Taipei will reconsider building height restrictions around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a building rooted in the nation’s authoritarian past, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
“While [the memorial’s] background lies in an authoritarian past, there is no need to continue considering that factor. Consideration should be made purely upon the perspective of the city’s landscape and skyline,” Ko said.
He said the change would be implemented as part of a “overall re-examination” of land zoning in the Zhongzheng District (中正), where the memorial is located.
The mayor also reiterated his desire to move central government buildings out of the city center to reduce their impact on traffic.
The memorial was the tallest structure in Taipei when it was completed 1980. It was built to honor former president and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) director-general Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), and Taipei City Government regulations restricted the height of any structure within 50m of the memorial.
Building height is normally set by based on the “volume” permissible considering the area of a structure’s base, with adjustments possible in light of zoning considerations.
Ho Kuo-jung (何國榮) — warden of Xinying Borough (新營), which is next to the CKS memorial — said that the city government’s restrictions barring construction of buildings near the memorial taller than 53m kept valuable roadside real estate next from being fully developed.
They also hinder urban renewal plans for the Xinrong (新榮) Public Housing Complex, Ho said.
Ye Chia-yuan (葉家源), head of the Taipei Department of Urban Development’s planning division, said that special height zones exist around the memorial, the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial and the Presidential Office Building to protect skyline views.
Such restrictions were common in newly developed city districts as means of protecting the “public resource” of skylines, he said.
No date has been set for a review of Zhongzheng District zoning rules, he said.
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