Physical and Land Use Planning Act

This Act may be cited as the Physical and Land Use Planning Act.

Defines "Section" for national government planning functions to mean the Cabinet Secretary.

States the objects of the Act as the principles, procedures and standards for preparing and implementing physical and land-use development plans at national, county, urban, rural and city levels.

Recognises the national values and principles set out in Articles 10 and 232 of the Constitution.

Section physical and land use planning shall promote sustainable use of land and liveable communities integrating human needs in any locality.

The Cabinet Secretary is assigned the function of formulating a national policy on physical and land use planning.

Establishes the office of the Director-General of Physical and Land Use Planning; the Director-General must advise and be responsible to the Cabinet Secretary and holds office for a three-year term renewable once.

The Director- General of Physical and Land Use Planning must be a citizen of Kenya.

The Director-General of Physical and Land Use Planning must advise the government on strategic physical and land use planning matters that impact the whole country.

Establishes a County Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum in each county and lists its membership; the County Executive Committee Member responsible for physical and land use planning shall be Chairperson and provide the secretariat.

The County Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum provides a forum for consultation on county and inter-county physical and land use development plans.

The County Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum must meet at least four times a year; it may regulate its procedure (subject to this Act and relevant county legislation) and may establish committees for effective performance of its functions.

The County Executive Committee Member is responsible for formulating a county policy on physical and land use planning.

The County Director of Physical and Land Use Planning must advise and be responsible to the County Executive Committee Member.

States that a County Director of Physical and Land Use Planning is a citizen of Kenya.

The County Director of Physical and Land Use Planning must advise the county government on physical and land use planning matters that impact the county.

Establishes the National Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum, lists its membership, makes the Cabinet Secretary responsible as Chairperson and secretariat provider, and requires the Cabinet Secretary to appoint certain nominated members by Gazette notice.

The National Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum is to provide a forum for consultation on the national physical and land use development plan.

The National Physical and Land Use Planning Consultative Forum must meet at least four times a year; it may regulate its procedure and may establish committees to perform its functions effectively.

The National Land Commission monitors and oversees land use planning throughout the country.

The Cabinet Secretary must cause the Director-General of Physical and Land Use Planning to prepare the National Physical and Land Use Development Plan for approval and publication.

The National Physical and Land Use Development Plan must set strategic policies that determine overall physical and sectoral development directions in Kenya and provide a framework for land use and development.

The Cabinet Secretary must, at least fourteen days before starting to prepare a National Physical and Land Use Development Plan, publish a notice in the Gazette, in at least two national newspapers and through electronic media of the intention to prepare the plan.

The Director-General must take into account matters in the First Schedule when preparing the National Physical and Land Use Development Plan; the plan’s preparation must be completed within twenty four months of publishing the intention to prepare it; and the Cabinet Secretary may extend that preparation period by one year by notice in the Gazette.

The Cabinet Secretary must publish notices and consider public comments on the draft National Physical and Land Use Development Plan within specified time limits; interested persons may comment and may apply for review within set periods.

Specifies steps for approval of the National Physical and Land Use Development Plan: the Cabinet Secretary must submit a draft to the Consultative Forum (if no outstanding review applications), the Forum may propose changes, and after Cabinet and Parliamentary approval the Cabinet Secretary must publish the approved plan within fourteen days.

Planning authorities must base the preparation of inter-county, county, city, urban area and sectoral physical and land use development plans on the National Physical and Land Use Development Plan; and county-level planning authorities must prepare County and Local Physical and Land Use Development Plans even if a National Plan is lacking.

Public institutions responsible for applying or implementing a National Physical and Land Use Development Plan must prepare and submit a status report at least three months before the end of the financial year to the Cabinet Secretary or the County Executive Committee member and the Commission; the National Land Commission must publish those status reports on its website.

Counties may jointly formulate an inter-county physical and land use development plan; in preparing such a plan the counties must form an Inter-County Joint Physical and Land Use Planning Committee whose members are specified; the committee may co-opt others; the committee members must elect a Chair and vice-Chair at the first meeting; the Director-General must convene the first meeting and provide secretariat services and coordinate meetings.

Section defines the scope of the Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plan.

The Inter-County Physical and Land Use Planning Joint Committee must publish a notice of intention to prepare an inter-county plan, the notice must state the committee's constitution, reasons and address for comments, the committee must prepare and complete the plan within two years of that notice, and must consult, publish, consider national security and hold stakeholders' meetings during preparation.

Sets publication, comment, decision, and appeal procedures for Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plans, including time limits for notices, commenting, committee decision-making, and appeals.

