The Hong Kong Government has approved the draft Ma On Shan Outline Zoning Plan in which three strips of non-building areas and three strips of land subject to a maximum building height restriction of two storeys have been designated.
     In view of Ma On Shan's topography, different height bands are proposed to rise progressively from the waterfront to the inland area and to fall progressively from the town centre and the western and eastern gateway nodes, to respect the new town's distinct urban form.
     An area of 2.5 hectares in Nai Chung is zoned site of special scientific interest, to conserve and protect features of geological interest. 
     Another 11.9 hectares along the coastal areas in the eastern and western parts of the Whitehead headland, Starfish Bay and To Tau is zoned conservation area, to protect and retain the area's existing natural landscape, ecological, topographical or archaeological features.
     About 406.8 hectares of land covering mainly hill slopes and wooded knolls is zoned green belt, to define the limits of urban and suburban development areas.