Laws of the Guangdong Province

Regulations on City Planning of the Shenzhen Municipality

(Adopted at the Twenty-second Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Second Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on May 15, 1998 and revised according to "The Resolution on Revising of Article 8 of The City Planning Regulations of the Shenzhen Municipality" passed at the Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Third Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on March 22, 2001)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 In order to make city planning scientifically, conduct urban construction rationally, strengthen city planning administration and environmental protection, and ensure the implementation of city planning, these regulations are hereby formulated on the basis of The City Planning Law of the People' s Republic of China and the guiding principles of other laws and rules as well as in compliance with the practical conditions of the Shenzhen Municipality.

Article 2 The city planning region of the Shenzhen Municipality is referred to the administrative region of the Shenzhen Municipality.

       City planning within this administrative region shall be made and implemented according to these regulations.

Article 3 City plans shall be formulated in compliance with law, and may not be revised or repealed without legal procedure.

       Land use and all constructions shall accord with city planning and submit to its management.

       Infrastructure projects approved under city planning shall be incorporated into the Shenzhen municipal plan for economic and social development.

Article 4 City planning and construction shall follow the principle of sustainable development and promote economic, social, and environmental developments in coordination.

       City planning and construction shall ensure public interests in a society and reflect the principle of social justice.

       City planning and construction shall follow the principle to have land use economized and rationalized.

Article 5 The administration department of city planning of the Shenzhen Municipal People' s Government (hereinafter referred to as "the Municipal Government" ) shall be the department responsible for city planning (hereinafter referred to as "the city planning department" ) and in charge of its implementation and management.

       The representative offices of the municipal city planning department (hereinafter referred to as "the representative offices" ) shall be responsible for implementation and management of city planning within their respective administrative districts.

Chapter II City Planning Commission

       Article 6 The Municipal Government shall establish a Shenzhen municipal city planning commission (hereinafter referred to as "the city planning commission" ). The primary duties of this commission shall be as follows:

(1)    examining the drafts of a city-wide overall plan, sub-region plans, and district plans;

(2)    examining the selected locations of major projects which have not been approved and are still under consideration in city planning;

(3)    assigning a task to make an annual statutory graphic standard;

(4)    examining and approving a statutory graphic standard, and supervising its implementation;

(5)    examining and approving special plans;

(6)    fulfilling other duties authorized by the Municipal Government.

Article 7 The city planning commission shall consist of 29 members,

including civil servants, related experts, and public figures. The number of civil servants among them shall not be more than 14. The commission shall have the post of a chairperson, held by mayor, and two vice chairpersons. The vice chairpersons and other members of the commission shall be appointed by the Municipal Government. Each term of the membership shall be 3 years.

       Article 8 The city planning commission may set up committees specialized in development strategy, statutory graphic standard, construction and environment, etc. The city planning department shall discharge the routine duties of the city planning commission. With the commission' s authorization, the committee on statutory graphic standard may examine and approve statutory graphic standards.

       Article 9 The city planning commission shall have a meeting at least once every quarter at the call of chairperson or vice chairperson. The quorum for the meeting shall not be less than 15 and civil servants among them shall not be less than 8.

       Article 10 Any resolution of the city planning commission shall be adopted by a majority of more than two thirds of attendants.

Chapter III Plan Formulation, Examination and Approval in City Planning

      Article 11 Plan formulation shall go through five stages in drawing up of a city-wide overall plan, sub-region plans, district plans, statutory graphic standard, and detailed blueprints.

       Article 12 The Municipal Government shall set standards and rules for the Shenzhen Municipality' s city planning as a primary technical foundation in plan formulation and implementation.

       Article 13 The Municipal Government shall make a city-wide development strategy and direct the formulation of a city-wide overall plan.

       Article 14 Based on the city-wide development strategy, the overall plan shall define the nature of the city as well as the goals and scale of its development; provide an overall layout for city development patterns within the city planning region, structural division of sub-regions and groups, allocation of land for urban construction, projecting of transportation system and city-wide infrastructural facilities, agriculture and environmental protection, the development and utilization of scenic resources for tourism; and set a basic framework for special planning.

