Apply Collectively to Convert Homes into Commercial Premises

Tuesday, 5 August 2008

Apply Collectively to Convert Homes into Commercial Premises

FED up with the incessant noise and dust from busy Jalan Kewajipan? Apply collectively to the Subang Jaya Municipal Council to convert your homes into commercial premises.

Sending in the application however does not mean conversion will be allowed immediately.

Many hurdles, especially legal hurdles, would have to be tackled before one can realise the plan to convert the residential zoning to commercial.

According to a senior official in MPSJ, residents could apply collectively for the conversion.

“Submit to us collectively and we will process the application. We will have to go through the processes stipulated in Section 172 of the Town and Country Planning Act and subsequently Section 56 of the National Land Code.”

“Once these are complied with, we will submit the application to the State Government to decide. A public hearing would then be required if the State Government passes it,” the official said, adding that if everything went well, residents would have their wishes fulfilled.

The official said that on approval of the conversion, any renovations carried out would have to comply with Section 133 of the Road, Drainage and Building Act.

“The external facade of the building cannot be touched. Only internal renovations will be allowed to accommodate showrooms, SOHO offices, electrical shops, florists and photo processing shops. Restaurants and coffee shops, for example, will not be allowed to operate from these premises,” the official said.

The official said the bid by the owners of the 19 houses along Jalan SS14/2 adjacent to Jalan Kewajipan to convert their premises, would also depend on consent from houses located behind and around them.

“Several residents had sought advice from us during one of our Mesra Rakyat (meet-the-people) sessions. They merely consulted us on the possibilities of the conversion and we advised them to make the submission officially and collectively,” the official said.

The official was responding to a Malay Mail story on July 21 highlighting the call by residents to MPSJ to allow their desire to convert their homes to commercial premises.