theStar: Residents say no to condo project

theStar: Residents say no to condo project

Bandar Puteri 11 residents want the developer to stick to constructing low-rise residential units instead of condominium blocks on a site near their homes.

They felt short-changed when the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) put up a notice about the proposed high-rise project in May last year.

They thought the piece of land was reserved for low-density houses as shown in the model when they purchased their houses.

About 30 of them gathered on Saturday morning to make their voices heard. They were concerned about safety issues.

“The narrow site is sandwiched between two steep slopes, and during a heavy downpour, we can see mini waterfalls gushing down the slopes.

Not suitable: The residents said it was not suitable to have condominium blocks on the narrow site sandwiched between two steep slopes.

“Soil erosion had occurred at a slope near our houses, which led to the construction of retaining walls. It would be too dangerous to build condominium blocks here,” residents association chairman TC Chiam said.

He added that the original plan was to have three 19-storey condominium blocks, but following a meeting last month, the developer had proposed to reduce the number of blocks to two but the number of units remained at 422.

Chiam said the residents are also worried about the possible traffic problems at the main road, Jalan Puteri 11/1.

“Cars are parked at both sides of the road in front of Bayu Puteri Apartments, which has caused many near-accidents.

“The situation would worsen if another high-rise residential block is constructed here,” he said.

Other concerns include the possible social impact and noise pollution.

The residents had summitted their objection letters to the Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the MPSJ urban planning department, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo and state executive councillors Teresa Kok and Elizabeth Wong last year.

In July last year, the developer was asked to conduct geotechnical studies, traffic and environmental impact assessments.

MPSJ councillor Tan Jo Hann said the council has not approved the developer’s planning permission application.

“Our duty is to make sure that the developer takes all aspects of safety into consideration. Also, another access road must be identified should there be development here,” he said.

When contacted, a Flora Development spokesperson said the condominium project was stated in the approved layout plan and master layout brochure.

“It is in accordance to the approved layout plan with low density of 35 units per acre,” he said.

He added that the slope was safe and the developer would ensure it is maintained as such after building the proposed condominium.

“The geotechnical consultant is of the opinion that the proposed development shall not adversely affect the stability of slopes within the site by implementing the recommendations stated in the geotechnical assessment report.

“The report was designed to meet the most stringent requirement as in accordance to the Hong Kong Geotechnical Slope Manual.

“The recommendations are also in accordance with Public Works Institute’s (Ikram) requirement and all comments from Ikram are incorporated in the geotechnical assessment report,” he said.

As for the proposed project worsening the traffic situation at Jalan Puteri 11/1, the spokesperson said there are 274 vacant car parks during daytime and 126 at night in Bayu Puteri Apartments, but the residents seem to prefer to park along the road rather than within the compounds.

“Based on the traffic impact assessment conducted by our consultant, the current road is able to sustain the additional traffic from the proposed development.

“We will nevertheless consider widening the access road at Jalan Puteri 11/1,” the spokesperson said.