The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 25th that it will systematically support the rapid designation of special maintenance zones in the first phase of new towns by fully activating special maintenance plan advisory committees for each local government starting this month.
The special maintenance plan advisory committee is a newly established committee according to the 'Guidelines for Establishing Special Maintenance Plans for Aging Planned Cities.'
The special maintenance plan advisory committee provides prior expert consultations for special maintenance plan drafts prepared by residents of leading districts, prospective project implementers, and others, enhancing the completeness of the plans and supporting the early designation of special maintenance zones.
This advisory committee consists of experts in various fields such as urban planning, architecture, transportation, environment, and education for reviewing special maintenance plans. In the future, it will be composed of personnel with rich experience to facilitate the swift review process by local urban planning committees. For example, in Bucheon City, about 40% of the personnel in the private advisory committee will be drawn from the Bucheon City Urban Planning Committee.
Looking at the operational method, residents and prospective project implementers apply for consultations to local governments after completing the draft maintenance plan, and local governments forward the draft to the advisory committee, which then compiles feedback from various fields after internal meetings.
The advisory committee holds face-to-face advisory meetings with participation from local governments, prospective project implementers, and service providers to provide overall consultations and detailed consultations based on review results.
Local governments will open communication channels as needed, guiding the method of plan preparation when drafts are created. After the face-to-face advisory meetings, they will provide guidance on how to improve drafts and, after the completion of the special maintenance plan, introduce methods of deliberation and future procedures, thus continuously supporting all stages of special maintenance plan establishment.
The Korea Educational Environment Protection Agency, the review organization for educational environment evaluations for school construction and transfer, has been included in the supporting organization of the advisory committee to provide expert opinions on site suitability when school transfer is necessary. The agency will provide ongoing support regarding site suitability for those schools under review for transfer.
The special maintenance plan advisory committee for each local government will officially start operations with the 'Resident Forum and Advisory Committee Kickoff Meeting' in Gunpo City on this day, followed by a meeting in Bucheon City on the 26th.
This meeting will be attended by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, local governments, resident representative groups from the leading districts, prospective project implementers, urban planning firms, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), to listen to residents' difficulties and suggestions and to explain the operation plans and support contents of the advisory committee.
The remaining three local governments, including Goyang City, Seongnam City, and Anyang City, are also scheduled to hold sequential resident forums and advisory committee kickoff meetings in July. They will continue to provide the necessary support that residents and project implementers require.