A JUDICIAL review hearing is set to take place on March 3 to determine the land use and zoning change of a parcel of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Kuala Lumpur.
The judicial review was brought by a group of residents.
It sought to quash decisions made by the Kuala Lumpur mayor and the Federal Territories Minister to gazette, approve and adopt the change in land use and zoning for Lot 52396 under the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 (KLCP 2020).
“Residents are objecting to the change in land use and zoning for Lot 52396 along Jalan Abang Haji Openg, which was changed from institutional land to commercial land in the local plan,” said lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi.
Alliff Benjamin, who is representing a group of 10 residents from the area for the case, said the land use should revert to its original institutional status if the review was successful.
“If that happens, any landowner submitting a development proposal would be bound by the conditions of land use and zoning of the original local plan,” he said.
Former Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents Association (TTDIRA) chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar, who is one of the applicants in the judicial review, said the authorities could not arbitrarily change the land zoning in the local plan.
KLCP 2020 was gazetted in October 2018, including 273 addendums that were not in the original draft from 2008.
“In 2019, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) approved the change in land use from institutional to commercial, with increase plot ratio,” he said.
“However, DBKL later suspended that decision as it did not comply with the rules of KLCP 2020.
“Instead, the change in rezoning and plot ratio was included in the KLCP’s Alteration 3 (Part 2) which is an official document to update certain conditions such as zoning and land usage,” Abdul Hafiz said.
He added that after TTDIRA submitted an objection, followed by a petition drive in 2020, the plot ratio for the land was scaled down to two, although its land use zoning remained commercial.
According to TTDIRA, the proposed development on the plot is for a 45-storey serviced apartment project.
It is slated to comprise 279 units housed in a single block on 0.61ha land belonging to a non-governmental organisation.
Although the judicial review application for Lot 52396 was filed in late 2021, Abdul Hafiz said it was only scheduled for hearing in March this year after the court directed that it be heard following the disposal of another judicial review challenging the gazettement of KLCP 2020.
Abdul Hafiz said residents were concerned about the proposed development’s impact, such as traffic congestion and impact on residents’ quality of life.
“If the project is allowed to go through, it could set a precedent for nine other neighbouring lots zoned as institutional land.
“We are concerned that the case for Lot 52396 could affect the neighbouring lots.
“We do not want this area to be turned into a concentration of condominiums or commercial projects,” he said.
Abdul Hafiz and Alliff Benjamin were speaking after a townhall session organised by TTDIRA at a community hall in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
He said TTDIRA hoped to send at least one busload of residents to the hearing to show support as the case was of public interest.
