180 illegal cafes in Kemang to be closed

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta administration announced yesterday that it will proceed with a plan to close 180 cafes in Kemang, South Jakarta.

The deputy governor for administrative affairs, Abdul Kahfi, said the cafes were being closed for failing to comply with building permit regulations.

Kahfi said the authority to seal the cafes had been given to South Jakarta mayor Pardjoko.

Pardjoko said yesterday his administration would seal the cafes, which he would not name, some time before the end of December, when the Moslem fasting month starts.

Kahfi said that 112 out of the 180 cafes did not have any permits, and many cafes were only using housing permits. A business that serves food and plays music can need up to 40 different permits.

He said that in addition to breaching permit regulations, the cafes had ignored objections from religious figures that they were too close to centers of worship and interfered with religious activities.

"They ignore the objections and continue to perform their activities," he said.

Kahfi said that the cafes' patrons' vehicles created traffic congestion in the area.

He said the municipality would take "stern action" by sealing the buildings and making sure that they were used only as residences.

Kahfi said that only 41 cafes in Kemang held commercial site permits. These would be allowed to continue to operate, he said.

Kahfi said that Governor Sutiyoso had ordered his subordinates to be consistent in administering building permit regulations.

He said some of the cafes had commercial building permits that were issued wrongly by the administration, because they were in residential areas. These cafes would not have their permits extended after they expired.

The controversy over the Kemang cafes began when former governor Surjadi Soedirdja issued an instruction in March to have all Kemang building permits checked because many of the buildings in the area had been turned into cafes and other businesses.

Administration data shows that 90 percent of Kemang properties are used for commercial purposes, whereas city regulations allow only 15 percent to be.

Kahfi said that the administration would introduce "a one-door policy" for cafe permit issuance in the Kemang area.

"The only office able to issue cafe permits will be that of the South Jakarta mayor," he said.

Pardjoko said that to seal the cafes would not be an easy job because it related to people's livelihoods.

"That's why I will be careful in implementing the sealing process," he said.

When asked to comment, Mohammad Danisworo, the head of the city's architectural agency and head of a special team reassessing buildings in Kemang, praised the city's decision.

"I believe we can learn so much from this case. Kemang is not the first and only area like this.

"In almost every part of the city, there has been improper land use due to the city's inconsistency in applying regulations and insensitivity to the changes and demands of the fast-growing urban society," he said.

"I hope the municipality can learn from Kemang, Kebayoran and Menteng so in the future it will be extra careful in determining land use and applying consistent land use rules and regulations."

Danisworo also suggested the city set better regulations regarding its spatial planning and create thorough urban design guidelines to prevent similar cases happening in the future. (07/ind)