The entire notice. I'll probably be attending this and reporting back.

But as the meeting will be in Cantonese only (with "assistance" for English speakers), I hope we could get a short report from a Cantonese speaker as well. Anybody, please?

This will obviously be happening long after the Bike Park construction which was scheduled to start last month just besides the YSW Library.
So we can look forward to an extended period of construction works directly adjacent to the YSW ferry pier, likely inconveniencing commuters for a long time to come.

The YSW Library has been in danger of being closed for years now. The landlord (the Rural Committee?), wanted the land and building back from the Govt., especially in such a prime and precious location, and no other convenient location for the Library could be located, they said. So this rebuilding will preserve the future of this community library, as it's to be hoped that the land will revert to the Govt.(?), likely at a massive profit for the landlord(s)?

The doubling of the Library's floor space and the new heritage center sound interesting, but let's see some more details first. Maybe more statues and monuments of fishermen, like in the newly opened Aberdeen Plaza, HK Island's "Fisherman's Wharf"?

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Here's the announcement in text form from http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/island/doc/common/activities/02-Notice_Eng.pdf

Islands District Council Public Forum on Signature Projects

Following the announcement of the Signature Project Scheme (SPS) by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address 2013, the Islands District Council has earlier selected the “Silvermine Bay Project”and “Yung Shue Wan Project” as the SPS projects of the Islands District. The Islands District Council will conduct a public forum to collect public views on the two projects. Details of the public forum are as follows:

Date: 5 October 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Venue:3/F Multi-purpose Hall, City Gallery3 Edinburgh Place, Central (near the Lower Block of the City Hall)

Members of the public are welcome to attend and express their views. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The forum will be conducted in Cantonese. The Islands District Office will provide assistance to those requiring English interpretation.


Outline of Yung Shue Wan Project
The project will include the reconstruction of North Lamma Public Library into a three-storey building. The second and third floors of the new building will be used to accommodate a new North Lamma Public Library to enhance library services in North Lamma. Apart from the entrance to the library, the ground floor will be used as a Heritage and Cultural Showroom for Lamma, to exhibit the Island’s historic materials, artefacts and photographs, etc., such that visitors and local residents will have an overview of the Island’s history and scenic spots upon arrival.

Update from the library rebuilding public forum in City Hall today, in Cantonese only.
Thank you, Charlie!

"This forum is basically for collecting input. No handouts.
It seems nothing is final yet. Most of the questions they just replied they will study further.

They will start to call for tender for the design next year. Implementation will start 2017 the earliest.
Library services will not be interrupted."

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

They just finished something similar along the seafront in Ap Lei Chau last year (Wind Tower Park) - quite well done I thought.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHK_Ap_Lei_Chau_Wind_Tower_Park_Exhibition_Gallery_boat_building_history_sign_April-2012.JPG

Looks very interesting, got to have a look at it sometimes.
An entire row of "Do Not" signs, even some pretty new and rare ones: "No drying of linen and clothes"!


Click image to see full-size version

But the rebuilding of the YSW Library will likely become just another Village House-type building with a G/F-only little heritage exhibition, showcasing a few photos of old Lamma, as seen before in a number of "official" local exhibitions.
Anything more than that will take quite a bit of input and "friendly persuasion" from the Lamma community, as the design is wide open for ideas for now.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

LG - Yes Wind Tower Park is quite an extensive development, but within it there is a small museum/picture gallery which about the size of a village house. The design is quite attractive and it might serve as a useful template. I did have my own photo of it, but can't find it right now. I'll see if I can get hold of one to illustrate the point...

Approved Lamma Island Outline Zoning Plan amended

"Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Town Planning Board today (April 11) announced amendments to the approved Lamma Island Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The amendments mainly involve the rezoning of the North Lamma Public Library site to the northeast of Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier from "Government, Institution or Community (1)" ("G/IC(1)") to "G/IC(4)" and two existing radio and television transmission station sites at Ling Kok Shan from "Conservation Area" to "G/IC(5)" and "G/IC(6)" respectively. Opportunity is also taken to update the Notes and Explanatory Statement to reflect the above amendments and to update the general information on various land use zones where appropriate.

The draft Lamma Island OZP No. S/I-LI/10 incorporating the amendments is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, the Islands District Office, and the Lamma Island (North) and Lamma Island (South) Rural Committees.

Any person may make representations in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before June 11.

Representations made to the Town Planning Board will be available for public inspection.

Copies of the draft Lamma Island OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the OZP can be viewed at the Town Planning Board's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/."

---

When seeing this headline above, I expected the Town Planning Board rezoning the ex-Lamma Quarry from the current "Undetermined Use" to "Comprehensive Development Area" so they can start building anything they've already decided. Not yet. Maybe they'll wait with that till after the single public consultations in City Hall on May 3...

