City to put Kemang area in order

JAKARTA (JP): All non-residential building managements in Kemang have received notices of the city's plan to put building permits in order, South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko said.

He said over the weekend that if establishment owners had not reached their break-even point it was regrettable, but not the city's concern.

"The notices also informed managements and owners that a city team would check building permits," he said, based on Governor Surjadi Soedirdja's recent instruction.

The March 18 instruction ordered the city offices that issued permits to temporarily stop issuing new ones until the city has studied existing permits.

The instruction was issued because 90 percent of the buildings in the area, designated as a residential site, were no longer houses.

Cafe and restaurant owners said they have invested billions in their businesses. They rejected the city's plan, saying the permits were relatively easy to get, as such establishments continued to pop up along Jl. Kemang Raya. They also said Kemang's current condition, which officials said was overcrowded, attracted both locals and tourists.

Surjadi acknowledged that a lack of supervision by the city led to what he said was an abuse of temporary permits.

Existing establishments would be allowed to continue operating until their permits expired, even if they were permits for residential use, he said.

As a residential area, Kemang should have only 15 percent non- residential buildings, Pardjoko said.

City officials said the re-evaluation of the Kemang area started late last year. The tourism agency's findings show that several restaurants are operating with permits for housing. (11)