All 226 illegal rooftop structures that were the target of a crackdown have been successfully demolished or adjusted, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.
“This was an ideal outcome,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said, attributing the operation’s success to avoiding “indiscriminate demolition,” and instead communicating with residents and owners on finding solutions. The Department of Social Welfare is providing housing and other assistance to people evicted as a result of demolitions.
The city offered “fairly lenient” terms to the owners of the illegal structures, allowing for structures constructed before 1995 to be “improved” rather than demolished by tearing down partitions, with all but four of the structures eligible to be improved instead of demolished, Construction Management Office Deputy Chief Engineer Chiu Ying-che (邱英哲) said.
As there are a large number of illegal structures in the capital, those constructed before 1995 have been treated sympathetically in an effort to focus the government’s efforts on preventing further buildup, Chiu said.
Ko announced a crackdown on illegal rooftop structures in January, following a fire in one such structure in December last year, which resulted in a tenant burning to death.
Chiu said that rooftop constructions were targeted because of their dangerous nature, as they are difficult to escape from in the event of a fire.
He added that the city government has sent a new regulation to the Taipei City Council, which would allow the city to charge owners of illegal structures for the actual cost of removal. Currently, removal of the structures is assessed based on prices that have not been adjusted since 1986.
In the long run, the city hopes that a national law will be passed allowing for fines to be levied against owners of illegal structures, Chiu said. Currently, forced demolitions are the only tool in the city government’s arsenal to address the problem, he added.
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