       The formulation of the city-wide overall plan shall be organized by the Municipal Government. Before examining the draft of the overall plan, the city planning commission shall make its contents public for 30 days and solicit suggestions form various circles and the public. The city planning commission shall seek and consider all kinds of opinions, and adopt those scientific and rational ones.

       The city-wide overall plan shall be submitted by the Municipal Government to the Municipal People' s Congress or its Standing Committee for examination and approval, and reported to the State Council after the Guangdong Provincial People' s Government has checked and approved this plan.

       After the State Council' s approval of the city-wide overall plan, the Municipal Government shall make its summary public thorough the major media of the city.

       Article 15 The Municipal Government shall make partial adjustments of the city-wide overall plan in accordance with the needs of the city-wide economic and social development, report these adjustments to the Municipal People' s Congress or its Standing Committee as well as the Guangdong Provincial People' s Government for the record, and make them public; any major change of the city-wide overall plan on the nature of the city, the scale, the direction of development and the overall layout shall be made in accordance with Article 14 of these regulations.

       Article 16 All special plans made separately shall be in line with and subordinated to the city-wide overall plan. All special plans formulated by the responsible departments concerned shall go through the city planning department' s comprehensive coordination and be reported to the city planning commission for examination and approval.

Article 17 A sub-region plan, formulated in compliance with the city-wide overall plan, shall direct the land use and all urban constructions within a sub-region.  The area of a sub-city region shall be defined by the Municipal Government in accordance with the city-wide overall plan.

The sub-region plans shall be made by the city planning department, soliciting suggestions from the people' s governments of districts and the related departments of the Municipal Government, and reported to the Standing Committee of the Municipal People' s Congress for examination and approval after the city planning commission' s scrutinizing has been followed by the Municipal Government' s check and approval.

Article 18 A district plan shall be formulated in accordance with the requirements of a sub-region plan. The area of a district shall be defined by the city planning department based on the structural layouts of urban grouping set by sub-region plans, the divisions formed by topography and surface features such as rivers, hills and roads, and the administrative district divisions in combination.

The district plans shall be made by the city planning department or the  representative offices, soliciting suggestions from the people' s governments of districts and the related departments of the Municipal Government, and reported to the Municipal Government for examination and approval after the city planning commission' s scrutinizing.

Any major adjustments of a district plan shall be reported for examination and approval to those offices originally in charge of examination and approval of the plan.

Article 19 A statutory graphic standard, formulated in accordance with district plans, shall further specify the nature of land use, development intensity, accessory facilities of all the sections within the districts. The formulation, examination, approval and revision of the statutory graphic standard shall be conducted in compliance with the rules in Chapter 4 of these regulations.

Article 20 Detailed blueprints, formulated in accordance with all control requirements defined by the statutory graphic standard, shall specify in detail the land use of all the sections and quarters as well as the arrangements for municipal works, pipelines, etc.

The detailed blueprints shall be worked out, examined, approved by the city planning department or the representative offices.

As for the area not covered by the statutory graphic standard, a detailed blueprint shall be made in accordance with all the requirements of a district plan and on the basis of investigation of the current situation.

Chapter IV Statutory Graphic Standard

Article 21 The statutory graphic standard shall be formulated by the city planning department on the basis of the requirements of the city-wide overall plan, sub-region plans, and district plans. The office of the city planning commission shall make the draft of the statutory graphic standard public thorough display, solicit suggestions from the public, and then examine and approve the draft.

Article 22 Every year, the city planning department shall make a plan for the formulation of the statutory graphic standard, and report it to the city planning commission for examination and approval.

Article 23 The statutory graphic standard shall include two parts: the graphic and the text.

The techniques to formulate the statutory graphic standard shall be prescribed by the Municipal Government separately.

Article 24 The city planning department shall solicit suggestions from the related departments in the process of making of a draft of the statutory graphic standard.

