"Bupyeong District Redevelopment Donation Land Conversion Must Be Possible"… Councillor Yoon Gu-young Calls for 'Pragmatic Administration'

As the new redevelopment project in Incheon Bupyeong District gains momentum, a proposal has emerged to encourage the donation method to be directed towards necessary infrastructure in the area instead of cash, thereby increasing the benefits for residents. Additionally, a strong warning has been demanded at the district level regarding the recruitment of initiators for 'private rental housing without land acquisition', which has recently been rampant.

Councillor Yoon Gu-young (People Power Party, Samsan 2, Bugae 2 and 3) of the Incheon Bupyeong District Council focused on reviewing institutional improvements for revitalising redevelopment and measures to prevent side effects of private development projects during the urban environment committee's report on urban maintenance and urban regeneration on the 3rd.

Referring to the 'Incheon City Urban Maintenance Basic Plan Amendment' currently under public review, Councillor Yoon called for clever administration that takes care of the practical interests of Bupyeong District. He stated, "Although cash donations have become possible due to legal amendments, this is allocated to the city's maintenance fund, which does not benefit Bupyeong District," and emphasised, "We need to negotiate with developers to secure underground parking lots or public buildings through overlapping decisions to expand Bupyeong District's infrastructure."

In fact, if the floor area ratio incentive is relaxed from 260% to a maximum of 285% and overlapping decisions are recognised, it is Yoon's analysis that developers can increase the number of apartment units to secure project viability while the district can resolve parking shortages, creating a 'win-win' model.

Sharp criticism also followed regarding the 'cooperative-type private rental housing' projects spreading in the region. Councillor Yoon pointed out, "In some areas like Sangok-dong, they are recruiting without securing land ownership while displaying banners," and added, "This is not a legal recruitment of members but rather the recruitment of 'initiators', and there are concerns that residents may confuse this and fail to recover their investment funds."

He urged the district office to "strongly disseminate the differences between initiators and members, and the lack of regulations on the return of investment funds through card news or promotional materials to prevent a third victim from occurring."

He did not forget to criticise the long-stalled development of idle land. Councillor Yoon mentioned the development project of the Gongbyeongdan site, which started in 2018, stating, "There has been no progress other than the selection of a preferred negotiator for eight years," and added, "As the police station relocation project is also being delayed in succession, we need to inform residents of the exact progress and achieve visible results such as applying for development area designation within the first half of the year."

A district official responded, "We will negotiate primarily for securing facilities for donations, strengthen publicity to prevent damage from private rental housing, and ensure that major projects such as Gongbyeongdan proceed without disruption."