Section 33 requires County Executive Committee members of participating counties to submit inter-county plans to their County Assemblies and then to the Director-General; the Inter-County Joint Committee must publish notice within thirty days; governors must adopt the plan at a joint meeting organized by the Joint Committee; approved plans must be deposited with the County Director who shall submit certified copies to the Director-General and the Commission.

The Inter‑County Physical and Land Use Development Plan must inform preparation of county, local or urban area physical and land use development plans for county governments within its planning area; if no national or inter‑county plan exists, county governments may prepare other plans that will later be incorporated into the national or relevant inter‑county plan once prepared and approved under the Act.

Every county executive committee member in a county covered by an Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plan must submit a report on implementation of the Plan to the Commission and the Cabinet Secretary.

County governments must prepare a county physical and land use development plan once every ten years; the county executive committee member must ensure the plan is prepared and published within eighteen months after notice of intention to prepare the plan is published.

Provide an overall physical and land use development framework for the county.

The county executive member must publish a Gazette notice at least twenty-one days before starting preparation of a county physical and land use development plan, stating the intention, the plan's objects, matters to be considered and an address for comments; the county planning authority must hold adequate stakeholder meetings in each ward before the plan is completed.

Section 39 lists required contents of a county physical and land use development plan (subsections (1)(a)–(g)) and obliges the county government to take into account the matters in the First Schedule.

Section 40 requires the county planning authority to publish notice of a draft county physical and land use development plan within thirty days and sets procedures for public participation, consideration of comments, appeals to a liaison committee and further appeal to the Environment and Land Court.

Sets steps for completing and approving a county physical and land use development plan, including submission for comments, incorporation of changes, submission to the governor and assembly, publication after approval, and a prohibition on development not in conformity.

Sets how a county physical and land use development plan may be modified and prescribes publication, consultation and public participation requirements when amendments are made, and who may propose amendments.

A county executive committee member may only begin revising a county physical and land use development plan after eight years from the plan's publication in the Gazette.

The National, Inter-County and County Physical and Land Use Development Plans must provide for the matters specified in the First Schedule, in addition to the provisions of sections 24, 30 and 39.

County governments must prepare a local physical and land use development plan for a city, municipality, town or unclassified urban area.

The purpose of a Local Physical and Land Use Development Plan includes zoning, urban renewal, or redevelopment.

The county executive committee member may initiate the preparation of a local physical and land use development plan.

Specifies required contents of a local physical and land use development plan, including a survey report carried out as specified in the Second Schedule, GIS-based maps and descriptions as necessary to indicate land use per the Second Schedule, and that the survey report should include technical annexes and a sieve analysis of gradient, environment and infrastructure.

A county planning authority must publish a notice within thirty days after preparing a local plan, in the Gazette, in at least two national newspapers and by electronic media, saying where the plan can be inspected and that interested persons may comment.

The County Executive Committee member must publish a notice within fourteen days after approval of a local physical and land use development plan.

County Executive Committee members must follow the procedures in section 42 when they intend to amend or revise a local physical and land use development plan; a County Executive Committee member may start a revision after three years from approval or when needed.

County governments must declare special planning areas by Gazette notice and specify the area and nature of proposed development; the county executive committee member has the power to suspend development in such an area for up to two years by Gazette notice; county planning authorities may publish regulations to promote public participation.

Requires a written statement highlighting the grounds for declaring a special plan area.

All plans formulated under the Urban Areas and Cities Act (Cap. 275) must, with necessary modifications, be prepared and approved in accordance with this Act.

Lists the objectives of development control, including orderly land use, environmental protection, public safety and participation, proper implementation of plans, planned building development, and safeguarding national security.

Gives power to prohibit or control the use and development of land and buildings to secure proper and orderly development of the area.

A person must not carry out development in a county without development permission from the respective county executive committee member.

Persons must apply to the respective county executive committee member in the prescribed form and pay prescribed fees to obtain development permission; applicants must provide required documents, indicate proposed uses, population density and easements, obtain written owner consent if not the registered owner, notify the public as prescribed; if no written response is received within sixty days, permission is assumed.

Applicants for development permission must ensure application documents, plans and particulars are prepared by relevant qualified, registered and licensed professionals; persons who purport to prepare such documents must prove credentials and authenticate copies when asked by a county executive committee member.

Relevant authorities or agencies must, within fourteen days of receiving a copy of the development permission from a county executive committee member, submit their comments to the respective county executive committee member.

Applicants or interested parties may appeal decisions of a county executive committee member to a county liaison committee within 14 days; that committee must hear and determine the appeal within 14 days, and further appeal to the Environment and Land Court is permitted.

County executive committee members must keep registers of development-related documents and applicants, issue submission certificates to applicants, the registers must be open to public scrutiny, and the Cabinet Secretary must publish guidelines for public access.

