10
The Town Planning Ordinance currently provides that the Town Planning Board will give preliminary consideration to an objection to a draft plan in the absence of the objector. If the objector refuses to withdraw the objection after being notified of the Board's view, he has the right to attend a hearing before Town Planning Board.
At present, the Town Planning Board may delegate some of its powers and functions to a committee appointed by the Governor, but review of the Board's decisions on planning applications and consideration of objections are two of the matters that cannot be delegated to a committee and must be dealt with by the Board itself.
Up till mid September 1995, the Town Planning Board has yet to give preliminary consideration to some 3,089 objections and to hear 1,150 outstanding objections. We estimate that if the objections are to be heard by the Board according to the present hearing procedure, it would take several years to clear the backlog.
The Bill will enable the Town Planning Board to appoint committees among its members to hear objections to the draft plans. Such committees will each consists of not less than five members drawn from the Board. The majority of each committee shall be members who are not public officers. It is expected that the hearing of objections can be expedited when these committees are in operation.
The Town Planning Ordinance provides that an applicant for planning permission who is aggrieved by a decision of the Town Planning Board on review may lodge an appeal to the Town Planning Appeal Board. Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Appeal Board panel shall nominate an Appeal Board to hear the appeal. The Appeal Board shall consist of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the panel and four other members.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of appeals. Up till mid September 1995, there are 29 outstanding appeals yet to be heard by the Appeal Board. The present constitution of the Appeal Board only allows two hearings to be held concurrently, as only the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Appeal Board panel can act as Chairman of the Appeal Board.
The Bill will enable the Governor to appoint more than one Deputy Chairman to the Appeal Board panel, so that additional Appeal Boards may sit simultaneously.