Bali Law of the Land

Bali Zoning Law of 2009 Now Official as DPR-Bali Accepts Rigorous Spatial Rules without Modification

(2/19/2012)

At long last, the prolonged debate over Bali’s Zoning Law of 2009 appears to be at an end. The leadership of the Bali House of Representatives (DPRD-Bali)confirmed that there would be no revision of the law and the law, also known as the RTRWP, is now final and officially law.

As reported in DenPost, the House has now called on the Governor to move ahead with the implementing rules and procedures for the RTRWP.

The statement confirming the RTRWP as final came after protests and demonstrations from a broad-based group calling itself the People of Bali Alliance (AMB) rejecting any revision to the RTRWP. The hundreds gathered in the name of the AMB were joined by academics, members of Bali Corruption Watch and environmentalists.

Protestors were adamant in their demand that the RTRWP not be revised, stipulating that the law as written prohibits any changes in the regulation until 2014, five years after its introduction.

The RTRWP stipulates strict “no-build” zones within 5-kilometers of major temples, set backs from shorelines and roads, maximum height restrictions and detailed spatial arrangements. The zoning law also provides for 5-year prison terms for regency officials who grant easements and issue permits for projects that violate the new zoning law.

Now at question is how provincial and regency officials will address projects built since 2009 that used old regency rules, and in so doing chose to ignore the stricter rules contained in the RTRWP. If the law is applied as written, both those projects and the Regents who approved them, are now at risk.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com