2.6 URBAN PRECINCTS AND BOUNDARIES
One of the hallmarks of modern planning is that there are conflicting and also complimentary urban land uses. Conflicting uses in a particular area are also called as, "non-conforming" uses. It is important therefore to keep noise, water and air polluting activities in a special precinct where their pollution levels can be monitored and the noise does not disturb other land users. This is why "industrial precincts" are defined separately from "residential precincts!" In a similar manner, the International Boundary set-off may be a unique urban land use precinct in a border town. There are some activities which are needed in the town now but over the long run will be non-conforming, or may block more appropriate functions which could come up later in the same area. Often a use which was appropriate three decades ago, like a military camp, becomes non-conforming as the city grows around it. In this manner that area is declared an Endowment Precinct, as the area is left intact in its present use, but would be moved to a new, more appropriate site in the future, which is earmarked into the Structure Plan. There are also environmental Precincts designed to protect ecologically fragile zones in towns and cities. There are similarly Royal Precincts where the monarchy lives and works. Within the town there will be a variety of urban Precincts and an Institutional Precinct. These precincts each have different rules, not only in terms of the kinds of functions, but in the ground coverages allowed, the heights of buildings and the percentage of area in a plot, which can be paved and plinthed over causing more water to run off to the next lower plot! The exact opportunities and limitations implied in the definition of each precinct type is not the issue here. What is important to note is that in the formation of the Concept Plan, there will be precincts and these will be covered under the related and appropriate Building Control Regulations.
Most likely the precincts will include the following: