As many as 90 urban renewal projects proposed across the country are to be halted, with local governments suspending new project proposals until the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例) is amended, after clauses in the law that were declared unconstitutional yesterday became invalid.
Following the controversial Wenlin Yuan (文林苑) project in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), the Council of Grand Justices ruled on April 26 last year that certain clauses in the act were unconstitutional, including a clause that grants government agencies the power to approve applications for urban renewal without requesting a proper review process and another that requires consent from 10 percent of the property owners of the proposed renewal site.
The council said that as the right to properties is protected by the Constitution, taking away people’s land requires proper procedure.
The council also declared that the clauses became invalid after their one-year buffer period, which was yesterday, while the proposed amendments to the law have not yet been adopted.
The Ministry of the Interior announced in a statement that the newly submitted urban renewal applications would be halted until amendments to the law are passed, while those already in the system must go through public hearings before being approved.
“As many as 90 recently submitted applications for urban renewal will be affected by the suspension of review until the Urban Renewal Act is amended, and additional public hearings will be needed for the 497 projects that are already in process,” the statement said.
The disputed Wenlin Yuan urban renewal project refers to a plan initiated by Le Young Construction Co to flatten decades-old apartment buildings and townhouses.
A family named Wang (王) who owned two townhouses on the site said they were not properly consulted and never gave consent to the project, but their property was forcibly demolished by the Taipei City Government because the majority of their neighbors agreed to it.
However, the forced demolition triggered protests and a movement to amend the law on urban renewal that are still ongoing today.
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