2016.11.29
Luke Hung
The Minister of the Interior issued the Tai-Nei-Ying-1050079403 Circular of November 29, 2016 (hereinafter, the “Circular”) to communicate that whether a land used for pedestrian malls may include arcades or uncovered sidewalks should be determined by the competent authority based on the circumstances of individual cases.
This Circular was issued to address the legal issue of whether a pedestrian plaza in an urban plan can be used for automobile driveways in carparks and whether a building foundation facing a pedestrian plaza should be receded in order to set up arcades or uncovered sidewalks.
According to the Circular, whether a land used for pedestrian malls may be used for driveways of carparks, the Ministry of the Interior previously conducted a meeting to discuss this matter on November 20, 2000 and concluded that such land should not be used for driveways of carparks. In addition, the Ying-Shu-Du-1030011781 Circular of March 3, 2014 from the Construction and Planning Agency also elucidated that since “a ‘pedestrian plaza’ in an urban plan is similar to ‘pedestrian malls’ in nature,” a pedestrian plaza should be handled in the same vein. To wit, it should not be used for automobile access and “crossover” via driveways in carparks.
This Circular further points out that Article 57 of the Building Design Construction Chapter of the Building Technology Rules provides: “If any land is designated for arcades or uncovered sidewalks on both side of the road, the width and structure thereof shall be set by the municipal, county (city) construction authority in reference to local conditions and in accordance with the following standards: ….” Therefore, the reservation for arcades or uncovered sidewalks should be designated by municipal, county (city) governments, and whether any portion of a pedestrian plaza should be set aside for arcades or uncovered sidewalks should be determined ex officio by local governments.