BY BRENDA CH’NG

A bird’s eye view of PJ Old Town. As one of the older areas in the city, its 60-year lease will soon be expiring. – filepic

OWNERS of residential premises in Petaling Jaya Old Town, unlawfully used for other purposes, will be getting a visit from the authorities.

Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has launched a census on such premises that have been mushrooming in Section 1, 2, 3 and 4 over the last 30 years.

These premises are residential houses being used for businesses or places of worship.

This suburb was called a satellite town in the early 1950s, with only about 800 houses along Jalan 1 (Jalan Templer) and Jalan 2 (Jalan Othman) but it had boomed and grown in the past six decades.

Some shops (above and below) along Jalan Pasar 1/21 are converted from former residential premises. Though these buildings have been granted limited commercial status, there are still many converted premises without limited commercial status.

“But the land status in a major portion of the housing area is still gazetted as residential in Petaling Jaya’s master plan,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged that the needs of the satellite town had changed with the times.

As such, MBPJ has granted limited commercial status to some premises along Jalan Pasar, Jalan Othman, Jalan Selangor and Jalan Penchala in 2007, which allows a restricted scope of business activities.

These changes have been gazetted under the Petaling Jaya Local Draft Plan 1 (RTPJ1).

Ruled out are businesses that will attract a huge traffic volume, such as car workshops and car dealerships.

This house in Jalan 1/10 in PJ Old Town has been turned into a restaurant but this land is still zoned as residential. — Filepix

Also not permitted are additional features such as adding a floor or an extension to the original building.

“This is why we are now conducting inspections and gathering data to determine the number of unlicensed businesses as well as unapproved extensions or renovations,” said Johary.

For two weeks starting this week, MBPJ officers are visiting Sections 1 to 4 to carry out their data collection exercise.

Among their tasks are checking on land usage and the property structures to confirm they are within city council regulations.

In the first week, focus is on Sections 1 and 2 while next week they will zero in on Sections 3 and 4.

Johary says it is crucial that MBPJ obtain the latest and accurate information as its statistics for the area is outdated and no longer correct.

The data will be compiled into a detailed report to update MBPJ’s records on Petaling Jaya Old Town.

According to the council’s current records, Section 1 has 513 residential premises alongside 123 commercial lots, a school, one place of worship and seven lots gazetted as open space.

Section 2 on the other hand is made up of 279 residential premises, 26 shops, one school and four lots gazetted as open space.

Meanwhile, Section 3 has 439 residential lots and 34 commercial lots.

Lastly, Section 4 is occupied by 658 residential lots, one apartment development, four shops, a wet market and three plots of open space land.

“These statistics are no longer correct and we know it does not reflect the current situation at site.

“So it is crucial for MBPJ to obtain the latest and accurate information,” said Johary.

He urged residents and shopowners to give their full cooperation to MBPJ.

He assured that the council officers were not there to issue summonses or seize items.

“Once the official report is done, it will be checked and tallied by three departments in MBPJ, namely Licensing, Building Control and the Evaluation department.

“Then a town hall will be held to get residents’ and stakeholders’ feedback before MBPJ decides if certain areas should be converted into commercial or remain as residential,” he said.

This change in land status is especially crucial now because Old Town is a leasehold area and the 60-year lease obtained in the 1950s is expiring soon.

Residential properties that have been turned into commercial lots and places of worship will have trouble renewing their lease.

“I am glad MBPJ is doing this now and this is the first step to this rezoning project.

“It is important so that stakeholders can finally renew their lease,” said Bukit Gasing assemblyman R. Rajiv.

In addition, residents are urged to submit their feedback to MBPJ on what they think about the rezoning exercise.

“Do voice out opinions if a particular area should be given limited commercial status or not,” said Rajiv.

If a particular area is found to be unsuitable for commercial purposes, owners will be made to change it back into residential.

Those who fail to follow MBPJ’s regulations will either face hefty fines or have their illegal extensions demolished.