A Mei Foo resident is pursuing a judicial review in an effort to overturn a decision to approve a developer's plans for a 20-storey building on her estate.
Lawyers for Ho Mei-ling, who lives at Mei Foo Sun Chuen Stage 8, argued in the Court of First Instance yesterday that the Building Authority's decision last October was wrong because it misinterpreted the law when calculating the plot ratio and site coverage of the lot carved out of the original site.
They are seeking permission to launch a judicial review. The application follows protests by residents against the Billion Star development.
Denis Chang SC, for Ho, said that as the carved-off land was part of the lots where 10 residential buildings were erected, the authority needed residents' consent. He also argued the potential to develop the lot had been used up during the first development. 'You can't carve a piece of land from the entire site as if it is independent land,' Chang said.
In any case, said Chang, the authority should have only approved plot ratio and site coverage left over after the first development, and in proportion to the size between the carved-up lot and the entire land.
According to court documents, the lot amounts to about 8 per cent of the whole of the Mei Foo land, which Billion Star bought for about US$15 million in 2009.
Chang said the authority had also failed to take into consideration third-party rights, such as right of way.
