Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1190498
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO BOTH the Xghajra local council and Smart City Limited, the developers of the Smart City residential and office development, are firmly objecting to a 14-storey high-rise in the locality set to include 161 apartments on fields adja- cent to Smart City. A deceptive zoning application ap- proved by the PA in August 2018 ear- marked the site for the application of the Floor Area Ratio mechanism, which al- lows the 17.5-metre height limitation to be spread over additional floors in return for the allocation of open piazzas. In separate representations, both the council and Smart City insisted that no such development can be permitted because Xghajra was not identified as a potential site for tall buildings over 10 floors in the Floor Area Ration policy. Neither was Xghajra included in the list of localities identified for medium high- rises under 10 floors. The council argued that the site can- not be identified for high-rise because streets on four sides do not surround it as required by policy. Moreover, it pointed out that accord- ing to the policy tall buildings should be located "away from priority residential areas" as these are deemed to be alien to "low-rise compact locations." According to the council the develop- ment will create more infrastructural pressures on the locality and will have a negative impact on residents' quality of life. Smart City Limited recognised that the policy regulating tall buildings allows the application of the floor area ratio on 4,000sq.m sites in localities not identi- fied for high-rise or medium-rise devel- opment. But they pointed out that this comes with conditions which are not be- ing met in the present application. Over the past days the PA has received objections from around 100 residents, many of whom insisting that the de- velopment would ruin the character of Xghajra which is described as "a tradi- tional residential location". Residents were unaware that the zoning application approved in 2018 had any- thing to do with high-rise developments, as it simply referred to the removal of a schemed 3m front garden and changes to the road and building alignment. In fact, the application did not even so- licit any objections from residents and any response by the local council. But the aim of the application, as ex- plained in the case officer's report, was to remove the front garden so that this area could also be included in the calculation of the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the site. The FAR is based on the ratio of a build- ing's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. "The main issue in this application is to qualify for the Floor Area Ration de- velopment by including the area of the current front garden and the schemed piazza within the floor space", of the pro- posed development, the case officer said in the 2018 application. In their representation against the 14-storey development, Smart City Lim- ited refer to the "bizarre" way the case officer linked the zoning application to the use of the Floor Area Ratio when de- termining an application first submitted in 2006. But Smart City argues that since this application has been withdrawn, the zoning application is "null and void". In fact, following the approval of the zoning application, developers tried to include the high-rise plans in an old ap- plication for six-storey development pre- sented way back in 2008. But the applica- tion was later withdrawn and presented again in its current form. According to plans, the site has an area of 4,725sq.m of which 1,420sq.m consist of proposed streets. According to policy, only sites over 4,000sq.m are eligible for the FAR policy. Therefore, the building and road alignment approved in the zon- ing application was vital to ensure the eligibility of the site for higher develop- ment than foreseen in local plans. Xghajra was not among the sites where tall buildings over 10-storey develop- ment can be allowed, but the FAR policy can be applied on all sites, which are over 4,000sq.m in Malta, subject to a num- ber of conditions – including being sur- rounded by roads on all sides. The policy also states that high-rise developments defined as developments higher than 10-storey developments can only be considered in Tigné, Marsa, Paceville, Qawra, Mriehel and Gzira. However, medium-rise development of up to 10 floors can be considered in other localities. But this particular ap- plication is proposing 14 storeys, which would effectively result in a high-rise de- velopment. Smart City and Xghajra council object to 14-storey high-rise JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has approved a four-storey hotel along Triq il-Kbira in Mosta, whose pool area will encroach on a protected 'green enclave' in the vicinity of the Mosta Dome. The yard of the existing town- house, which includes a num- ber of trees already visible in 1967 photos, forms part of a large"green enclave" which in- cludes the Villa Gollcher gar- dens, which are not impacted by the hotel development. The case officer had recom- mended the refusal of the ap- plication because the local plan excludes development in green enclaves, but the PA's planning commission later indicated that the development can be approved if fresh drawings are presented to leave the "rubble wall in the garden, and to in- crease the soft landscaping". Reacting to the latest plans, which foresee 11 trees being planted in this area, the case officer noted that part of the rubble wall will still be demol- ished and that only 37sq.m of the existing 135sq.m site will be retained as a landscaped area, exceed- ing policy g u i d e l i n e s which limit any encroach- ment to 15% of the site area. But the com- mission still approved the development, citing the context of the development. The approved boutique hotel, proposed by Marlon Brincat, will have 25 guest rooms and a res- t a u - rant which will have a separate entrance from the guesthouse. The boutique hotel will in- clude a lobby, entertainment ar- ea and pool at ground floor level and accommodation at first, second and third level while a bar will be located on receded floor level. The existing façade will be restored and retained. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage did not object to the internal demoli- tion of the existing building. The height of the proposed development was deemed to be compatible with that of adja- cent developments with the ho- tel filling a gap between existing blank walls of adjacent houses. Mosta hotel to encroach on protected 'green enclave' The area shaded in green is zoned as Mosta's green enclave