Ara Damansara

Reported by HN:

THE STAR : Wednesday July 1, 2009
Tropicana residents draft bill
By TAN KARR WEI

RESIDENTS of Tropicana in Petaling Jaya have come up with a proposed Gated and Guarded Community Bill 2009.
Tropicana Residents’ Association (TRA) chairman Victor Lye handed over the bill to Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah during a dialogue with officers from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) recently.

Among those who attended the session at the Tropicana Golf and Country Resort were Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Nasir Hashim and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) representatives.

TRA vice-president Mohamed Shukri Zain said that residents have been working together for the past one year to come up with the draft, guided by a resident who was a former Bar Council chairman.

“Tropicana used to be a gated community but the common areas have been handed back to the council,” said Shukri.
The developer initially maintained the common roads and facilities but handed it over to the MBPJ so that residents did not have to pay double charges of maintenance fees and assessment.

A platform to speak: Lye (left) and Shukri at a dialogue with officers from the MBPJ. Problems arose because the arch structure and boom gates at the entrance violated the council’s guidelines.

Residents were told to remove the structures so that services like waste collection and drain-cleaning would not be affected.

“We are taking the initiative to come up with this bill because there has always been a grey area when it comes to gated and guarded communities,” said Shukri.

Sivarasa said that the bill would have to be discussed at several levels including with MBPJ and the state.

In the interest of security, he advised the TRA to emulate surrounding neighbourhoods where the boom gates were only lowered from 11pm to 6am, allowing the public access during the day.

Lye also suggested that parts of Persiaran Tropicana in front of the Tropicana entrance be turned into a one-way road to ease congestion by preventing traffic from areas like Kota Damansara from passing through.

Traffic consultant Goh Bok Yen said that this would worsen the traffic problem because there were no other alternative roads going in and out of the area.

Dr Nasir said that any solution for traffic problems must not be centred around any one area and the needs of other people must be considered.

Goh said that there was a bigger problem looming because there was a proposal from another developer to take back the land next to the former Sony building in Bandar Utama, currently part of Jalan Tanjung Bandar Utama.

“This would effectively cut off access into Lebuh Bandar Utama, affecting not only Tropicana residents but also traffic coming to and from areas like Kota Damansara and Bandar Utama,” said Goh.

He said that an alternative would be for MBPJ to acquire the land but no decision has been made so far.

THE STAR : Wednesday July 1, 2009
Bill specifies terms and conditions

THE Gated and Guarded Communities Bill 2009 was drafted by the Tropicana Residents Association to allow the installation of barriers and/or boom gates at the entry and exit points to the area.

It also addresses the appointment of security guards to operate the barriers and/or boom gates and to patrol the community.

It also touches on several issues like the application for approval of a gated and guarded community.
The application for approval for new developments has to be made by the developer to the local authority before the development is approved.

It also said that the developer shall inform buyers of the conditions of such communities through provisions in the sale and purchase agreements, especially on matters relating to the cost of provision and maintenance of security services.

Application for approval of an existing gated and guarded community shall be made by the registered residents’ association (RA) only to the local authority, with consent of at least 51% of the registered owners.

The developer or the registered RA, if applicable, would have the power to fix and collect service charges for the provision of security services and facilities by the developer provided such charges are agreed to by at least 51% of the registered owners and approved by the local authority.

The bill also states that all payments for service charges, whether by the developer or RA, shall be deducted from the annual assessments paid by the owners to the local authority.

Among other issues addressed are the authorisation of security guards, use of guard dogs, powers of stopping, arrest and detention, power to stop vehicles, power to require the production of national registration identity card within the community, power to require the production and inspection of driving licence, 24-hour operation of barriers and boom gates, construction of guardhouses and erecting fencing.