Source : Straits Times - 30 Aug 2008
COMING near you in the neighbourhood: hot food, cold beer and live entertainment.
At least, that is the plan if a bid by the authorities to help businesses create more vibrant residential areas around the island passes muster in a public consultation.
Businesses in the food and beverage industry now climb a mountain of red tape if they want to give patrons something a little different - for example, a restaurant cannot have live music unless it applies to be a nightclub, and a food kiosk cannot serve freshly cooked food unless it applies to cook on the premises.
But if the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) decides to tweak current planning guidelines, it means less form-filling and bureaucracy for businesses and increased vibrancy in residential areas.
Though it would apply to all businesses, where it would have the most impact would be in quiet residential neighbourhoods.
It could create more magnets around the island like Thomson Village on Upper Thomson Road, Jalan Legundi in Sembawang, and Holland Village, and potentially more nuisance as well as convenience for residents.
But the public will have a say in whether this happens.
The URA is canvassing public feedback through an online survey which will be on the website www.ura.gov.sg from Monday till Sept 30.
It wants to focus on businesses in private shophouses near residential areas, as these are places where the changes will likely have the most impact, said URA officials in a media briefing yesterday. There are currently 2,500 such shophouses around the island.
Current rules forbid regular performances of live music and entertainment - whether it is a violinist serenading diners nightly, or a resident rock band playing for barflies - in restaurants and pubs in residential areas. Owners of such businesses usually have to apply for change-of-use permission for nightclub status.
Food shops - takeaway food counters that have no dining areas - are also not allowed to have cooking facilities unless they apply for approval.
If the URA decides to relax guidelines, businesses no longer have to go through a two-week change-of-use application process that can cost $800.
Restaurant owner Melissa Chong gave the move the thumbs-up.
‘I think flexibility is always good for any business, especially now Singaporeans are looking for more interesting experiences.
‘If we want to create something special to attract guests but have to go through a lot of red tape, we may just forget about it,’ said Ms Chong, who runs the restaurant Peaberry and Pretzel in Sunset Way.
But while restaurants, food shops and pubs can be a good thing for a neighbourhood, ‘they can also potentially create noise, smell as well as traffic and parking issues,’ said Mr Han Yong Hoe, URA’s director of development control.
The URA has received a steadily increasing number of complaints from residents about disturbances from nearby businesses. They have got 16 complaints this year already, compared with 13 for all of 2006.
Gripes range from too-loud screenings of football matches outside pubs, to restaurant patrons taking up precious parking space.
One resident, officials revealed, even complained about the pungent smell of fried hae bee hiam (dried shrimp chilli) coming from a nearby restaurant, which permeated her drying laundry.
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
‘I think flexibility is always good for any business, especially now Singaporeans are looking for more interesting experiences…If we want to create something special to attract guests but have to go through a lot of red tape, we may just forget about it.’ - Restaurant owner Melissa Chong
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