Seoul to ease floor-area ratio, non-residential rules at 5 urban renewal zones

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has overhauled district unit plans for preservation management zones within urban renewal promotion districts, while also revising redevelopment plans for the Mia central district in Seongbuk-gu and Zone 9 of the Heukseok renewal district in Dongjak-gu. The city aims to simultaneously boost private development, expand housing supply and strengthen regional hub functions.

The city announced Tuesday that its sixth Urban Redevelopment Committee met June 30 and approved — with modifications — revised renewal promotion plans covering five preservation management zones within urban renewal promotion districts.

The five zones are the Sinjeong district unit planning zone in Yangcheon-gu, the Mangu district unit planning zone in Jungnang-gu, the Imun residential hub zone in Dongdaemun-gu, the Hoegi zone and the Jeongnong 1 district-center district unit planning zone.

Preservation management zones are areas within urban renewal promotion districts that either do not meet the criteria for designation as renewal promotion projects or need to be maintained as existing urban fabric.

The floor-area ratio framework for district unit plans will be restructured first. The city will unify FAR standards that had previously varied by zone and broaden the scope of ceiling FAR relaxation items — which had been applied only in limited cases — by incorporating relaxation provisions available under other laws.

The base FAR for the affected zones will be raised to match the ordinance FAR. The permissible FAR can be increased to up to 110 percent of the ordinance FAR when public-interest elements such as smart-city features, carbon neutrality measures or design innovation are introduced. The ceiling FAR items will also be expanded to include public open space, energy efficiency ratings and green building standards.

The mandatory non-residential use ratio in quasi-residential and commercial zones will also be eased. The city will scrap the required minimum non-residential ratio that had applied in those zones and allow each site to set its own ratio based on local conditions.

However, mixed-use residential buildings constructed within commercial zones must still meet the non-residential requirement under the urban planning ordinance — 10 percent of total gross floor area.

For small-scale buildings in second- and third-category general residential zones, a temporary three-year FAR increase has also been incorporated.

FAR relaxations to support the supply of rental housing and tourism accommodation facilities are included as well. The FAR for rental housing built in residential zones may be relaxed to up to 1.2 times the ordinance FAR, while tourism accommodation facilities in commercial zones may receive a temporary relaxation of up to 1.3 times the ordinance FAR. In general commercial zones, the FAR could rise from 800 percent to as high as 1,040 percent.

On the same day, the committee also approved — with modifications — a renewal promotion plan for the Mia central renewal promotion district, covering roughly 310,000 square meters around 88 Hawolgok-dong in Seongbuk-gu.

The area had long been criticized for its rigid land-use planning and low FAR framework, which made development difficult. The city said it will minimize joint-development regulations to allow individual lot-by-lot development and will create specially designated development-eligible zones to encourage larger-scale projects and the securing of back-road access.

The city rationalized the FAR framework by incorporating policy changes stemming from revised district unit plan guidelines and amendments to the urban planning ordinance. The height limit for specially designated development-eligible zones was set at 130 meters, while the limit for third-category general residential zones was eased from 25 meters to 40 meters to encourage development activity.

To ensure equity within the same central-district hierarchy and to invigorate commercial zone functions, areas rezoned from residential to general commercial before July 1, 2000 will follow a simplified FAR structure: a base FAR of 600 percent, a permissible FAR of 660 percent and a ceiling FAR of no more than twice the statutory FAR.

For specially designated development-eligible zones — intended to encourage back-road creation and planned development — the permissible FAR was further relaxed to 720 percent, with a base FAR of 600 percent and a ceiling FAR of no more than twice the statutory FAR.

A revised renewal promotion plan for Zone 9 of the Heukseok district in Dongjak-gu was also conditionally approved. The zone is located around 90 Heukseok-dong in Dongjak-gu. Ground was broken in April last year, and an apartment complex with a total gross floor area of 153,185 square meters and 25 above-ground floors is planned.

The revision increases the total number of units from the originally planned 1,540 to 1,561 — an addition of 21 units. The city said it will mix public rental and pre-sale units within the same buildings to eliminate disparities between the two types.

Through this round of renewal district improvements, the city said it aims to drive the redevelopment of aging residential areas, stimulate private development and expand housing supply.