Planning is the system by which the use
and development of land is managed for the benefit of the community. The
overall aim of the system is to ensure a balance between enabling developments
to take place while at the same time conserving and protecting the environment
and local amenities. The idea is to create a better and balanced Environment
for people to live, work, play, recreate and move around with no difficulty.
A
building plan is required to:
ü Ensure that structures get built at the right
place;
ü Help balance the development the state needs
such as new homes, factories, offices, schools, place of worship, health facilities,
and transportation routes;
ü Ensure that the development and growth is environment
sustainable, meeting the needs of the present without affecting the future
generation to meet their own needs.
Hence, a building
plan is a graphical representation of what a building will look like after
construction, used by builders and contractors to construct buildings of all
kinds. Building plans are also useful when it comes to estimating how much a
project will cost, and preparing project budgets. It complements a building permit
a document that must be filed by the applicant with the local authority before
construction to indicate that the proposed construction will adhere to ordinances,
codes, and laws.
In most countries,
including Nigeria, it is customary to obtain a permit or approval from
appropriate authorities, which is necessary before construction can commence.
This is to ensure that builders and contractors comply with building laws and
codes and to prevent people from just constructing as they deem fit.
Here
in Lagos state, the Ministry of physical planning and urban
development operates
with such agencies or authorities as the Lagos State Physical Planning and
Development Authority (LASPPDA) who coordinates the activities of the
collaborative operation of the district office (DO) and the development permit
department (DPD); which also has in their hierarchy, the local Planning
Authorities (LPA) and the Physical Development and Monitoring Departments
(PDMD).
Section 102 of the Lagos
state Urban and Regional Planning Development law 2010 describes a planning permit as an approval or asset given
for the time being to a development and includes Layouts or Sub-Division Plan,
building control authorization given at construction and post- construction
stages. In getting a building plan approval, the land
where the building is to be erected must first and foremost have a Title (read
more on Certificate
of Occupancy) before your building plan can
even be assessed by the appropriate bodies. Also, the location and the land
size is a major determinant in deciding the height and the size of your
structure, depending on the area the building is to be situated or the kind of
building you intend to put up.
Obtaining
development permits from the relevant authorities is the link to make up a
fundamental part of the construction process. There are laid down processes
which are expected to be followed when applying for building plan approval
through government agencies and authorities. The development permit departments
comprise of the district offices as well as the local planning authorities for
the discharge of their primary responsibilities; which is to maintain normalcy
and to forestall arbitrary changes in building designs which does not align
with the approved plan by setting out reasonable regulations to bring about a
sanitized environment.
The first thing to do
when you want to commence construction on a titled land in Lagos state is to
obtain a development permit from the Lagos
State Physical Planning and Development Authority (LASPPDA) empowered by the Lagos state Urban and Regional Planning
Development law 2010 to
provide for the administration of Physical Planning, Urban and Regional
Department. It bears the power to grant building permit for any physical
development proposed within the geographic premises of the state within which
the land is found.
In
achieving these, certain documents are required from the clients or the
client’s representatives as basic formalities and for record purposes in
anticipation of disputes that might arise and compensation by the government in
the occasion of an overriding public interest. As was the case in Olatunji v. Military
Governor of Oyo State (1994) LPELR-14116 where the Court
of Appeal, per Salami JCA (as he then was) held as follows: The Appellant can
legitimately protest the acquisition if the purpose for which the land was
being acquired was not within the confines of definition of public purpose as
defined in Section 50 of the Land use Act.The
acquiring authority failed to state the public purpose for which the property
was acquired. He kept it up his sleeve.
In this connection Waddington, J., said
in the case of Chief
Commissioner, Eastern province v. Ononye 17 NLR 142 at 143 thus- “the notice merely states “for
public purposes” and I find it difficult to understand why the particular
public purpose is not stated. When the matter comes into court it has to be
admitted that there is no public purpose involved at all; and the impression is
liable to be conveyed, no doubt erroneously, that there was something ulterior
in the failure to make the purpose public. The Court went further to hold that
the holder of land compulsorily acquired by government is entitled to know the
ground(s) for the government’s acquisition of his interest in the land.
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