Article 25 With the approval of the city planning commission after its preliminary screening, the draft of the statutory graphic standard shall be put on display to the public for 30 days, and the date and locations of the display shall be announced on the city' s major media.

Article 26 During the public display and inquiry time of the statutory graphic standard, any unit and individual may submit written opinions or suggestions to the city planning commission.

Article 27 The city planning commission shall examine the solicited suggestions of the public; if any suggestion has been decided to be adopted after the examination, the city planning department shall make a revision in the draft of the statutory graphic standard.

When examining the public' s suggestions, the city planning commission may notify movers or their representatives to be present if it is considered to be necessary.

After examining the public' s suggestions, the city planning commission shall give movers written notices about the examination results.

The statutory graphic standard adopted by the city planning commission after the examination shall be made public.

Article 28 The statutory graphic standard shall be revised if there is one of the following situations taking place:

(1) the change of the city-wide overall plan has a serious impact on the function

 and division of districts;

(2) the setting up of a major project has a serious impact on the function and division of districts;

(3) in the process of regular inspection of the statutory graphic standard' s      implementation, the city planning commission has found it necessary to make a revision;

(4) a public figure' s suggestion to revise the implementation of the statutory graphic standard has been adopted by the city planning commission.

The revision of the statutory graphic standard shall follow the procedure of its formulation.        

Chapter V City Design

       Article 29 The city design shall consist of an overall city design and partial city designs. The city design shall be in making thorough all the stages of city planning.

       Article 30 The overall city design shall be made in combination with the city-wide overall plan, sub-region plans and district plans, and be integrated as a part of these plans.

       The partial city designs shall be made in combination with formulating of the statutory graphic standard and detailed blueprints, and become an important part of the detailed blueprints.

       For the key sections of the city, partial city designs shall be made separately in the process of formulation of the statutory graphic standard.

       For the other sections, partial city designs shall be made in the formulation of the statutory graphic standard.

       Article 31 The following sections shall have separate partial city designs:

(1) the city center, the centers of all the districts, the commercial and cultural centers of all the organizational townships;

(2) the main roads of living areas;

(3) the ports and hubs of passenger transport;

(4) squares and pedestrian malls;

(5) the coastlines of living areas;

(6) key tourist attractions.

       Article 32 The main result of the overall city design shall be the guiding principles, which provide policy directions and instructive suggestions on all the aspects of the city design, and serve as a guide for city designing at the next lower level.

       Article 33 The results of city designing included in all the stages of city planning shall be reported along with those plans.

       The separate city designs for key sections shall be examined by the city planning department and reported to the city planning commission for examination and approval.

Chapter VI Planning and Management of Land Use for Construction

       Article 34 Both the land use for urban construction and all constructions shall follow the related rules of city planning and its management.

       Article 35 The development and constructions in a new area shall be conducted group by group and section by section, and the municipal facilities of public service shall be under construction simultaneously.

       Article 36 It shall be forbidden to make a construction arrangement if such arrangement is beyond the limits of the city planning construction districts or in an area where there are neither urban accessory facilities to meet the needs nor effective measures to be taken. But the following projects are exceptions:

(1) the extended accessory projects and the technological improvement projects in the same place, the classified scientific research projects, and the other special projects;

(2) the projects of public facilities and municipal works as accessory construction, the projects to prevent calamities and to remove dangers, the projects of environmental protection, and the projects of making a green city by planting trees and flowers;

(3) the projects to fix river systems and mountain landslide;

(4) the projects unsuitable to be concentrated in one area because of inflammable and explosive materials, pollution effects, etc.

Article 37 The following land shall be well protected against illegal possession

and change of use:

(1) the land for urban construction: the land for greening by planting trees and flowers; the land for culture and education, the land for sports, the land for medical services; the land for social welfare; the land for municipal public services and municipal corridors;

(2) the land not for urban construction: the land for agricultural conservation; the land for conservation of natural vegetation; the land for water resources conservation; the land for grouping separation belt;

(3) the land for other urban use: coastlines; the land for tourism; the reserve land for urban development.

