Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/488485
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 6 News MEPA considers extending heights for homes for the elderly San Lawrenz boathouses back to MEPA drawing board JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority has been requested by the government to consider a "building height relaxation policy" for retirement homes to encourage private investment in this sector. Effectively this means an increase in permitted height for residential homes. Currently homes for the elderly have to abide to the height limita- tions set in local plans. The new policy is set to allow resi- dential homes for the elderly to add an additional two f loors over and above the number of f loors allowed in the local plan. The new rules will only apply to buildings located outside urban conservation areas and within de- velopment zones. MEPA has asked the public to send its comments on this new pol- icy by 14 April. Since being elected the new gov- ernment has embarked on deregu- lating building height regulations first by extending a relaxation of hotel height limitations from those in tourist areas as envisaged by the previous government to all hotels within development zones and then by approving a policy permit- ting over 10 storey buildings in a number of localities. The government is also consider- ing design guidelines, which allow higher buildings on street corners and to fill gaps in between build- ings which already exceed the height limitation of the locality. The cumulative effect of these policies is expected to intensify development in residential zones commenced by the relaxation of building heights in 2006 when three-storey development was per- mitted in many areas where previ- ously only two-storey development was allowed. This onslaught has increased property values but has taken its toll on residents' quality of life and on the townscape. It remains to be seen whether the new policy will exclude the develop- ment of residential homes in ODZ areas as is being currently pro- posed in Santa Lucija. The Prime Minister recently declared that the government's policy favouring high rises is aimed at restricting devel- opment in ODZ areas. JAMES DEBONO SIX planning applications related to il- legal development in Dwejra are back on the Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority;s agenda, although all applications carry the seal of approval of the Planning Directorate. MEPA had regularised a number of boathouses on the eve of the 2008 gen- eral election after approving an action plan which proposed regularising these structures. But in 2010 and 2011 the MEPA board presided by former MEPA chairman Austin Walker denied a per- mit to a number of similar structures, insisting that these were built illegally in a scheduled zone. In 2014 a number of these decisions were overruled by one of MEPA's two appeals boards. But the other appeals board refused to sanction another boathouse, insisting that this was in violation of the Sixth Schedule which stops MEPA from regularising any de- velopment carried out on scheduled sites like Dwejra. MEPA's agenda for 26 April includes three applications which have already been refused by MEPA in 2010 and 2011 which are now back on the draw- ing board. Another application seeks a permit for the reconstruction of a boathouse which collapsed during works to re- place a dangerous road. MEPA's Her- itage Advisory Committee is objecting to this permit. Another application seeks the replace- ment of a ceiling and the construction of a boundary wall. MEPA is also considering an applica- tion presented by one of the applicants whose boathouse was regularised in 2008 but who had to reapply because the permit was never issued after he failed to pay the due fines and bank guarantees. Since the application is brand new MEPA initially informed the appli- cant that the application was in breach of the Sixth Schedule which bans it from regularising any development on scheduled sites. But the case officer in- sists that the Sixth Schedule does not apply to this case as the development was carried out before 2008 and the first application to sanction was pre- sented in 2000. In the past MEPA has argued that the Sixth Schedule does not apply to cases when an application to sanction was presented before 2011.