By Farah Wahida:
The public’s views should be heard on the 87-unit per acre density guideline for residential projects in Penang, according to Councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui.
Urging the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) to hold a public consultation, Lim said the existing consultation process is but one-sided as it only heard inputs from selected stakeholders like developers and architects.
“A majority of the stakeholders including the public who are directly affected by the guideline were not consulted prior to the publication of the guideline.
Under the state government’s Competency, Accountability and Transparency policy, the guideline requires a public consultation since it would significantly affect the lives of Penangites, he explained, in a report by The Sun Daily.
“Higher density must not be haphazard and driven by private interest, it must be guided by proper planning and preceded by adequate social and physical infrastructures.”
Should the council push a public forum on the issue, Lim said the Penang Forum would be willing to co-organise. He also pointed out that the present policy of traffic impact studies on individual housing project had failed and the result was evident across Penang.
“It can only be solved with holistic basis with integration of land use and transport planning as recommended by the Penang Master Transport Plan,” he added.