A team of city architecture experts have called on the administration to issue a zoning bylaw for the regulation of construction types in each region in the city.

Woerjantari Soedarsono, a member of the team, said Thursday the bylaw would help the city administration punish sneaky building owners.

"Jakarta has zoning regulations but we don't have a zoning ordinance that provides detailed regulations for enforcement," said Woerjantari, who is a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

During a meeting with the administration and city councilors, she explained the zoning ordinance would require people to obtain building usage licenses on top of their construction permits.

If the building does not meet the standards for its intended function, the administration should carry out a test to ensure its safety, she said.

The team's chairman, Gunawan Tjahjono, shared Woerjantari's opinion suggesting the city administration check the safety of buildings with special purposes, such as mosques and markets, as well as buildings larger than 1,500 square meters.

He said each building should meet environmental, visual and functional requirements. He said his team also recommended the administration assure each building adopt green concepts.

"We want building owners to maintain air quality. We suggest the administration set green standards so we can have better spatial quality in Jakarta," Gunawan said.

Head of the city's Property Management and Control Agency (P2B) Hari Sasongko said he supported the idea of a zoning ordinance as it would make areas more dynamic and would utilize land in different ways.

However, he said, the ordinance must be flexible to respond to residents' needs.

"If the regulation is too rigid, people will continue to violate it and the city will be unable to grow. We have many land functions but limited land availability," Hari said.

Supporting Hari's argument, Woerjantari cited her 1997 Kemang survey as an example. She found most of the 350 house owners covered 80 percent of their land despite the regulation allowing only 20 percent coverage.

She said the administration should also establish incentives and punishments to enforce the law.

"For example, the administration could give a tax cut as an incentive to heritage building owners who preserve their buildings' fa*ades. It should close down shops built in non-commercial areas," she said.