Last updated: March 18, 2016
Thursday, December 10, 2015
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| [About Nagamine Family Mart land issue] As the person in charge of promoting the master plan, what kind of responsibility does the mayor feel towards the people who agree with Nagamine's master plan and want to continue living here for a long time? |
Regarding the question of what kind of responsibility you feel as the person in charge of promoting urban planning master plans, etc., in this case, since it is the expansion of facilities related to the development of buildings and land, there are mainly urban planning-related matters. This has become an issue, but not only in urban planning, but in general terms, Inagi City has established individual business plans for each project and is implementing them based on a higher-level plan called a long-term comprehensive plan. I feel that I have a responsibility to move this forward firmly within the scope of my authority. However, given that every plan includes the idealism of listening to everyone's requests and trying to get as close to them as possible, it may be difficult to achieve everything. We continue to recognize that our role as the government is to work together with the city, the mayor, city staff, and the city council to bring the city one step closer to the ideal, and we ask for your continued understanding and cooperation in this regard. The current issue of Asuka Souken's expansion into the company involves issues on a different level. The Nagamine Federation has asked questions in writing several times and given answers in writing, so the answers to this question will be the same over and over again, but I would like to explain the background to this issue. I would like to have it. Originally, the town of Nagamine was opened in conjunction with the development of a new town, but at that time there were already regulations regarding urban planning, zoning, and district planning based on large-scale plans or guiding goals for creating a town. The urban development concept and guidance measures are not binding to stipulate rights and obligations, and based on the guidance measures, detailed regulations are made individually through district planning ordinances, etc., but from the beginning, as guidance measures, The idea was to attract so-called living convenience facilities to the area in front of the general gymnasium, which would become the center of the town. On the other hand, although Inagi City was the last to develop Tama New Town, the idea was to improve various aspects by referring to the examples of cities that are ahead of the curve, such as Tama City. Initially, Tama City housed all of the commercial facilities in the neighborhood of the housing complex, but strict regulations were placed on the use of the buildings, so when the first store that entered the building became vacant, the regulations were too strict and other businesses could not be moved in, leaving the vacant space unoccupied. It became a store, and a large shuttered area was created. Even when the city master plan was created, the kinks were not resolved, and there are still some discrepancies. Therefore, we receive a lot of opinions that we are not satisfied with or do not agree with, but as we have said in the responses, the uses of the land in question that are guided by urban mass and the scope of the areas that are regulated do not match. Well, up to now. |
| I have heard that the city cannot legally intervene. There is no place to shop in Nagamine. Elderly people ride the bus and go shopping. Everyone is in trouble. It's been 20 years since the town opened, but there are still no stores. We will all become old someday. As the head of the city, what do you think about the current situation in the area? Residents believe that convenience facilities will come to this land. As the mayor, what do you think about the feelings of everyone in the area? |
Store location conditions vary by region. Not only Nagamine, but also some areas such as Oshidate, there are towns without shops. It is difficult for the government to forcibly bring shops to a town. However, in terms of creating and guiding the town as a whole, I believe that we need to continue to work on it in order to make even a little bit of everyone's wishes come true. As the population continues to age and mobility becomes more difficult, we must also improve the convenience of public transportation. We believe that we must not only attract the stores themselves, but also take a comprehensive approach, including facilitating movement. |
| The only convenient facility in Nagamine is located behind Family Mart. For example, laurel must have had a different purpose in the past. I understand that things change depending on the trends in the world. There was talk that Luna Orb would be a junior high school, but in the end it turned into a residential property. The land behind Family Mart is where our final convenience facility will be built. There are no places or cultural centers in Nagamine where the elderly can gather. I have to take a bus to go anywhere. It's the only place where everyone can gather. Asuka Souken clearly stated at the briefing that it does not have any convenient facilities. We want the city to stop this. |
