Voices | Should the public be consulted on every change in land use?

Interesting op ed from Singapore on whether or not public should be consulted on all #LandUse changes:

I REFER to the letter "Residents not told of plan change" (Feb 16). It is disturbing that the writer holds the view that the authorities should consult residents every time there are changes to plans, in this case, the Master Plan. It is inevitable that changes will be made to the Master Plan as Singapore develops and new needs arise. The Master Plan is updated every five years and it would not be to Singapore's benefit if our regulatory authority, in this case the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), is required to seek public feedback for every change. It would slow down the planning process as well as increase workloads and inefficiencies. As the saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth. Any change to the Master Plan is sure to affect Singaporeans, some for the better and some for the worse. We should not expect the URA to appease everyone in land-scarce Singapore. H...

Full article: http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120228-0000049/Shoul...