The New Tapei City Land Administration Department would inspect former legislator and former New Power Party (NPP) chairman Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) house again, after Huang allegedly tore down an illegal metal shed he had built on public land, the department said yesterday.
Huang’s house in Sijhih District (汐止) was one of the nine properties in the neighborhood authorities found to be occupying public land, which contravened the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法), the department said.
The former lawmaker and other landowners were ordered to remove the illegal structures before today, otherwise face a NT$60,000 fine each, the department said.
Photo: CNA
Local media reported that construction workers were seen taking down the shed at Huang’s residence based on a photo submitted by an unnamed source late last month, but officials have not independently verified that, it said.
Meanwhile, New Taipei City Councilor Chang Chin-hao (張錦豪) of the Democratic Progressive Party alleged in a Facebook post in July that Huang is the de facto owner of two unlicensed commercial parking lots in the district, one of which is on a conservation area.
The department said that a parking lot owned by Huang’s daughter was zoned for road-traffic-related use, therefore she had the right to utilize it for paid parking.
Huang’s other parking lot was on a lot designated for conservation and the former lawmaker is violating land use codes, it said.
NOTICE GIVEN
The parking lot was built and operated by a tenant who claimed that Huang had no involvement in the matter, the department said.
The tenant was given notice to apply for a license to run the parking lot, but did not do so, it said, adding that the person was fined NT$3,000 on July 31, NT$9,000 on Aug. 24 and NT$60,000 on Monday last week.
Should the tenant fail to comply again, they would face a NT$90,000 fine, the department said, adding that financial penalties could be raised to a maximum of NT$90,000.
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