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Phuket coastline development caught in confusion of lines
Nattapat Tuarob


The dream of stepping from your veranda onto the beach may be a bad dream.

PHUKET: -- The island has encountered many confusions over the laws applied to land and construction. Now a spotlight has been shone on a confusion that has arisen over two lines drawn literally in the sand.

The confusion may mean that dozens of structures close to the sea in Phuket are potentially illegal.

The two lines at issue are the Shoreline, or high tide line, and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, or OrBorJor Line.

An Announcement by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated BE 2553 (2010), and entitled “Environmental Protection Zoning and Measure For Phuket Province”, defines the Shoreline.

“The Shoreline is the line where the tide normally reaches its highest natural level” – in other words, the average high tide.

This is the line that demarcates the sea from the land, and which is supposed to be used to define the edge of Zone 1 of the land, and thence the other zones further inland.

Zone No 1 is defined as the “precinct which is measured from shorelines surrounding Phuket into the mainland for 50 metres including surrounding islands…”

The announcement states that the first 20 metres from the shoreline must remain totally untouched. The remaining 30 metres may be built on (provided that usage rules allow it), but only to a height of six metres, and provided that 75 per cent of the land will not be built on – in other words, left as green space.

As one moves inland the rules are eased. In Zone 2, which is the zone between 50 metres and 200 metres from the shoreline, buildings up to 12 metres high are allowed. Regulations also state that some of Zone 2, depending on use, must be left as green space.

The OrBorJor Line, or Ground Control Point, was created because of confusion in an Announcement by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated BE 2546 (2003).

This Announcement was overtaken by another in 2010, but the OrBorJor Line still exists.

The 2003 Announcement stated, “Re: Environmental Protection Zoning and Measures For Phuket Province which have caused troubles to law enforcers and people in Phuket, for example, over commercial building construction, hotels, and accommodation, which lacked reference points to check the distance from the shoreline and mean sea level around Phuket Island.

“In order to prevent misunderstandings, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation [OrBorJor] has launched a project to set ground control points to control the level of shorelines around Phuket and to be a reference for government offices to use to inspect before a building permit is issued.”

The OrBorJor Line was set at mean sea level (roughly halfway between high and low tides), based on tide records of the previous 19 years. This, the announcement said, “is the most suitable value to be applied”.

The OrBorJor line was used to establish 200 official survey points across the island.

But a spokesperson for the Natural Resources and Environment Department, speaking to The Phuket News on condition of anonymity, was quite clear in stating that, in cases of land along the shoreline, the average high tide – not the OrBorJor Line – is used to measure the 20-metres set-back from the shoreline.

“If the area is on a mountain or hill, the OrBorJor Line can be used as a reference [to establish mean sea level and from there] to work out the height above sea level,” she said.

This is important because regulations in Phuket ban any structure the top of whose roof is more than 80 metres above sea level.

From this it is clear that the Shoreline (the average high tide) is used for horizontal measurements, while the OrBorJor line is intended for vertical measurements.

But this has not been happening.

Mayor Arun Soros of Rawai Municipality told The Phuket News, “The OrBorJor Line has been applied for many years [to defining Zone 1]. To my knowledge we have more than 30 projects [in Rawai] that used the OrBorJor Line [as the beginning of Zone 1].

“Erosion by the sea occurs every year. This has happened to Rawai Beach, with the result that some Chanote land titles appear now to cover areas that are in the middle of the sea.”

Thus, if the OrBorJor line is used, Zone 1 is actually in the sea, halfway between the high and low tides. By the time one reaches the shoreline – according to this interpretation of the rules – one is actually in Zone 2 or even Zone 3.

Mayor Arun said, “If the OrBorJor line couldn’t be used to establish the boundary of Zone 1, then some 30 developments will be affected.”

A test case now before the Administration Court is examining specifically this issue in a case revolving around the Eva Beach development on Soi Salika in Rawai.

The court is looking at whether officials of the IEE and EIA Determination Board for Environmental Protection Zone of Phuket was correct in approving the Eva Beach project.

(An IEE is an Initial Environmental Evaluation, while an EIA is an Environmental Impact Assessment.)

Following from an original complaint made in 2011, the court is also looking at whether the Rawai Tambon Municipality was at fault in issuing a permit to build Eva Beach.

The Phuket News has been alerted to a number of other seashore developments around the island – outside of Rawai – that are apparently based on the OrBorJor Line and not the Shoreline.

The case is still ongoing, and any finding by the Administration Court will apply only to this particular case. There is no precedent in Thai law, so judges in other similar cases are not bound to take any finding in this case into consideration.

But the fact that it is even being heard may well sound alarm bells in the island’s property development industry.

As for property buyers, the old advice still applies: get a good lawyer to advise you. If you're not sure how to find a good lawyer, consult your honorary consulate in Phuket.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-coastline-development-caught-in-confusion-of-lines-51425.php


-- Phuket News 2015-03-16

[smedly]

lol, also that would mean that the famous walking street in Pattaya is illegal (both sides of the street) - the beach side is built on wooden structures that are in the sea at high tide - go figure

[stevenl]

No, no confusion at all. Both the developers and the OrBorTors have knowingly flaunted the rules.

[steelepulse]

No, no confusion at all. Both the developers and the OrBorTors have knowingly flaunted the rules.

Correct. From day 1 this development has been in zone one, even with their excuse of " the Tsunami". In fact, the Tsunami where this development is now actually brought in sand while suffering no erosion. Big envelopes have moved around, I've heard 10 million envelopes for approval with an ex governor and vice governor in the middle who are now facing charges on other developments thanks to their greediness.