Activists demand PLA harbourfront meeting minutes saying footprint is too big
An activists' group is demanding the minutes of a Town Planning Board meeting that decided to rezone a harbourfront site from public space to military use for a People's Liberation Army pier.
The group, which said it may seek a judicial review, also plans to present Chief Executive Leung chun-ying with an alternative proposal under which the military area would be much smaller.
"We will write a legal letter to the department to obtain the board's deliberations. Then we will study it and see if it involves any irrational decision," Designing Hong Kong chief executive Paul Zimmerman, one of 13 members of the Central waterfront concern group, said.
They accuse the Planning Department of withholding the minutes of the February 14 meeting.
The Executive Council is expected to approve the amended plan by the end of this month.
"We hope to avoid [a judicial review]. It is the last thing we want to do," Zimmerman said.
The group proposes the military area should be confined to four existing concrete buildings on the site, meaning it would shrink from 3,000 square metres to about 200 square metres.
The height limit for building on the site should be cut from 10 metres to the present 8.7 metres, it says.
The Planning Department said last night that a copy of the minutes and the formal decision would be distributed to concerned parties once they were confirmed. The minutes would also be posted on the board's website.