Up until now, the residents have been living in Nagamine and Wakabadai neighborhoods, and although the average age was young at first, the population is gradually aging. Overall, Inagi City is the youngest city in Tokyo, but as the city matures in the future, the population will continue to age. Therefore, as a place where the elderly can gather, we are developing a ``Fureai Center'' throughout the area. We are trying to develop at least one place in each town, but we think Nagamine and Wakabadai will also need to be built in the near future. As of now, there is no clear plan for securing a specific site, but the government is considering developing it in the near future. Once again, the exact location has not been decided. As you can see in your request, the land was originally supposed to be a business site, so it was not clear whether it would be used as an office, a warehouse, or a supermarket. However, this land itself was not designated as a park or public works site. Twenty years ago, there was no talk of building a cultural center or doing any public works. It is difficult to answer the question of wanting public facilities to be built there now. Although it is not a substitute for that, Nagamine's general gymnasium is a large facility with a conference room like this one inside. It was developed as a facility with community functions. It is true that there is no cultural center, but in terms of usable space, there are facilities that are much larger than those in other areas, so I would like you to understand that part. Furthermore, we do not believe that Asuka Souken itself is sufficient to create an office. I don't know the details of how Asuka explained it, but I haven't heard that they are 100% office-based and are refusing to add functions that meet everyone's requests. I do not think that there is a possibility that it may be added based on future discussions and residents' requests. |
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| During a city council committee meeting, the city reported to the council that Asuka Souken was coming to Nagamine and would be bringing Ito-Yokado's mobile sales van, and the city council members seemed to understand. The following month, this story came to our federation. We put out a public call, reported it to Congress, and when we were in a situation where no further action could be taken, we reported it to the citizens. Isn't it true that this is the way we have proceeded? The city has a business attraction ordinance that reduces property taxes for five years. Asuka Souken has never had such a delicious story. Also, you mentioned that Nagamine has a general gymnasium, but residents cannot use this meeting room. I can't get a room at the Nagamine Federation. The system is such that you can't get it unless you register. |
The company attraction ordinance is an ordinance that I proposed and created after I became mayor. In a situation where there has been no movement of land for 20 years, I thought that a certain amount of incentives were necessary as a inducement measure, so I took this approach. Fortunately, in the end most of the vacant land was sold to a buyer, so I think it had a certain effect. However, this system does not automatically provide rewards to all applicants without conditions. We recruit people, and when they finally transfer in, we set certain conditions as criteria and conduct an examination. This is a system that provides rewards if the results match the screening criteria. Therefore, at this time, no decision has been made to provide any compensation to Asuka Soken. For example, if Asuka Souken were to logically proceed with construction, and we would listen to the residents' requests and ask them not to proceed with the original plan, albeit in a non-authoritarian manner, this is also our responsibility. What they can do is nothing beyond administrative guidance. If Asuka Souken were to go ahead with the plan as originally proposed, I don't think they would be eligible for a reward. Please understand this point. Regarding the use of public facilities, there are various restrictions that are causing inconvenience, and I would like to instruct them to be more considerate in the future. |
| I don't know if Asuka Soken will come, but Asuka Soken says it's an office, but there are 100 cars. I don't think it can be called an office because it is treated like a garage. It is said that one car enters and exits every six minutes. How will the city provide guidance to Asuka Souken regarding safety measures for residents when an accident occurs while entering or exiting a car? |
I don't want you to misunderstand me, but as a government official, I do not intend to speak from the standpoint of wanting everyone to somehow accept Asuka Souken. We are in a position to listen to the needs of the citizens and ask businesses that are moving into the area to give certain consideration, within the scope of our ability. Among them, there are specific structural issues regarding the entry and exit of cars, and requests are being made to allow cars to enter and exit as they see fit, so that they do not frequently enter and exit residential areas. I would like to continue to do so, and I also plan to have discussions in the future to be considerate of the local area, such as the times when cars enter and leave the area. |
| Is it correct to understand that the administrative guidance is to prohibit cars from entering and exiting the school roads from 7:30 to 9:00? In other words, if Asuka Souken is to come, it is the government's position to say that these conditions must be met, so can you speak on behalf of the residents? |
The main street on the side of the gymnasium is not designated as a school route. I have heard that the plan is for cars to enter and exit the area mainly through this main street. I've heard that the back of the store does not use regular business vehicles, but is used for visitors. Also, although it seems to have stalled at the moment, Asuka Souken's original proposal for a mobile sales van would be parked at the back of the building. The plan is to have a two-way entrance and exit at the back, but we have been told that business vehicles will not be frequently coming in and out of this area. |
| I previously contacted Ito-Yokado, but they said they had never heard of mobile sales and did not know about Asuka Soken. |
