A RESIDENTS’ group will take Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to court if the local authority refuses to gazette the KL Draft City Plan 2020, said a veteran lawyer.

Dr Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, who is also Selamatkan Kuala Lumpur chairman, said since the nation’s independence, there had never been a local plan for the development of the city.

“We are asking DBKL to gazette the KL Draft City Plan 2020, which they are currently using as a guideline.

“We have not given them a time frame, but if they fail to do so, we will take the matter to court,” he said after a meeting with DBKL planning executive director Mohd Najib Mohd today.

Aziz said in the absence of a local plan, there had been a substantial oversupply of high-rise buildings, which did not reflect residents’ needs, but were approved by DBKL anyway.

“Residents are facing challenges in protecting their neighbourhoods and green space from the encroachment of commercialisation.

“The approval of changes in land use and density is not transparent. DBKL has the discretion to change land use.”

He said under the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982, a broader structure plan and a more detailed local plan – both of which define land use in the city’s development – must be drafted and gazetted.

He said DBKL had committed two main errors – altering development plans without going through the proper legal process, and failing to approve the city’s local plan within a reasonable time.

Residents were shocked by Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s statement last year that the KL Draft City Plan 2020 would not be gazetted as planned.

Tengku Adnan was quoted as saying he would not sign or approve the plan as it had room for abuse.

Last week, Mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz had said discussions would be held on the drafting of a new plan: the KL Structure Plan 2050.

Aziz said he was told by Najib that there were plans for a new Local Draft Plan 2035.

“We don’t need so many plans. I don’t know if I will be around when they gazette the plan.

“We already have the KL Structure Plan 2020, and what we need is a local plan.”

He said another issue raised this morning were ways to democratise DBKL.

He said this was crucial to ensure the participation of all stakeholders in the development of the city.

“We want local council elections because then, the views of residents will be heard, and there will be accountability and a sense of ownership.” – February 22, 2018.