Court says community road rule needs legislative support

(CHINADAILY)TheSupremePeople'sCourtrespondedonTuesdaytoanewurbanplanningguidelineissuedbythecentralgovernmentsayingthatroadsinnewresidentialcommunitiesshouldbeopentothepublicratherthanreservedfortheprivateuseofacommunity'sresidents.

Theguideline,issuedonSunday,sparkedheateddebate,butthecourtnotedinanewsconferencethatlegislativeactionwouldbeneededbeforeitcouldbeenforced.

Undertheguideline,newopenresidentialcommunitieswouldbejoinedwithpublicroads,andcommunitiesthatarecurrentlyclosedtoeveryonebutresidentswouldgraduallyopen.

Theplanimmediatelytriggeredadebate.Manyresidentialroadsarecurrentlythepropertyofhomeowners,whoarguethenewmovemaynotbeinlinewiththePropertyLaw.

ChengXinwen,chiefjudgeofthetopcourt'scivilcasetribunal,saidthatsomepartsintheproposedpolicyaimingtosolveproblemsassociatedwithincreasingurbanizationandtheexplosionofcitysize,stillrequirelegislationtobetakenintopractice.

"Theclosedresidentialcommunitieshavenotadaptedtourbanizationacrossthecountry,andthenewageispushingustodourbanplanningwithnewconcepts,"Chengsaid.

Theguideline,inCheng'sview,meetstheFiveDevelopmentPhilosophies-innovation,coordination,green,openandsharing-proposedduringtheFifthPlenarySessionofthe18thCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChinainOctober."Italsofollowstheworldtrend,"hesaid.

"Wewillpaycloseattentiontotheguidelineandproperlydealwithdisputesbroughtbythechange,"headded.

YangBaojun,deputyheadoftheChinaAcademyofUrbanPlanningandDesign,saidtheguidelinewillfacesomepracticalproblemsthatwillrequirestep-by-stepsolutionsfromthegovernment.

"Theclosedresidentialcommunitiesarenotgoodforsavinglandresources.Theyblocktheconnectionbetweenpublicroadsandresidentialroads,"Yangsaid."Welikedlivinginsuchclosedcommunitiesinthepastbecausewethoughttheyweresafe.Butthesecurityconcerncanbealleviatedbystreamlinedcitymanagement."

ChenZhenggao,ministerofhousingandurban-ruraldevelopment,saidthattheplanwillcontributetourbanizationbyimprovingurbanmanagementandsolving"urbandiseases"suchastrafficcongestionandairpollution.

"Theguidelinewillmakecitiesmuchsaferandmoreharmonious,aswellasprovidingmoreconvenienceinpeople'sdailylives,"Chensaid.

TheguidelinecomesontheheelsofDecember'sCentralUrbanWorkConference,thefirstsuchmeetingtoaddresstheissuesince1978.