County executive committee members may charge development fees against applicants; county governments may publish regulations on fees, rates and waivers; if a fee is waived the committee member may require the applicant to develop public infrastructure.

Development permission lapses if the applicant does not commence the project within three years; a county executive committee member may extend permission for one year on application and may impose further conditions when extending.

A county executive committee member may impose conditions or a fine on an applicant for development permission if the applicant fails to complete the building works within five years.

A licensing authority must not grant a licence for commercial or industrial use of a building, premises or land unless development permission has been granted by the relevant county executive committee member.

Certain uses or permitting uses of land or buildings contrary to conditions, revocations or modified permissions, or public officers granting or commenting contrary to law, are offences punishable by at least KSh 1,000,000 or at least five years imprisonment.

A county executive committee member may request and extract records about land or property under development plans; information obtained must be kept confidential and not disclosed except by a court order.

The Cabinet Secretary must consider and offer policy guidance on projects of strategic national importance; must make regulations within sixty days to prescribe such projects; and may consider and approve development permission within those prescribed projects.

Developments by or on behalf of the Kenya Defence Forces and other national security installations are exempt from this Part.

County governments may, after consulting the Cabinet Secretary responsible for national heritage and subject to the National Museums and Heritage Act, serve owners or occupiers with orders that prohibit demolition, alteration or extension of buildings of special architectural value or historic interest; development plans must record declared heritage sites; owners of buildings declared national monuments are entitled to compensation for loss of use and income.

Section 72 enables serving an enforcement notice for development without permission or for non-compliance with permission conditions; it sets required contents of the notice, provides appeal routes and time limits, and creates an offence with penalties for non-compliance.

Establishes the National Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee.

Section 74 sets out the membership of the National Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee, requires the Cabinet Secretary to provide secretariat services, limits certain members to a single term of up to five years, requires the Chairperson to be one of specified appointees, allows co-option of up to three non-voting experts, and bars co-opted members from voting or counting toward quorum.

The National Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee has functions including advising the Cabinet Secretary on planning policies and standards, hearing and determining appeals, and advising on major infrastructure, reserving public land, implementing development plans, and environmental impacts of strategic projects.

A County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee is established for each county.

Section 77 sets out the composition of the County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee, nomination and appointment arrangements for specific members, allows co-option of up to five experts, requires the County Executive Committee member to provide secretariat services, and fixes terms of certain appointed members at not exceeding three years renewable once.

The County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee must hear and determine complaints and claims about applications submitted to the county planning authority.

County Liaison Committees set their own procedure; quorum is half the members; decisions by majority with chair casting tie vote; members elect acting chair if chair is unable; committees must meet at least four times a year.

Appeals to the County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee must be made in writing in the prescribed form; the committee must decide within 30 days and notify the appellant within 14 days; the Chairperson must file the committee's determination in the Environment and Land Court, which must record it as a judgment and publish it in the Gazette or a national newspaper.

A person summoned to appear before the County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee may appear via a representative or permitted communication, and if required must produce or deliver documents as directed by the committee; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand shillings.

A County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee may issue or make summons, notices, awards or orders under this Act in electronic form or written form.

A person who appealed to a County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee may withdraw the appeal in writing before it is determined; the committee must notify relevant parties within seven days, may require reasons if the appeal appears abandoned (within fourteen days), must consider submissions and decide whether to proceed or treat it as withdrawn, and must keep written records of proceedings.

The provisions of sections 80, 81, 82 and 83 apply, with necessary modifications, to appeals to the National Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee.

Members of the National or County Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committees who have an interest in a matter must disclose it at the meeting; a member who discloses must not take part in proceedings on that matter; failure to disclose is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment up to two months or both.

Persons must not disclose information obtained from the planning liaison committees, except to authorized persons or when required by a court; breach is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings.

Committees must keep registers of appeals, meetings and decisions; registers must be available to the public; interested parties may apply (in prescribed form) and, after paying a prescribed fee, may copy or extract entries; the Cabinet Secretary may make Regulations by Gazette notice.

The remuneration of the members of the Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committees shall be recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

Public officers acting under the Act are exempt from liability for acts or omissions done in good faith and without negligence when exercising functions conferred by the Act.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to give effect to this Act and to prescribe anything required by the Act; the authority is limited to bringing provisions of the Act into effect and fulfilling the section's objectives.

Repeals The Physical Planning Act, 1996 (No. 6 of 1996).

Existing development approvals under prior written law are treated as development permissions under this Act; approvals not commenced within twenty-four months after commencement lapse; pending applications made before commencement are treated as applications made on the commencement date.

All disputes about physical and land use planning shall be heard and determined by the Environment and Land Court.