No.134 Completion of the Hirao Land Readjustment Project

The land readjustment in the Hirao area began in July 2010 after a preparatory committee was formed in November 2005 and received the approval for the establishment of the Inagi Hirao Land Readjustment Association from then-Governor Shintaro Ishihara.

After 12 years, in March of last year, we received approval for the dissolution of the union from Governor Yuriko Koike. Although it took some time to finalize the remaining tasks, a celebration for the dissolution of the union was held in December of last year, marking a successful completion.

The Hirao area was the first district in the city to have a housing complex built during the 1960s, a time when the population of the Tokyo metropolitan area was rapidly increasing and the urgent issue was the supply of a large number of houses. In 1975, a land readjustment project was carried out in the current 1-chome area by the union, making it a pioneer area of urbanization in the city.

Furthermore, following those developments in the Kamihirao area, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was scheduled to directly implement the "Sakahama Hirao Land Readjustment Project" decided in the urban planning of 1997, but due to changes in the socio-economic situation, the project was reviewed and ultimately faced cancellation.

However, the landowners in the Sakahama and Hirao areas did not yield to this and established the "Sakahama Hirao Community Development Council." They decided to invest approximately 8.9 billion yen in a vast area of about 25 hectares to carry out a Land Readjustment Project through cooperative implementation. Of course, it is premised that the Mayor of Inagi City will provide maximum support, but they have resolved to advance community development on their own.

During this time, unprecedented economic conditions and natural disasters, such as the Lehman Shock and the Great East Japan Earthquake, have posed challenges to the execution of business. However, thanks to the efforts of the union officers and all the landowners, we were able to reach the day of completion and dissolution of the union after the land readjustment process in October 2021. We would like to express our deep gratitude to all those involved.

This project began with the approval of the establishment of the union in July 2010, but the groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2011 when I took office as mayor, and I had the honor of attending the ceremony alongside Chairman Baba. The 12 years until completion coincided with my three terms as mayor, making it a deeply emotional experience for me.

Before development, the area that was a wetland in the valley has been equipped with an underground rainwater storage facility of approximately 7,000 cubic meters for disaster prevention measures, and above it, the Mitanada Spring Water Park has been developed. With the opening of the urban planning road No. 3-4-17 and the Kamihirao Tunnel, the school route to the Second Junior High School, which was once called Jigokuzaka, has also become a safe sidewalk. Furthermore, with the implementation of this project, the establishment of the Kamihirao Fire Branch Office, made possible by securing land and construction, has resolved serious issues such as the ambulance arrival time in the Hirao area all at once.

The adjacent Odayoshi area in Sakahama has also started a Land Readjustment Project, albeit slightly later, and has been promoting the development of a safe and livable urban infrastructure while considering the preservation of the natural environment and agricultural land. This area is also scheduled for land readjustment in March of this year, leading to the creation of new Sakahama 3-chome, 4-chome, and 5-chome.

The community development in the Uehirao area and the Sakahama Odaryo area has reached a milestone, and we look forward to further development in both areas.