Does a Yilan farmhouse not need road frontage? Lin Congxian's statement addresses only side issues, may fuel land speculation rather than focus solely on farm prices
Do farmhouses in Yilan no longer have to be built facing a road? This issue once sparked debate on multiple sides, with some arguing that lifting the ban might be a pretext for speculation. However, Acting County Magistrate Chen Chin-te once again declared recently that reforms would be carried out on the legal and regulatory front, and as early as January 1 next year, Yilan farmhouses would no longer have to be built in scattered corners, "which not only reduces car accidents but also looks a bit better." In response, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien stated his position for the first time today, pointing out directly that to resolve the relevant issue, it must be tied to agricultural development, and one should not focus only on trivial details; otherwise it will be misunderstood as "land speculation and resolving the problem for specific people," and one should not view farmland only through a "price mindset."
At the same time, the Council of Agriculture also stressed that no matter how local regulations are adjusted, if they conflict with central principles they are invalid, and protecting farmland is absolutely the major premise.
Farmhouses facing roads need a way out? Chen Chin-te: Reducing car accidents, a pretty farmhouse is only fair
Why is there a need to resolve the issue of Yilan farmhouses facing roads? Chen Chin-te pointed out that if farmhouses on farmland are restricted to being built in scattered corners, how can people live there? Not even one car can get in or out, because corners facing roads affect driving sightlines, and there are also many car accidents from vehicles colliding along the roadside. Moreover, farmers do not all wear straw rain capes, go barefoot, and lead bicycles around; many people drive. Farmers work hard their whole lives and want to build a farmhouse, tidy it up nicely, live a bit better, and have one car that can get in and out. This is only fair, and the law also does not stipulate that farmhouses must be built in scattered corners.
In response to the Council of Agriculture's emphasis that the Agricultural Development Act requires farmhouses to be adjacent to the side and face a road, Li Hsin-tai, acting director of the Yilan County Government Agriculture Department, stressed that this refers to an item in the format of the "agricultural operation plan" that must be submitted when building a farmhouse, but this is only administrative guidance, not a provision of the Farmhouse Construction Regulations.
When Chen Chin-te was interviewed by News&Market recently, he said that the location of farmhouses facing roads and adjacent sides is strangling rural development
Starting New Year's Day, farmhouse construction no longer restricted by road frontage? Chen Chin-te's office: Expected to be implemented next year, farmers' associations all support it
Therefore, will changes start from the "Regulations Governing Applications for Construction of Farmhouses and Review of Permission for Agricultural Facilities"? A secretary in Chen Chin-te's office revealed, "Follow-up communication with the central government is still needed." The county government will hold public hearings within the next one to two weeks. After the public hearings end, the complete regulations will be sent to the Council of Agriculture, and the required administrative procedures will be completed, with "expected" and "hoped for" implementation on January 1 next year.
In addition, the office also said: "Actually, not much has changed. We have already discussed it with the ten farmers' associations in the county, and all ten support it." It called on the outside world to go to actual rural areas and take a look; existing problems must be pragmatically solved. "We will not go looking for trouble when there is none."
Yuanshan Township Farmers' Association: Farmhouses facing roads face many restrictions; standards should be set reasonably
The director-general surnamed Yu of the Yuanshan Township Farmers' Association in Yilan County, who supports it with both hands, also explained that the farmers' association sector should all support it, and even 98% of farmers with farmland feel this way. "You cannot set restrictions so unreasonably." Moreover, people without fields all say farmland should be used for farming, but people with fields do not think that way.
Yu also stressed that this matter should be considered from a pragmatic perspective. Facing a road, not even a car can park there; facing the side, it will also cause insufficient sunlight for neighboring crops, so they cannot set grain. Therefore, reasonable standards should be set so that people can live and cars can park, and then unreasonable violations can be punished; rather than setting standards so harshly that farmers in need are forced to violate the rules and are then heavily fined.
Lin Tsung-hsien: The Council of Agriculture will firmly guard the defense line unrelated to agricultural development
Facing frequent moves by local governments to speak out, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien stated his position for the first time today. He pointed out, "So far, no relevant plan has been seen sent to the council, but our principle is very clear: farmhouses are related to farmers and agriculture. We fully respect farmers' housing needs, and if it is because of agricultural needs, we now also give local governments more authorization for agricultural facilities. For the parts truly meant to develop agriculture, we will loosen restrictions, but that defense line unrelated to agriculture we will actively hold."
If Yilan needs a way out, Lin Tsung-hsien: Do not talk only about trivial details, or it may become real estate speculation
In addition, Lin Tsung-hsien also stressed that if farmers indeed have housing needs, urban and rural planning and farmers' housing needs should be integrated and planned, for example the early promotion of clustered farmhouses could solve it and also avoid the fragmentation of farmland; if the Yilan County Government already has an issue that needs to be resolved, it must discuss it from the three rural issues and find the core, not talk about branch after branch, "otherwise the outside world will mistakenly think it is to speculate in real estate or to resolve the problem for certain people, and for the Council of Agriculture, there will be no room for any concession."
"When everyone is willing to return to rural life, they must rely on farmland production, so it will not be taken to build houses!" Lin pointed out that at the current stage the policy of ensuring farmland will not change, but if farmland is always viewed through a "price mindset" and farmland prices are converted from an economic perspective, then rural areas will have no opportunity; but farmland does not only have a production and economic function. It also contributes greatly to ecology and the environment. If Taiwan's farmland is repeatedly concretized and farmland continues to be released, the heat island effect will also become more and more serious, and that would be a major disaster for Taiwan.
Chen Chi-chung: There is a legal basis; any local regulation that conflicts is invalid
Regarding changes in laws and regulations, Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung also said directly that any local government that wants to amend regulations related to farmhouse construction must do so in accordance with the norms of the "operation plan"; and Article 30 of the Local Government Act states clearly that autonomous ordinances that conflict with the Constitution, laws, regulations authorized by law, or autonomous ordinances of superior autonomous bodies are invalid. The major premise for the legal construction of farmhouses is that it cannot affect agricultural production, and no local government can violate this.