City to put Kemang area in order

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)