DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING PERMIT SERVICES

Application for Development permit form

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT CERTIFICATE Form

Development permitting is the main instrument for controlling or managing physical development. Effective development management promotes orderliness, convenience of movement, public safety and enhanced economic development. Development permit in this context refers to permits issued in relation to planning and building applications.

In recognition of this fact, the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) stipulates that “A person shall not carry out a physical development in a district except with the prior written approval in the form of a written permit issued by the District Planning Authority.”– Act 936, Section 91 (1)” With the coming into force of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925) and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Regulations, 2019 (L.I 2384), a person who intends to undertake any physical development shall require a Planning and/or Development Permit.

Physical Developments that require a Planning Permit include:

• Change of use of parcel of land
• Demolition
• Advertisement
• Change in colour schemes
• Sub-division of land
• Consolidation of land
• Temporary structures
• Hoarding
• Disposal of industrial or chemical waste on land
• Excavation
• Tree Removal 
• Mining in the nature of sand wining, quarrying and minerals extraction.
• Any other issue of planning significance to the local authority

REQUIREMENTS FOR ACQUIRING PLANNING PERMIT

• Evidence of right or authorization to use the land in accordance with the laws of the country;
• Site plan to the scale of 1:2500 and conforming to the local plan of the area;
• Block plan to the scale of 1:100 or 1:200 depending on the scale of development;
• Zoning Assessment and Justification Report if the application involves changes of use or re-zoning;
• Relevant drawings where applicable;
• Where applicable, specific reports and permits such as Environmental Permits or Fire Permits may be required.

Physical developments requiring a Development Permit include:

• The erection of any building or structure except those exempted by law;
• The making of a structural alteration or transformation or a renovation to a building;
• Execution of works or installation of any fittings in a building;
• Civil and engineering works;
• Hoarding of a property;
• Regularization of existing structures, and
• Redevelopment

REQUIREMENTS FOR ACQUIRING DEVELOPMENT PERMITS

• A site plan to the scale of 1:2500 and conforming to the local plan of the area.
• A block plan to the scale of 1:100 or 1:200 depending on the scale of development;
• Architectural drawing on the scale of 1:20 or 1:40;
• Structural drawings to the scale of 1:20 or 1:40;
• Evidence of a right or authorization to use the land in accordance with the laws of the country.
• A report on stakeholder consultation, where applicable
• Permits such as Environmental Permits or Fire Permits may be required

PROCEDURE FOR ACQUIRING PERMITS

• Applicants must acquire a Jacket from the Accounts Office of the District Assembly
• Applicant must acquire a Development Permit Application Form from the Physical Planning Department.
• Applicants must submit filled application forms along with a copy of applicants Site Plan, Indenture and four (4) copies of Architectural Drawings to the Physical Planning Department.
• Applicant will be required to pay a Processing Fee enable processing of the application
• Depending on the type of Development to be carried out, the Physical Planning Department may request for relevant permits and reports such as Environmental Permits, Fire Permits, Structural Integrity Reports and Justification Reports.
• The Physical Planning Department in collaboration with the Works Department, will carry out relevant zoning checks and analysis of the structural and architectural drawings, as well as undertake an inspection of the applicant’s site.
• Applicant will be notified of any corrections that need to be done.
• The Physical Planning Department, as the Secretariat of the Spatial Planning Committee will then forward the application to the Technical Sub-Committee and subsequently to the Spatial Planning Committee.
• Where the application is approved by the Spatial Planning Committee, the Physical Planning Department will contact the applicant, who will then pay a Development Levy and be issued with a permit.

The process is illustrated in the chart below: