These residents, who said there was only one access road to their homes, were shocked to learn that the proposed project had been approved.
This came after Elizabeth Wong, the former assemblyman for Bukit Lanjan, had called for Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) to conduct a briefing to clarify and address concerns regarding new development projects proposed in the locality.
Valencia Homeowners Association president Rena Hew, 63, said the residents were unclear whether proper due diligence was carried out to assess the potential impact on traffic in the area.
“We met with MPS on Jan 9 to voice our concerns, during which they informed us that the project had already been approved.
“That was a big shock because as you can see, this is the only access road,” she said, pointing to where the protest was taking place.
“Imagine having 540 apartment units, with an average of two cars per apartment, using this road. It’s going to affect a lot of people living here.”
Last May, FMT reported concerns that seven residents’ associations had regarding a proposed serviced apartment project.
They feared it would worsen traffic congestion for over 10,000 people residing in Sierramas and Valencia.
The residents’ associations submitted a collective protest letter to MPS on Feb 14, 2023. They said that despite sending multiple reminders, they had yet to receive a response from the town council.
Hew said the residents would like to know whether due diligence was exercised before the project was approved, especially since the development is on a hill slope.
“We have to be very cautious about issues like land erosion. We’re left wondering if all necessary precautions have been taken as we have no information whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, Jack Lim, the secretary of the Valencia Homeowners Association, said several protest letters were sent to MPS and Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari concerning the development.
“The (latest) protest letter was sent to them (MPS) on March 18,” he said.
“There are many other developments apart from this, and we were informed that this one has already been approved, while the rest are pending approval.”
FMT has reached out to Amirudin and a MPS councillor for comment.