Article 38 All projects of new construction, reconstruction and extended

construction shall have municipal infrastructural facilities under construction as accessories at the same time. In one of the following cases, a unit undertaking construction shall be also responsible for building municipal facilities of public service and public facilities of social service:

(1)    the construction is taking place in an old urban area without enough accessory facilities or in an area where the development has already been completed;

(2)    the construction is taking place in a new development area where accessory facilities have not been completed;

(3)    the construction is taking place in an area which has not enough existing accessory facilities to deal with the pressure resulting from the development brought about by the unit undertaking construction.

As for what project and how much should be taken by a unit undertaking construction to build various accessory facilities to serve the public, it shall be determined by the city planning department on the basis of the construction plans for new areas and the reconstruction plans for old areas.

       Article 39 Any reconstruction of an old area shall take the improvement of municipal and public facilities as the main goal, give priority to the construction projects which can meet the needs of accessory facilities in the area, raise the quality level of residents' life, and beautify the appearance of the city.

       An old area' s reconstruction shall strictly follow the approved plan, any sporadic crowded-in construction shall be prohibited.

       An old area' s reconstruction shall disperse industrial enterprises according to the plan and the prescribed order. As for those industrial enterprises which pollute the environment and jeopardize the residential safety, an adjustment shall be made promptly to the plan and a deadline shall be set for their removal.

       Article 40 The following construction projects shall require units undertaking construction to submit The Statement on the Selected Location for a Construction Project issued by the city planning department and apply for putting their projects under approved plans:

(1)    the major construction projects or the projects causing pollution;

(2)    the warehouses and yards for dangerous goods;

(3)    the other designated construction projects.

Article 41 The procedure to issue The Statement on the Selected Location for

a Construction Project shall be as follows:

(1) a unit undertaking construction shall fill out Application Form for Location Selecting of a Construction Project and, in accordance with the rules, attach a feasibility study report, an environmental effects evaluation report, and related documents, graphic, etc.;

(2) after accepting the application, the city planning department shall examine it according to the requirements of city planning and make a response within 40 days. The Statement on the Selected Location for a Construction Project shall be issued upon approval; and a written reply shall be made for rejection.

As for a major project' s application for location selecting in an area which has

not been specified by city planning, the city planning commission shall make an examination and issue The Statement on the Selected Location for a Construction Project; the city planning department shall make a written reply for an application which has been rejected by the city planning commission.

       Article 42 If a unit undertaking construction has not applied for a permit of planned land use for construction within a year after obtaining The Statement on the Selected Location for a Construction Project, this statement shall automatically cease to be valid.

       Article 43 When obtaining a right to use a public land by auction bidding, a unit undertaking construction shall bring a contract of land use releasing to get Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction.

       When obtaining a right to use a public land by an agreement, a unit undertaking construction shall apply to the city planning department or the representative offices for Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction before signing a contract of land use releasing. The city planning department or the representative offices shall rely on the city planning of the related area to examine and approve the design targets for planned construction land use, set the design requirements of city planning, and issue Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction.

       Article 44 Within 90 days after obtaining Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction, if a unit undertaking construction has neither been able to sign a contract of land use releasing nor applied for extension, Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction shall automatically cease to be valid.

       Article 45 Within 2 years after obtaining Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction, a unit undertaking construction may not change the contents of the plan; when accepting an application for change filed 2 years later, the city planning department or the representative offices shall make a preliminary check first and then complete examination and approval according to the legal procedure.

       For an approved application, the city planning department or the representative offices shall re-issue Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction, take the original one back, and complete the relevant process for land use; for a rejected application, the city planning department or the representative offices shall give a written reply.

       Article 46 Any land use for temporary urban construction shall be kept under strict control except for the accessory facilities of public service which are needed by construction projects and needed urgently.

