50% or less of the effluent water quality standard for six months, the number of restaurants allowed increases from 5% to 10%. Furthermore, if the effluent water quality is maintained at 25% or less of the standard for six months, not only does the number of restaurants allowed increase from 5% to 10%, but the allowable total floor area for restaurants also expands from the existing 100㎡ to 150㎡.

As a result of this water quality measurement, the Bunwon public sewage treatment plant complied with the 25% or less effluent water quality standard, allowing not only an increase in the number of restaurant households but also a relaxation of the total floor area limit to 150㎡ for use changes. However, although the Samsung public sewage treatment plant complies well with the effluent water quality standards, it did not meet the criteria for easing activity restrictions within the environmental maintenance zone and was therefore excluded.

Accordingly, including existing permitted restaurants, the Ganeungol, Guter A, Guter B, and village areas within the Bunwon sewage treatment zone can now change the use of existing houses and factories to general or casual restaurants with a building total floor area of up to 150㎡, limited to original residents, increasing the number of permitted locations from three to six.

Mayor Bang Se-hwan stated, “The allocation for use changes to restaurants secured this time will be assigned after receiving notification of the proposed relaxation of standards for original residents currently submitted to the Ministry of Environment,” adding, “We will continue to make efforts so that residents in areas disadvantaged by overlapping regulations can personally feel some regulatory relief.”