Town Planning Board

The Town Planning Board (Chinese: 城市規劃委員會) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government tasked with developing urban plans with an aim to ensuring the "health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community through the process of guiding and controlling the development and use of land, and to bring about a better organised, efficient and desirable place to live and work." It is founded upon section 2 of the Town Planning Ordinance.

The Town Planning Board designates and prepares new draft zoning plans, considers proposed layout plans under Comprehensive Development Area zoning, exhibits draft plans for public comment, considers applications for planning permission, and submits draft plans for approval by the Chief Executive in Council.

The Planning Department is the executive arm of the Town Planning Board. It creates plans on behalf of the TPB, provides technical services and enforces zoning restrictions.

Members are appointed by the Chief Executive for a tenure of 1-2 years. They serve on either the Metro Planning Committee (MPC) concerning Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Tsuen Wan, or the Rural and New Town Planning Committee (RNTPC), covering the New Territories excluding Tsuen Wan.

Outline Zoning Plans are the standard zoning maps adopted for different areas of the city. Land within these maps is divided into different zones denoting different land uses, like Residential, Commercial, or Industrial. A zoning like "Residential" can be broken down into different subtypes, to accommodate different types or intensity of residential development. The function of each zone is to specify which land uses may be permitted on the site. Some zones prohibit development in order to provide open space, or to conserve environmental features and heritage assets.

Each zone is accompanied by a set of "notes". The main feature of the notes is a table is drawn up with two columns. "Column 1" will specify land uses which are always permitted in that particular type of zone, while "Column 2" lists uses which might be permitted in that zone upon application and approval from the Town Planning Board. The notes can also include a set of "remarks" elucidating any additional restrictions, i.e. the maximum plot ratio or building height permitted.

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