       Article 47 Any land use for temporary construction shall be forbidden in the land for recent urban construction, green belts, and the land planned for facilities of both public service and municipal public utilities.

       Article 48 Permit of Planned Land Use for Temporary Construction shall be obtained for temporary construction in accordance with law, a unit undertaking construction and the municipal department of land management shall sign The Contract of Temporary Land Use, and the land use shall strictly follow the approved purposes.

       The procedure of issuing Permit of Planned Land Use for Temporary Construction shall be the same as for Permit of Planned Land Use for Construction.

       Article 49 The term for use of the land for temporary construction shall be 2 years, an extension may be applied only once at the end of the term, but the term of the extension shall not be more than 1 year. At the end of the term, the land user shall be responsible for dismantling and removing all the buildings and structures.

       If the land is demanded for urban construction during the term, the land user shall submit to this demand and remove all the temporary buildings and structures within a prescribed deadline. The land user shall have the right to claim compensation no more than 50% of the land use fee which has been paid.

       Only the buildings and structures of no more than 2 stories shall be allowed in the land for temporary construction.

Chapter VII Management of Planned Construction

       Article 50 The construction referred to in these regulations shall include building works and municipal works.

       The building works comprise buildings and structures not covered by the municipal works.

       The municipal works comprise roads, bridges, tunnels, rails, transit facilities, urban water supply, drainage works, flood-control facilities, electricity supply, lighting installation, postal and telecommunication service, cable TV, associated gas, pipelines and facilities of heating power, environmental works, sanitary facilities, and other facilities of public utilities within the city planning region.

       Any new construction, extended construction and reconstruction of the building works and the municipal works within the city planning region shall obtain Permit of Planned Construction from the city planning department or the representative offices in the first place and then process to start the construction.

       The attached drawings and documents to Permit of Planned Construction shall be regarded as the supplementary documents of the same legal validity.

       Article 51 The procedure to apply for Permit of Planned Construction shall be as follows:

(1)    an applicant shall bring the application, the document of approval of the construction investment, the contract of land use releasing or the map of land use plan, Permit of Land Use for Construction, the statement of the related responsible specialized department about the evaluation of the design plan, and submit the design plan to the city planning department or the representative offices. Only upon approval of the design plan, may preliminary designing be started.

(2)    an applicant shall bring the application, design documents, the statement of the related responsible specialized department about the evaluation of the preliminary design, and apply to the city planning department or the representative offices for examination and approval of the preliminary design. Only upon approval, may working drawing be started.

(3)    an applicant shall bring the application, the contract of land use releasing, design documents, the statement of the related responsible specialized department about the evaluation of the working drawing, and apply to the city planning department or the representative offices for examination and approval of the working drawing. Upon approval, Permit of Planned Construction shall be issued.

Permit of Planned Construction for the municipal works shall be processed

by referring to the rules of the above section.

       Multi-story residential buildings' application shall follow Item (1) and Item (2) of the first section of this article.

       The projects for the development of a section as a whole may apply for Permit of Planned Construction by stages and in groups, the approved detailed blueprint shall be provided for application in addition to the above mentioned conditions.

       Article 52 Permit of Planned construction shall not be issued in the following situations:

(1)    the design does not meet the requirements of city planning or the design has failed to make revisions according to the evaluation of the responsible department of the government at all the stages of examination;

(2)    the unit in charge of design does not meet the requirement for qualification according to the administrative regulations of the related profession;

(3)    the design documents do not meet the technical standards and regulations of the related profession set by the state, the province, and the municipality.

Article 53 If a construction has not been started in more than 1 year after

obtaining Permit of Planned Construction, this Permit of Planned Construction shall automatically cease to be valid.

       Article 54 If a large or medium-sized project, under the pressure of time limit of the construction, has to start the foundation work before completing of the whole set of working drawing, the unit undertaking construction may, upon approval of the preliminary design, bring the application for working ahead of time, the general layout, the working drawing for the foundation, the contract of land use releasing, and apply to the city planning department. Upon examination and approval, a certification for the foundation work to be started ahead of time shall be issued.

