Residents of Taipei’s Shilin District (士林區), who have expressed disapproval of conditions set forth by the city government regarding the urban regeneration project of the Shezidao (社子島) peninsula, are reportedly planning to boycott a vote that would affect development scheduled to begin next weekend.
The vote scheduled for next weekend is aimed at choosing one option out of three proposed by the city’s Department of Urban Development to rehouse buildings in the no-construction area designated as Taipei’s flood detention area. About 14,000 residents qualify to vote.
However, residents expressed dissatisfaction over the city government’s conditions on the land ratio that residents would be able to reclaim after rehousing projects, which is set at 40 percent, as well as the low floor space index the government set on new buildings.
Locals who would have to relocate in the wake of rehousing projects said that the conditions set on those eligible to purchase interim housing units planned by the city government are too strict, which could leave them displaced after expropriations are carried out.
Many houses in the area share one address and residents fear that those who do not have a bathroom or kitchen in their homes would be denied the right to purchase interim homes, which the municipal government said would be contracted out to construction companies and sold at prices lower than their market values.
According to a report published in the Chinese-language China Times, borough wardens in Shezidao complained about the urban renewal plan.
Fuan Borough (福安) Warden Hsieh Wen-chia (謝文加) criticized Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as being more “difficult” than his predecessor, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), saying that the municipal government had rejected every suggestion residents made regarding the conditions, the newspaper said.
Hsieh was quoted as saying that Ko recently met with him to solicit his help in calling on people to vote, but that he had no plans to cooperate with the mayor and some residents have asked him to boycott the vote through loudspeakers.
Ko said that construction had been prohibited in Shezidao for 46 years and that if the urban regeneration plan languishes, “then you will have to wait another 50 years.”
Ko urged people to speak out about the fate of their community, saying that otherwise the city government would not know which direction they prefer.
He said that to encourage voters, he would visit Shezidao tomorrow and pay another visit next week if necessary.
When asked to respond to residents’ concerns over the conditions, Ko said his administration would first draw a roadmap for the project, then make adjustments along the way.
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