Set Back from Main Gate

[Topline 1]

Hi

I always thought the building of a semi D must be 7.5 m from the main gate. How is it that CapitaLand can build their car porch all the way till it reaches the main gate (and beyond) so that it looks like a garage on the first floor? Anyone knows?

[snoozee 97]

If you look at google maps old photos of the area, this cluster housing development is actually built on a hilly terrain where the developers carved out the roads from the existing hill.

as the front of the house at road level is much lower than the rear of the house they can declare the car park as a basement since the houses are built on a "sloping" ground and the basement is fully enclosed save for the entrance to the car park. so the "car porch roof" you see is technically the first storey floor stab which has some set back from the boundary.

there are many factors affecting each and every house development (since each plot of land is different) and is also subjected to planning decisions by URA. URA looks at each development plan individually and also based on the existing terrain. planning decisions are made based on the guidelines of the current day. so even if some houses are developed with some "special features" years ago, you will not be able to get these "special features" today since the current planning guidelines no longer allow for them.

for example, there is a huge development in ang mo kio area where landed houses are being built in phases. these landed houses which are built today have NO household shelters built in them and even the houses built in the later phases maybe 5 or 10 years down the road will NOT NEED to have household shelters built. the reason given was that the entire development was approved before the household shelter act came into place in 1997 so there's no need to these houses to comply with the current regulations of needing a HS for each house.

if you want a basement for your house, it must be fully enclosed or have a max of 1 meter protrusion from the ground. unless your house is in a low lying area where the existing ground level is below the MPL then you can have an exposed basement since anything below that MPL can be declared as a basement. if your house is on a sloping terrain, then it's up to your architect to design the basement and whether URA accepts the design based on the current planning guidelines or not.

 

edit: developer has declared a ground level at PL119.275. so anything that is below this level is considered a basement. Also the development was approved in 2014 which was before the envelop control guidelines came into place. so many things which can be done before the envelop control guidelines is not allowed to be done now.

Edited October 22, 2018 by snoozee

[Topline 1]

Thanks Snoozee - you really are an expert!

The way CapitaLand has done it is really nice.... pity it can no longer be done. Guess also need to find the right plot of land...

[snoozee 97]

technically this still can be done as long as the existing terrain allows for this. there is a detached house in the east side which is finishing it's redevelopment and the architects has designed the house to have a basement garage where the entrance is from the side which is on a sloping road. it is lucky that this plot of land is sitting on a corner of a cross junction so technically the house have two frontages instead of one hence they are able to shift the entrance to the slope side which allows for this.

of cos the other option is for you to find a house which already has done this and just buy it.