Mt. Lavinia residents say ‘no’ to illegal buildings
View(s):The Mount Lavinia Residents Association, a group recently formed to protect this city, is lobbying to put a stop to illegal constructions in the area, members said.
“We stand to protect Mount Lavinia by raising the issues with the Ministries and will fight against unplanned constructions,” a member of the group told the Business Times.
He said that there are many apartment constructions in Mount Lavinia which do not comply with the Urban Development Authority (UDA) building regulations.
“Neither the UDA or the Dehiwela Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (MC) have taken action against the developers who have violated the building regulations.
We have informed the Director Enforcement UDA of these developments on June 20, 2017.” He added that construction of badly planned apartments have damaged neighbouring homes.
The developers of these apartments have not compensated the home owners whose houses have been damaged, the resident noted. The law of the land needs to be implemented so that citizens of Mount Lavinia continue to have faith in the legal institutions and the government machinery, the group said.
“Previous Governments such as that of the UNP in the 1980′s recognised the tourism potential in Mount Lavinia and implemented strict building regulations in the area.
In the 1980′s, the then development of Mount Royal Hotel (today Berjaya Mount Royal) was restricted to four floors,” the member of the group said.
He said that there is a problem with the existing building regulations and the Dehiwela Mount Lavinia MC had even granted approval to build 15 floors for certain constructions despite the fact that the existing road infrastructure, sewerage facilities, water supply facilities and electricity distribution facilities have not developed since the 1980′s.
Now the builders get the Certificate of Conformity (COC) approved and then build a further 14 floors at times. This is a scam, he said adding that those who pay upfront for say a 14 floor condo don’t get their title when they occupy the apartment, but have to wait years to get it.
“What happens is that the builder pays a penalty of Rs. 100,000 for breaking the law and then they are free to give the titles to the owners. This is happening too frequently now,” the member of the group said.
There should be height restriction on new and existing buildings in the sea side of Mount Lavinia as it lies in the main flight path of aircraft which fly to Ratmalana Airport, residents say.
Residents say that the critical load on existing infrastructure is beyond comprehension with severe traffic congestion during school opening and closing times in the seaside area as there are three major schools in the area (St. Thomas College, Girls High School and Buddhist Ladies School).
“If there is a fire hazard during the school opening and closing times or if a fire breaks out in a residence or an apartment complex, the fire brigade vehicle will not be able to access the affected building due to severe traffic congestion,” the association member said.
He said the residents basic human rights are been violated – – the right to live, breath clean air, access to water, and other facilities like playgrounds and walkways and the right to enjoy a nice environment.
The association proposes to limit the maximum height of buildings in Mount Lavinia seaside to four floors as was the regulation in the 1980′s, prevent the demolition of buildings which are in excess of 50 years old and are architecturally important as they contribute to the old world charm, and to protect the seaside of Mount Lavinia as a tourism/residential area by regulation.
“We propose the government and the UDA take steps to protect the human rights of existing residents of the seaside in Mount Lavinia. This the right to enjoy a salubrious environment, adorned with greenery,” the member said.
He said that they will be fighting for the right to live at Mount and will be going to many lengths to see that justice is meted to the residents.