Yilan announces repeal of its farmhouse self-governance ordinance: is it election pressure?

Because a general election falls next year, some legislators frankly say that amending the farmhouse regulations now would simply make it impossible for them to run, and Yilan's repeal of its self-governance ordinance at this moment is especially eye-catching, with talk that it came under pressure from within the party.

But Yang Wen-chuan, director of Yilan County's Department of Agriculture, said that after Yilan announced its regulations, the COA followed up with an amendment in September, and on October 21 sent an official document to local governments setting out the details clearly, including that farmhouses must face a road and may not be built in the middle of fields. "This is the key provision the county government considers most effective in curbing speculation, and the COA has fully absorbed what we advocated." He said the goal has been achieved, and repealing the self-governance ordinance is clearer and more definite for the public.

The Department of Agriculture believes the most important provisions have been incorporated into the central rules, and the rest are minor details. But Wu Shao-wen, a member of the Guard Yilan Workshop and a legislative candidate for the Green Party and the Social Democratic Party, argues that comparing the central regulations with Yilan's, some are strict and some are loose; Yilan focuses on review and lists details such as road frontage and siting one by one as provisions, whereas the COA puts the review details in an annex table, and does not write in the prohibition on filling with soil or the height of walls, so it is not as rigorous as Yilan.

Wu Shao-wen believes that Yilan could simply amend its regulations, incorporating the stricter parts of the central rules, and there would be no need to abolish the ordinance at all.

In response, Yang Wen-chuan said the central government already has regulations and review details, and as for wall controls and other building regulations, these will return to the Department of Public Works for management.

Lee Chen-yang, director-general of the COA's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, said he respects the local government's judgment, and as for the "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land," although legislators changed it to review, no word has yet been received, and the provisions can still be enforced.

Amending the farmhouse regulations coincides with the general election, bringing heavy pressure on both local and central governments

To cope with farmhouses growing at a rate of 600 per year, Yilan took the lead nationwide and on April 7 announced the "Yilan County Regulations Governing the Qualifications of Applicants to Build Farmhouses and the Review of Farmhouse Construction," which not only require that those who build farmhouses must have farmers' insurance or actually farm, but also lay out in detail that farmhouse sites must face a road, that land in flood-prone areas must not be filled with soil, and so on. The COA followed suit in September, amending the "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" to govern the qualifications of builders, adding, besides those with farmers' insurance or who actually farm, those insured under Category 3 of the National Health Insurance (fishing and animal husbandry).

But whether it is Yilan or the COA amending the law, both have met strong backlash from real estate agents and some farmers' associations and farmers. The COA's "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" fall within the authority of an administrative agency and could originally have been directly promulgated and implemented, then sent to the Legislative Yuan to be "filed for reference." But last month it was reported that legislators had signed a petition to change this to "review." Once it is found to exceed the parent law, the Agricultural Development Act, the Legislative Yuan can require the "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" to be amended or revoked.

According to the rules of the Legislative Yuan, when filing for reference is changed to review, if it is not considered within three months it automatically reverts to filing for reference. "Administrative orders issued by various agencies shall be sent to the Legislative Yuan for filing for reference, and the Legislative Yuan may, in accordance with the law, refer them to a committee for review. If it is found that any of them violates, alters or conflicts with law, or that a matter that should be prescribed by law has been prescribed by order, the Legislative Yuan may by resolution of its plenary session notify the original issuing agency to correct or repeal it within 2 months; if it is not corrected or repealed within that period, the order shall cease to be effective."

The Legislative Yuan adjourned on December 15, which means that if the review has not been completed by the end of this session, it automatically reverts to filing for reference. During this period, the new version of the "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" remains in effect.

Differences between the Yilan version and the COA version (excerpt)