       Article 55 Only after obtaining Permit of Planned Construction or a certification to start the foundation work ahead of time, shall a unit or an individual undertaking construction be allowed to prepare for the construction and to make a layout on the site. When the layout on the site is done, an application shall be filed to the city planning department or the representative offices for re-inspection. The construction may not be started until the re-inspection has concluded that everything is in order without mistake.

       Article 56 If it is because of the following situations that a design has to be revised after obtaining Permit of Planned Construction, a reapplication for Permit of Planned Construction shall be required:

(1)    there is a change related to the site of building, elevation, stories, plate, functions of use,  structure;

(2)    there is a major change in the municipal works related to size, grade, alignment, technological design, elevation, plate, structure, function, capacity of equipments, form and shape.

The other partial revisions of a design which are not covered by the rules of the

above section shall be reported for the record along with submitting the drawing of the completed construction.

       Article 57 If any completed building has to change the nature of use, it shall be required to have approval from the city planning department. After signing a supplementary agreement on the contract of land use releasing and paying up the land price, an applicant shall bring the design documents and apply to the city planning department for Permit of Planned Construction or a license to do architectural adornment and fixing up. If there is anything required to be examined and approved by the related specialized administration departments, an evaluation of these departments shall be obtained as well.

       Article 58 Any building except for those of the state agencies, the stationing places of armed forces and schools shall not be enclosed by walls. If it is indeed necessary to have an enclosing wall, an application shall be filed to the city planning department or the representative offices. The enclosing wall shall not be beyond the property line of the building, and the wall shall have an open style and a beautiful shape.

       Article 59 In order to build a temporary building within the city planning region, an application shall be filed to the city planning department or the representative offices, and Permit of Planned Temporary Construction shall be obtained as well.

       The term of using temporary buildings and structures shall neither be more than 2 years nor go beyond the deadline of the land use for temporary construction.

       Temporary buildings shall not change the nature of use.

       Both construction material yards and work sheds temporarily occupying roads shall be dismantled and removed within 15 days after fringe houses or the third story have been completed.

       Article 60 In an area which has already completed construction, temporary buildings of no use for construction shall not be allowed on the both sides of the main road of the city.

       Temporary buildings shall be forbidden on traffic lanes, sidewalks, and green belts. If temporary buildings are indeed necessary for construction, an application shall be filed to the city planning department. Only based on an agreement of the related departments, the city planning department shall make a decision on approval.

       Article 61 After the completion of a construction project, a unit or an individual undertaking construction shall bring a report of surveying and mapping of the completed construction to the original department in charge of examination and approval and apply for check and acceptance. Without check and acceptance or with a conclusion to be a failure to meet the standard, the constructed building shall not be issued Certificate for Check and Acceptance according to Planning, registered for the real estate ownership, or put into use.

       Article 62 Check and acceptance according to planning shall not be conducted if there is one of the following situations taking place:

(1)    the design of a building has been changed without authorization (such as changes of the building location, elevation, stories, plate, functions of use, architectural structure, the capacity of equipments);

(2)    the buildings or structures which should be dismantled and removed according to Permit of Planned Construction have not been dismantled and removed;

(3)    the temporary facilities have not been removed out of the used land, the accessory works have not been completed;

(4)    any other condition does not meet the requirements of Permit of Planned Construction.

Article 63 After the check and acceptance of individual works according to

planning, a residential or industrial section which is undergoing its development as a whole shall also have its residential quarters checked and accepted. When a residential quarter is built up by stages and in groups, its accessory works shall be completed at the same time according to its plan. If the accessory works have not been completed, the other works shall not be checked and accepted.

       Article 64 After the check and acceptance of a construction project, a unit or an individual undertaking construction shall submit a drawing of the completed construction in accordance with the related rules, but, for a road project, its drawing shall be submitted within 2 months after the completion of construction.