Our position is to listen to the opinions of residents as much as possible. We are not recommending Asuka Souken, and we are certainly not saying that the idea of mobile sales vehicles is good or bad. Anyway, I don't think the story has started yet. Up until now, the opinion of the Nagamine Federation has been to request a complete withdrawal, and if the company were to make a complete withdrawal, that may be the conclusion, but for us, we have not withdrawn because the Nagamine Federation has told us to do so. We are not in a position to tell companies to do something, and conversely, we are not in a position to ask them to accept such a compromise. As a neutral person, I would like to request that everyone's voices be heard. Up until now, briefing sessions have not been held very often, and there is still a wide range of opinions, with some residents eventually withdrawing completely from the request, and others accepting it as long as their requests are met to a certain extent. I don't think it's working. In the future, regarding briefing sessions, I wonder if there will be a point where we can come to an agreement through multiple exchanges of opinions, while also accepting requests and opinions from everyone, rather than just unilaterally stating Asuka Souken's thoughts? You'll need to find out what's going on. In the process, I have not asked the residents to create a space that can be rented out to a day service tenant, and I have not yet received any proposals from the residents, so I cannot answer whether this is possible or not. I think such discussions will be possible in the future, and in that case, the city will naturally participate. |
| Why is Asuka Souken so particular about this land when there are so many protests by residents? What are your thoughts on expanding into this area? Is there something delicious? Earlier, there was talk about incentives for attracting businesses, but who will draw the line between whether the decision will be made by the mayor or the council? Also, you talked about a Fureai Center, but if you were to build one, I would like to hear your thoughts on where it would be located. |
First of all, I would like to reiterate that I am not saying that the city wants you to come to Asuka Souken, and I am not asking the residents to somehow give up on this idea. I am not aware of why Asuka Souken considered this site to be a suitable site, despite opposing opinions. However, from what I first heard, there will be more sales locations in the Minamitama area in the future, so I would like to set up a sales base for them. I heard that they were looking for a land of a certain size and found this land of a fixed size. Next, with regard to attracting companies, this does not involve reducing or exempting taxes, but rather paying an amount equivalent to the tax amount as a reward. In effect, it has the same effect as a tax reduction or exemption. It's hard to know until you do the calculations, but it's not that large of a sum, and the period is limited to five years. This is not a permanent reduction in the future. I don't think there is much of an attraction for people to expand into the area for this purpose, but if there is a situation where they can choose between this land and another land, I think it would be an effective inducement strategy. I don't think the amount will be enough to stick with this land just for this purpose. Regarding the Fureai Center. It is not currently decided that it will be built somewhere. I was told that there is no vacant land in Nagamine, but that is not the case. In other areas, for example, there is no land available for building a room in a neighborhood hall, a school, or other public facilities. It is also possible to develop such facilities. As for Nagamine, there are not as many candidate sites to choose from, but I don't think there are any places where it could be built. I don't know if it's a suitable location, but it's not impossible to build it on the grounds of Nagamine Elementary School. At the moment, we are not thinking of building there. Eventually, we will have to find a suitable site and develop it. It has been decided that there is a policy to create one. The location has not been specified at this time. |
| Why is there not a single word about Asuka Souken's problems in the city's business pamphlet distributed today? Asuka Souken's president does not come to the briefing session. |
The materials distributed today are materials that list new and level-up projects as city projects. The expansion of Asuka Souken is not a city policy, so it is not listed here. I would like to convey your opinion that you cannot trust business operators. I would like to encourage the president to attend briefing sessions, etc., but in any case, we cannot force him to come, so I would like to share my opinion with you. |
| UR forced the sale against residents. I wish I could turn back time and start from zero. In such a situation, even if we talk about it, we will only be able to come up with a compromise. I think the city should take action to return the situation to before the sales contract. |
Although we are repeating the same thing over and over again, we would like to continue to promote this as a guidance measure. Regarding this, there is no binding or compulsory force, but on the other hand, district planning is done by regulation. Strictly speaking, there is no certain right of veto for unregulated buildings. There are things you can and cannot do. We do not have the authority to cancel the sales transaction itself. I would like to receive your opinion. |
| I am willing to accept various opinions and criticisms. There are parts that we are not good at, things that we inherited from the past. However, there seem to be some misunderstandings. This meeting today is not about reaching any specific conclusion or deciding on a direction. In the future, I hope to be able to resolve the matter amicably through discussions with the company, UR, and the Nagamine Alliance, but I cannot promise what kind of report will be made, and there are things that can and cannot be done depending on each individual's position. It may seem a bit tedious, but from my standpoint, I would like to help you get through things within the scope of my authority and from your standpoint, but unfortunately there are things I cannot do or where I do not have legal authority. Please understand that I cannot help you. We would like to convey the opinions we received to UR. |
Inagi City General Affairs Department Secretary Public Relations Division Phone: 042-378-2111