Urban renewal projects, due to conflict of interest among various parties, intervention by administrative authorities and complicated process in the interest of public benefits, are prone to various forms of conflict.
Indeed, conflicts of interest be...
Urban renewal projects, due to conflict of interest among various parties, intervention by administrative authorities and complicated process in the interest of public benefits, are prone to various forms of conflict.
Indeed, conflicts of interest begin when establishing a promotion committee; in other words, when project preparation turns into project execution. Thus minimizing conflict in this stage has a significant bearing on the success of the project; which is why a study on ways to improve the system of promotion committee, through an analysis of conflict cases during the phase of promotion committee establishment, is required.
This study purports to examine the problems of the promotion committee system and their causes as well as offering potential solutions. To this end, types and issues of conflict cases during the phase of promotion committee establishment have been analysed. For 5 ruling cases on current maintenance projects in Seoul, which are representative of most common issues in each type of conflict, the study analyses facts of the matter and issues of contention.
Case analysis yields the following problems of urban renewal project promotion committee and their causes. First, in the process of legalising promotion committee, limited understanding of urban renewal project district designation and the rules for the timing of approval for promotion committee, along with inconsistencies in regulations on various types of projects, is shown to be causing confusion about the timing of approval for promotion committee. Second, conflicts over cost-sharing in the early stage of urban renewal project, loan from construction contractor and specialist renewal project managers, and allocation of development charges often lead to the suspension of duty for promotion committee members and clashes over the choice of firm.
Third, since promotion committee is a temporary agency consisting of owners, the members are not knowledgeable enough about procedures, tasks and their significance as stipulated in Urban Renwal Act and bylaws; this leads to invalid outcomes of residents’ general meeting. Fourth, due to the lack of specialist expertise on the part of promotion committee and limited choice for contractors, they often struggle to produce a project execution plan which forms the basis of estimated development charges. Fifth, while only those who consented to the establishment of promotion committee were given obligations to comply with bylaws and decisions and to share the costs of committee operation, those who did not consent were also give a vote in residents’ general meetings; there was no link between exercising one’s vote and sharing its costs.
Following proposals are put forward to resolve the problems of urban renewal project promotion committee. First, abolish limitations on the timing of approval for promotion committee and instead put in place a system which approves promotion committee on the basis of redevelopment district in accordance with urban renewal base plan. Second, existing public management system should be improved and enhanced to provide financial support for the early stage in urban renewal project and to ensure the transparency of the process and of contractor selection; urban renewal project support fund should be allocated at the state level to make it a compulsory provision.
Third, to prevent invalid outcomes of residents’ general meeting, electronic voting should be introduced to residents’ general meeting based on Urban Renewal Act and Electoral Commission Act; Electoral Commission could carry out the voting process at a charge. Fourth, steering committee should select a construction project management capable of calculating all costs from the beginning to completion and managing them. Fifth, those who refused to consent should, if they wish to exercise their right to vote, submit their consent for the establishment of steering committee before they can do so.