       Article 65 If any building and structure indeed has to be dismantled and removed, an application shall be filed to the city planning department or the representative offices, and only upon approval shall dismantling and removing be done. A plan of dismantling and removing of buildings and structures shall be worked out in order to ensure the safety of the neighboring buildings, structures, roads, pipelines and the removal work itself. 

       Article 66 Before designing all municipal works and other construction works, the existing municipal facilities within the construction areas shall be well investigated, the relationship between the design and the current conditions, the coordination of pipelines and roads shall be clearly seen in the design drawing which shall properly settle the relationship between the new and old pipelines and ensure the safely of the construction.

       Article 67 Any new construction and reconstruction of roads shall be accompanied by laying underground pipelines or casing pipes in advance. A newly-built road with its red-line width of more than 25 meters shall not be dug within 3 years after its completion. If there is a special case that digging is indeed necessary, the work on a two-way road with more than 6 traffic lanes (including 6 lanes) shall be reported to the Municipal Government for approval, and the work on a two-way road with less than 4 traffic lanes shall be reported to the city planning department for approval.

       Article 68 It shall be required to comply with the related formalities of the city planning department for opening entrances and exits, building municipal pipeline junctions, erecting (laying) municipal lines, and setting up temporary crossings and work passages on the municipal roads.

       Any unit or individual shall not occupy roads, squares, green belts, municipal corridors and the surface of underground pipelines for construction.

       When working at a place close to storages of dangerous goods and pressure pipelines, a unit undertaking construction shall ask for approval from the related administrator and user units, and the construction shall not be started until adopting the related safety measures based on the consultation and agreement between two parties.

       Article 69 In addition to required application for re-inspection after the layout on the site of the municipal works, units or individual undertaking construction shall apply to the city planning department or the representative offices for re-inspection before the hidden works are covered by the earth. Only after the re-inspection has found no problem, shall the earth-covering be started.

       The hidden works involving inflammable, explosive, poisonous and corrosive materials shall also have permission from the responsible departments of public security, fire fighting and labor safety before earth-covering.

       Article 70 The term for use of temporary municipal pipelines, temporary crossings and work passages generally shall be no more than 2 years. If it needs to be extended for construction purposes, an application shall be filed to the original departments in charge of examination and approval.

       In case of the requirement of urban construction or the expiration of the term for use, the user unit of temporary municipal facilities shall dismantle and remove these facilities on its own without compensation, and the original state shall be restored.

       Article 71 Urban roads designing shall be conducted along with unblocking designing. Within the limit of the red lines of a road, no building and structure shall be allowed except for planned pipelines of various kinds or pedestrians' overpass, underground walkways, covered bus-stops of public transit, telephone booths, traffic signs, fire hydrants, road lamps, boxes of transformer substation, boxes of switchboard, boxes of cable TV terminals, and other planned road-side public facilities.

       No building shall be allowed on the upper reaches of rivers, canals, ditches, and their control areas.

       Overhead high-tension lines, road-lamp wires, telecommunication cables shall be gradually changed into underground ones.

Chapter VIII Legal Liability

       Article 72 For a construction undertaken without Permit of Land Use for Construction or Permit of Planned Construction, the city planning department may take coercive measures such as closing down, seizing, etc. in accordance with The Regulations on Planned Land Supervision of the Shenzhen Municipality.

       Article 73 For those causing serious effects on city planning by illegal construction or those causing some effects on city planning by illegal construction and failing to take corrective measures, they shall be ordered to stop construction, remove illegal buildings and structures by a deadline, in case of damage to public and municipal facilities the party concerned shall be held responsible for repair and compensation.

       For those causing some effects on city planning by illegal construction but being able to take corrective measures, they shall be ordered to stop construction, make a correction by a deadline, comply with the formalities, pay a fine of 40-60% of the total cost of civil engineering for the illegal part of an individual construction, and surrender all illegal earnings for confiscation.

       For those undertaking illegal construction without effects on city planning, they shall be ordered to stop construction, comply with the formalities by a deadline, pay a fine of 40-60% of the total cost of civil engineering for an individual construction, and surrender all illegal earnings for confiscation.

