Due to landslide risks, residents of the Miami Green Condominium at Batu Ferringhi in Penang are opposing the construction of a mixed-use hillside project behind their homes, reported The Star.
“What is going to happen when it rains? There’s going to be a possibility of flash floods and soil erosion. The water may even weaken the foundation of our condominium,” said Jessica Lee during a meeting with the residents on Saturday (20 May).
She is a member of the management corporation (MC) sub-committee of the existing condominium, which consists of two low-rise residential blocks and five 29-storey towers.
Lee called into question the approval granted by Penang Island City Council (MBPP) for the upcoming high-density project, which would be constructed above another high-density condo like Miami Green.
According to resident Roger Wilson, the previous MC committee failed to inform them on time regarding the planning approval for the new development when a copy of the notice was sent earlier this year.
“Residents have 30 days to state their objections when the notification was sent but the previous MC failed to inform us until four days prior to the expiry date. This resulted in the residents not having enough time to gather their thoughts to object the development.”
Subsequently, a new MC committee was formed during the annual general meeting on 29 April 2017.
Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who attended the meeting last Saturday, revealed that he opposed the plan to change the zoning of the land for the new development back in 2015.
“I objected to the proposal to rezone the lot from 15 units per acre to 30 units per acre. However, I did not to receive any feedback from the council after that.”
As such, he plans to set-up a meeting with the residents and the Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee Chairman Chow Kon Yeow regarding this issue.
Based on MBPP’s Portal OSC, the developer submitted the planning permission for the new project on 12 May 2016 and the council gave its approval on 29 November of the same year.
Moreover, the building plans submitted on 30 March 2017 was greenlighted on 16 May.
It shows that the upcoming mixed-use project would consists of shops and two blocks of 34-storey serviced apartments, as well as a 20-storey block of affordable housing and low medium-cost flats.
According to MBPP’s Development Planning Department Deputy Director Roslan Ramly, the development is not considered a ‘special project’.
“It is not situated 250ft (76.2m) above sea level, nor does it have a gradient of more than 25 degrees,” he said.
Among high-rise developments in Penang are:
Image sourced from The Star
Radin Ghazali, Content Writer at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email radin@propertyguru.com.my
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