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CHAIRMAN:--I think they were explained at the last meeting, Ladies and gentlemen. We have been held up on the question of hawker control because the policy had not been to the Executive Council. It has now been to the Executive Council and the Department is now in the process of preparing the papers to get what we need.
MR. MACKENZIE:-Will we be advised, Sir, in the near future of the new policy that has been adopted?
CHAIRMAN:-I should have thought all Members were aware of it. It is your policy that has been to the Executive Council.
MR. MACKENZIE:-I am sorry, Sir, I understood you to say that certain discussions had taken place and as a result certain recommendations made by the Council had been accepted. May we be aware of what actual recommendations have been accepted in due course?
CHAIRMAN:-Certainly.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, the last sentence says "the department is sparing no effort to find such a site". What does that effort consist of?
CHAIRMAN:--Searching with the Public Works Department for a site
MR. SALES:-and also depriving the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee of open spaces. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, can an approach be made to seek the co-operation of the Shau Kei Wan City District Office to ask the hawkers in this particular area to throw less rubbish indiscriminately in the streets?
CHAIRMAN: It can be done.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
(11) MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN asked the following question:-
(a) What steps, if any, are taken from time to time to ensure that advertisement signs, particularly those projecting half-way across the road, are properly secured and in good condition to ensure the safety of the general public? (b) As the majority of modern cities in the world permit occulting neon signs, has the Council considered amending the Advertisement By-laws so that such occulting signs can be erected in positions visible from outside buildings in Hong Kong?
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MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:---
The answer to the first part of this question is that for over a decade this Council has been fully aware of the inadequacy of the present Advertisements By-laws which purport to control all advertisement signs, but their development has completely outdated the By-laws. Applications for the erection of new signs are referred to the Urban Services Department, which provides a list of its requirements and those of other departments. These requirements do not, however, cover structural safety. If the department, in consultation with the Fire Services Department, is satisfied that the present requirements are met, a licence is then issued. No action is taken against existing unlicensed signs unless a complaint is made. I am told that it is most difficult to ensure the constructional soundness of projecting signs because the department does not have the trained staff, while the Buildings Ordinance Office is quite understaffed for this purpose, but when a sign is found or reported to be unstable the Public Works Department is informed. In the revised and comprehensive new Advertisements By-laws, now in the drafting stage by the Legal Department, provision is made for the Building Authority to approve the structural safety of advertisement signs and for the establishment of an Urban Services Department unit to enforce the new By-laws.
The answer to the second part of the question is that occulting signs are prohibited in the present By-laws, and the Council, after consulting various interested Government departments, is firmly of the opinion that they should continue to be prohibited in the new legislation.
MR. BERNACCHI:—Mr. SALES, as Chairman of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, says that "new Advertisement By-laws are now in the drafting stage by the Legal Department". The two supplementaries I want to ask are (1) how long have they been in the drafting stage and (2) how long have they been with the Legal Department?
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, perhaps that answer could best come from your Department but as far as I know the Select Committee has been considering this question and consulting the various departments,
Page 67 of 242
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Page 67 of 242
Page 67 of 242
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114
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:--I think they were explained at the last meeting, Ladies and gentlemen. We have been held up on the question of hawker control because the policy had not been to the Executive Council. It has now been to the Executive Council and the Depart- ment is now in the process of preparing the papers to get what we need.
MR. MACKENZIE:-Will we be advised, Sir, in the near future of the new policy that has been adopted?
CHAIRMAN:-I should have thought all Members were aware of it. It is your policy that has been to the Executive Council.
MR. MACKENZIE:-I am sorry, Sir, I understood you to say that certain discussions had taken place and as a result certain recom- mendations made by the Council had been accepted. May we be aware of what actual recommendations have been accepted in due course?
CHAIRMAN:-Certainly.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, the last sentence says "the depart- ment is sparing no effort to find such a site". What does that effort consist of?
site
CHAIRMAN: --Searching with the Public Works Department for a
MR. SALES :-
and also depriving the Recreation and Ameni- ties Select Committee of open spaces. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, can an approach be made to seek the co-operation of the Shau Kei Wan City District Office to ask the hawkers in this particular area to throw less rubbish indiscrimin- ately in the streets?
CHAIRMAN: It can be done.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
(11) MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN asked the following question:-
(a) What steps, if any, are taken from time to time to ensure that advertisement signs, particularly those projecting half-way across the road, are properly secured and in good condition to ensure the safety of the general public? (b) As the majority of modern cities in the world permit occulting neon signs, has the Council considered amend- ing the Advertisement By-laws so that such occulting
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signs can be erected in positions visible from outside buildings in Hong Kong?
MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:---
The answer to the first part of this question is that for over a decade this Council has been fully aware of the in- adequacy of the present Advertisements By-laws which purport to control all advertisement signs, but their de- velopment has completely outdated the By-laws. Applica- tions for the erection of new signs are referred to the Urban Services Department, which provides a list of its requirements and those of other departments. These requirements do not, however, cover structural safety. If the department, in consultation with the Fire Services Department, is satisfied that the present requirements are met, a licence is then issued. No action is taken against existing unlicensed signs unless a complaint is made. I am told that it is most difficult to ensure the construc- tional soundness of projecting signs because the depart- ment does not have the trained staff, while the Buildings Ordinance Office is quite understaffed for this purpose, but when a sign is found or reported to be unstable the Public Works Department is informed. In the revised and comprehensive new Advertisements By-laws, now in the drafting stage by the Legal Department, provision is made for the Building Authority to approve the struc- tural safety of advertisement signs and for the establish- ment of an Urban Services Department unit to enforce the new By-laws.
The answer to the second part of the question is that occulting signs are prohibited in the present By-laws, and the Council, after consulting various interested Government departments, is firmly of the opinion that they should continue to be prohibited in the new legislation.
MR. BERNACCHI:—Mr. SALES, as Chairman of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, says that "new Advertisement By-laws are now in the drafting stage by the Legal Department". The two supplementaries I want to ask are (1) how long have they been in the drafting stage and (2) how long have they been with the Legal Department?
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, perhaps that answer could best come from your Department but as far as I know the Select Committee has been considering this question and consulting the various departments,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.