       Article 74 Illegal temporary buildings shall be dealt with according to the following rules:

(1)    if a building has affected city planning, it shall be ordered to be dismantled and removed by a deadline;

(2)    if a building, without authorization, has changed the use originally applied for, it shall be ordered to be corrected by a deadline, if the correction has not been done after the deadline, the building shall be ordered to be dismantled and removed;

(3)    if a building has not affected city planning, it shall be ordered to comply with the formalities and have a term to be set for use, and a fine shall be imposed. The fine for a building of commercial use shall be more than 3000 but less than 5000 RMB per square meter of building area. The fine for a building of noncommercial use shall be more than 1,000 but less than 2,000 RMB per square meter of building area.

Article 75 In case of violation of Article 64 of these regulations, a drawing of

the completed construction shall be ordered to be submitted by a deadline, and a fine of more than 30,000 but less than 50,000 RMB shall be imposed.

Article 76 In case of violation of Article 65 of these regulations, the owner of

property shall be imposed a fine of more than 20,000 but less than 50,000 RMB by the city planning department or the representative offices.

       Article 77 In case of violation of Section 1 of Article 68 of these regulations and affecting city planning, the party concerned shall be ordered to restore the original state by a deadline and punished by a fine of more than 80,000 but less than 100,000 RMB. In case of violation not affecting city planning, the party concerned shall be ordered to comply with the formalities and punished by a fine of more than 80,000 but less than 100,000 RMB.

       Article 78 If an unit or an individual in charge of illegal construction and an unit in charge of the working continue the construction after receiving a notice to stop, the city planning department or the representative offices shall order them to stop the construction; if they still refuse to stop after a deadline, the departments in charge of water and electricity supply shall be required to stop supply to the construction, and the related departments shall coordinate in this respect.

       Article 79 The leading officials and directly responsible staff of the units in charge of investment, construction and design involved in illegal construction shall be held accountable for their administrative responsibility, punished by a fine of more than 10,000 but less than 20,000 RMB, and the illegal earnings which both illegal design and the unit in charge of construction have made shall be confiscated.

       Article 80 Any examination and approval in violation of the statutory graphic standard shall be invalid, as a result, occupied land shall be returned by a deadline, completed buildings and structures shall be dismantled and removed.

       Excepting the situation specified by the above section, any land use for construction or construction itself illegally examined and approved by the city planning department, which has no authority to do so, but oversteps its authority or resorts to other methods to get things done in violation of the related rules of these regulations, shall be dealt with in compliance with Article 73 of these regulations.

       Disciplinary sanctions shall be applied against the persons directly responsible for illegal examination and approval; if there is a criminal offence, the criminal responsibility shall be ascertained according to law.

       When conducting examination and approval illegally, the departments in charge of examination and approval shall be held liable for compensation for the damages caused by units undertaking construction.

       Article 81 If the staff members of the departments in charge of planning neglect their duty, abuse their power, practice favoritism and engage in irregularities, disciplinary sanctions shall be applied against them by their department or agencies at the higher level or the related responsible offices; if there is a criminal offence, the criminal responsibility shall be ascertained according to law.

       Article 82 If the party concerned has refused to accept the disciplinary sanction or administrative compulsory measure imposed by the representative offices of the city planning department, an application may be filed to the city planning department for review within 15 days after receiving the decision of punishment; if the party concerned has refused to accept the disciplinary sanction or administrative compulsory measure imposed by the city planning department, an application may be filed to the Municipal Government for review within 15 days after receiving the decision of punishment. The party concerned may also appeal directly to the people' s court within 15 days after receiving the decision of punishment.

Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions

       Article 83 The Municipal Government may formulate implementing rules in accordance with these regulations.

       Article 84 These regulations shall take effect as of July 1, 1998.

       If there is a conflict between these regulations and the related rules previously implemented in the city, these regulations shall be taken as the standard.