The Telecom Tower atop Ling Kok Shan (just above SKW, where Lamma's TV transmission and much of 3G/4G and other communications are centralised) is almost completed now after years of on-off construction. But it's still surrounded by barb wire and dumped construction materials all around. The Tower seems to work fine and I didn't know they needed to change the land zoning. By the way, there's a secret hiking path with fantastic views up/down from the adjacent helipad down via a partial, wooden "staircase" to SKW, too steep for most tourists but a great shorcut with amazing views over the ex-Quarry, all of SKW and all of Lamma and beyond.

---

The rebuilding of the Library at the YSW Ferry Pier is still a few years off as there are no building plans yet and it's still open to ideas and input. What I know so far is that it'll be much larger, about $1,000sqft, 3 floors and has an approved budget of 40-50 million. This official "YSW Project" is almost half of the $100 budget that CY Leung has given to each District as a special one-time payment in his policy speech last year (?), $100 for the entire Outlying Islands District.

There were something like 20 project fighting for this extra budget; the discussions and in-fighting in the Outlying Islands District Council meetings between the different islands must have been epic, I'd guess. So let me give credit where credit is actually due, to Lamma's 3 District Councilors (Lammadonna, Chairman Chan and Chairman Chow of SKW) who managed to capture half of this special district-wide budget just for Lamma!
I've heard that one of the main reasons for securing this budget was the severe lack of public infrastructure on Lamma (full-time doctors, wet market, public spaces, etc.) which the competing Outlying Islands mostly got already as they have larger populations.

So let's follow up in due course with the plans for this very fancy $40-50 million "YSW Project" which will include 2 floors of library facilities (tripling the current size) but it'll also contain also a Lamma Heritage Center (ideas welcome!) and probably some other community uses, tbd. Let ALL of our 3 District Councillors (2 ex-officio councilors for indigenous residents, plus one (Yu Lai-Fan) elected to represent us non-indigenous residents) know your suggestions by contacting their friendly and helpful assistants!

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Doctors are down the Health Dept, not the DC.

As for public space, there is plenty of it but YLF and Chan have no concern in allowing the public to use it.
They locked up the one and only sitting out area in Main Street for months building their clock tower, which cost us 1/4 of the already small area when it was finally finished, because of the absurd pillars they built, instead of just bolting it on an existing structure, like the Rural Committee building or the public toilets, or the existing sea wall. (The similar clock at the beach was just attached to the lookout tower in a day.)

And they built the "YSW Plaza", and put a fence around it and reserve it for their own events only.

The government land next to the Rural Committee building is allowed to be used by the restaurant, instead of being public space.

"Public space" is for the use of the councillors and their friends, not the public.



They are "friendly and helpful" only as long as you just agree with whatever they have already planned.

The "non-indigenous" representatives are all the same families as the "indigenous" reps. They never speak to us, who they supposedly represent.

Any suggestions I make on this project to the district councillors or district office will be ignored, (except to let them tick the "consultation" box) but since the library will be run by LCSD they should have design input.

Sorry if this seems excessively cynical.

Well, I supply the facts and try to refrain from my own comments and opinions. Everybody is welcome to voice out their own opinions, pro and con, moderate or excessively cyncial, including the moderators.

I see my own role more as supplying correct, confirmed and mostly neutral info, adding minimal comments, chronicling the on-going changes in photos, posts and Lamma-zine stories. We have some very committed and passionate activists on this vibrant island, pro and con. I leave the hard struggles to them, but will happily report on any of their newsworthy activities.

But this place is definitely a-changing...

For example, I had a heated argument recently in South Lamma with a Senior Lammaite. He's 100% pro-Bike Park, advocates confiscating and destroying all bikes on the ferry pier frequently. He'd be eager to volunteer for daily patrols to clear the ferry pier of any obstructions, after the Bike Park will be completed and the ferry pier will supposedly become totally off-limits for any "obstructions". If the pier is not wide enough for two ambulances to cross each other, many people might die in a major ferry or pier accident, he claims.

He doesn't ride a bike, of course, and suggests that bikes shouldn't be allowed on Lamma at all; if you can't walk to the ferry pier you shouldn't live here! If you park you bike ANYWHERE on the island in a public space, it should be confiscated and destroyed. Simple and radical.

Yes, there's a wide range of opinions on Lamma on almost every topic...
See some recent public comments from Lammaites on Facebook, in English and not from indigenous residents:
Reclaim the harbour now! Build the ex-Lamma Quarry housing now!

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

People have been parking bikes on the pier for 40 years without incident.

It's quite amazing to consider that the people most in favour of spending $20 million on a "bike park" are those who hate bikes, while actual cyclists are against it. Anywhere else in the world, spending that much money on bicycle facilities would be a Godsend. Here, it's just an excuse to pour concrete into the harbour.

Anyway, there is room for maximum 300 (in practice, more like 250) bikes on the CPA, and last count there were 430 bikes parked on the pier.
They seized and destroyed maybe 100 last "clearance". So after a few more times maybe he'll get his wish when no one dares to park a bike anywhere for fear of it being confiscated by some asshole, either government or vigilante.

