Physical Planning

Review of Existing Legislation / Processes

• Various County Development Ordinances and Zoning Guidelines and other county zoning laws- Review of county planning frameworks leading to new zoning laws and guidelines to accommodate new planning priorities and intentions

• Physical and Land Use Planning (Building) Regulations, 2021- Cater for other forms of disability and reduce the requirements for wheelchair access which may not be feasible to be provided by every private developer. Reconsider the use of public space (footpaths) for the provision of parking which is a private use benefiting a small section of society. Integrate flexibility on parking requirements within developments to promote affordability

• Physical Planning Handbook 2008- Review and update the Handbook to ensure it aligns with the current legal and institutional framework

Develop Regulations for Existing Legislation

• Physical and Land Use Planning (Classification of Strategic National or Inter-County Projects) Regulations, 2019- Develop a framework to enable developers to obtain approvals from the Cabinet Secretary for large intercounty affordable housing projects.

• Urban Areas and Cities Act 2011- Develop an implementation framework to allow for the delivery of cross-city and cross-municipality services to overcome local infrastructure challenges

Support Implementation of Existing Legislation

• Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2017 on National Land Use Policy- Implement in favour of the affordable housing sector.

• Kenya National Spatial Plan (2015 – 2045) -Promote the implementation of recommendations of the National Spatial Plan.

• National Land Use Policy Implementation Monitoring and Oversight Tool- The NLC requires support in deploying the monitoring and oversight tool, with respect to urban development.

Other non-legislative recommendations

1. Support counties, municipalities and towns to develop spatial plans for areas under their jurisdiction to guide physical development as required by the Urban Areas and Cities Act as very few are compliant at present;

2. Establish an electronic/automated One Stop Shop platform to consolidate all approvals and processes as a matter of priority to deal with the current inefficient and slow planning approval system;

3. Consider establishing cross-city and cross-municipality services through inter-county collaborations to deal with infrastructure challenges;

4. Align the high housing densities being approved with commensurate public amenities and social infrastructure such as water and sewerage;

5. Reform the overlapping, lengthy, bureaucratic and conflicting institutional frameworks concerning planning/permitting/approvals which currently have high and multiple permitting fees that increase the duration, create uncertainty of approval timeframe and increase cost of delivery of projects;

6. Deal with unnecessary minimum parking requirements which increase housing costs due to the limitation of land given that many ordinary people do not need parking;

7. Foster public-private partnerships between county, municipal, and town boards with utility companies (both national and international) to provide social infrastructure have not been actualized given the need for such social infrastructure and the financial outlay required;

8. Update the Physical Planning Handbook 2008, which is based on the Physical Planners Registration Act of 1996 to align with the Constitution 2010 and the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019.