Alan, you haven't heard about the recent secret changes to the Bike Park construction plans?
Instead of a single-level platform, they've reacted to your and other compaints about the platform being too small. So instead of extending it and facing even more opposition, they decided to go higher. The Bike Park will now be 3 floors and Village House height.

First floor reserved for VVs, like the original Bike Park plan, see historic plan from 15 or so years ago in the same location.

Second floor will be for the rest of us bike users. Free, but cramped, unsecured and no services provided, just like the current ferry pier.

Third floor for VIP bikers who'll happily pay monthly charges for their spacious floor with a guard and daily bike cleanings and basic maintenance like oiling and maintaining ideal wheel pressure. Great views, express lift, space and free coffee, of course.

Because of the added weight of 2 more floors, the former plans of creating a bike platform had to be abandoned in favour of full standard harbour reclamation. The cost had been tripled as well, of course, and as a consequence the new Library/Community Centre budget had to be used for the Bike Park instead. So, 3-floor Bike Park but no Community Centre....

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Since it was costing almost $100,000 for each bike to be parked on the basic slab, you might expect a few extras.

That must be the April 1st updated plan.
I checked it out.
Includes a giant digital clock and a wavy roof. The pillars though mean that it will only have space for 50 bikes.

OF COURSE, it'll have massive pillars, a Monster Clock and a wavy roof! Standard features for a Bike Park these days, no need to even mention them!

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Since when does it cost 40-50 million to build a 3 storey 1000 sq ft building???

You'd have to ask the Islands District Council and CED Dept. for a budget breakdown.

Compared to $20 million to build a small Bike Park platform with some metal U-shaped pipes to lock bikes to, $40-50 million (according to various official sources) for a 3 floors @ 1,000sqft Village House-cum Library/Heritage Museum sounds quite alright, doesn't it?

Privately built entire Village Houses went for well below $3 million just a few years ago, but now they're selling just the land with the ding right to build a house - land, no house - for up to $11 million even in remote locations like Mo Tat Wan. Anybody knows the current going rate to build a standard Village House?

They're going up all over the island now, building permissions handed out in bunches of up to 3-6 houses almost touching each other; even in very remote Pak Kok where we have 4+ brand-new Village House right now in my immediate neighbourhood in various states of construction, from starting the digging to finding the very first tenants.

Having experienced the same in Sha Po Village more than once before, it's actually not too bad to have a new house built just besides yours. It takes a surprisingly long time, but it's not too noisy... as long as you don't open your windows and make sure your radio or TV is running all the time to drown out the Canto opera or whatever musical tastes the builders are proud to show off at full volume while working.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Have a look at the fish market to see how they can piss away 10 times as much money as necessary to get a worse result.

With all these projects, the design constraint is to spend as much as possible on concrete.
And I'm not joking or being ironic: that is the only way to make sense of these idiotic constructions.
The government gives a wodge of money to the District Council and they divide it up. Each councillor funnels it to the local construction firms by thinking up a reason to put a block of concrete on public land somewhere.

When I was trying to talk to bureaucrats about such projects, they were totally unconcerned with either serving a public need or using funds efficiently, while the councillors are extremely hostile to any suggestions that would cost less.

The next major development project, sometime after completion of the Bike Park, is gazetted on the notice board right now for the mandatory 14-day period, till Dec 18:

The tearing down and rebuilding of the Bike Park-adjacent YSW Library as a 3*1,000 sqft building.
It's even got a very catchy and pretty short name already:

"The Yung Shue Wan Library cum Heritage and Cultural Showroom"

This will obviously be a much larger, much more expensive ($50+ million) and much more time-consuming project than the little bike platform they've been building most of this year. And despite the new name, it'll still be mostly a library on the upper two floors.

What should be displayed to Lamma visitors inside the future Heritage and Cultural Showroom?
Any good (and bad) ideas?

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

From Yu Lai Fan's all-Chinese Facebook page (maintained by one of her 2 assistants):

離島區議會通過在南丫島榕樹灣興建一棟三層高~两層圖書館，一層文物室（原地興建）
多謝大家支持!

Automatic translation:
"Islands District Council adopted at Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island built a three-story ~ two-story library, first floor heritage room (built in situ) thanks for all your support!"

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Translation of the translation: the consultation process is already over and 150% of Lamma residents support her vision.

So all the people who use the library have to walk up two flights of stairs.
Accessibility?
There have been many ancient artefacts found on Lamma, and stashed away in museums in HK. Will we get any of them back, or will it be a lot of photos of Yu Lai Fan cutting ribbons and promoting her next concrete monolith?
I don't expect to see any recognition of people like Richard Jones or others who have contributed to local culture.

Full presentation PDF with many Artist Impressions:
http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/Blog/IS_2014_127_A1_TC.pdf

Facebook discussion on my Lamma Gung page started 2 hours ago, 25 comments so far...

Damon Wong Chun-pong writes:
"The project is only approved by Home Affairs but still yet to start as it need the approval from Legco for $$$
More: http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/.../IS_2014_127_A1_TC.pdf"

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.