Town and Country Planning Ordinance, Cap. 378 and National Land Use Planning Commission Act, 3/84

As noted earlier, these two laws are the basic laws with respect to organized and planned land uses. The Town and Country Planning Ordinance is the basic legislation enacted for the purpose of land use planning in urban or town areas. The purpose of land use planning is to ensure orderly development of land, and to protect the health and welfare of the public and the natural environment. Land may not be developed except in accordance with a land use planning scheme, where one is applicable, and without prior "planning consent" from the relevant authority (§35). Failure to abide by the scheme is an offense. Those uses which are not considered to be "development" are listed in the Second Schedule to the Ordinance.

Any land area declared by the Minister for Lands to be a "planning area" (§13) must have "planning schemes" (both general and detailed) prepared which address specific categories of desirable land uses within the planning area. Planning schemes divide the planning area into different zones in which certain categories of uses are allowed or prohibited.

The categories of land uses to be addressed are listed in a Schedule to the Ordinance. Area Planning Committees are formed for each area, or the relevant local authority prepares the schemes (§17). Land owners/occupiers shall be given the opportunity to participate by notification of intent of the relevant authority to prepare planning schemes and opportunity of the land owners/occupiers to submit their own detailed planning schemes.

The Minister has the authority to make regulations regarding land uses within the planning areas, including regulations for classification of industries and other uses for zoning purposes, classes and uses of buildings to be permitted in particular zones, the maximum and minimum sizes of plots, and minimum proportion of land in any use zone to be devoted to roads and open spaces in comparison with those for building and development. If it is necessary for the government to acquire land for a public purpose, to conform to the scheme's requirements, the Minister has such authority (§15) and compensation for the loss is due to the owner/occupier (§52).

The list of towns which have been declared as planning areas and which are therefore subject to the Ordinance's requirements, may be found in Appendix C: List of Laws and Regulations Relevant to the Environment Sector. In addition, public beaches have been declared as planning areas. GN 375/89 states that no development other than conservation and water-related human activities may be carried out within the coastal zone of the planning areas without a planning consent or contrary to the planning scheme for the area. Specifically, these limits apply to land width of 60 metres from the high water mark for the ocean, and 30 metres from the high water mark for lake shores. "Water-related" human activities include: Tourism, aqua-recreation, luxury beach hotels, fishing, boat and ship building, harbours, mining, defense and security and structures of supreme national importance. The regulations apply to:

• Land within 250 metres of the Indian Ocean
• Lake Nyasa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Rukwa, Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi or any other lake.

The First Schedule to the Act explains what may be contained in planning schemes. Six basic categories are covered:

• Part I: Roads
• Part II: Public Services
• Part III: Use of Land
• Part IV: Buildings and Structures
• Part V: Amenities
• Part VI: Miscellaneous

Categories III and IV are the most relevant for any developers. Category III stipulates that the Scheme shall:

1. Provide for the reservation of areas, zones and sites for particular uses, such as:
   1. dwelling houses, flats and tenements
   2. shops, offices, trading premises and other commercial development
   3. industries of various classes, warehousing and service trades,
   4. buildings required for charitable or religious purposes, schools, hospitals, or any medical or public health purpose, cemeteries, facilities for public entertainment, etc.
   5. agricultural purposes, and
   6. other purposes;
2. Permanently prohibit or restrict development of any land on any of the following grounds:
   1. That the land is unsuitable for building
   2. That development would be prejudicial to neighboring land or development or to public health or other public interests.
3. Provide for zones or areas in which development of any land shall be restricted or prohibited for any periods, pending the issue of a general development order releasing the land for development on any of the following grounds:
   1. that the land is unsuitable for building
   2. that the provision of public services would be unduly difficult or uneconomic
   3. to prevent random development
   4. that the use for the time being is undetermined and awaiting zoning
4. Provide for the reservation, regulation and control of quarries and mines and buildings ancillary thereto.
5. Provide for:
   1. the delineation of areas for which detailed schemes shall be made
   2. the delineation of areas in which development is prohibited, restricted or controlled under the provisions of any other law.

Category IV stipulates that Planning Schemes may provide for:

1. Regulating and controlling either generally or in any particular area all or any of the following matters:
   1. the size, height, spacing and building line of buildings and the levels of pavements;
   2. the objects which may be affixed to buildings;
   3. the location of buildings, the extent of yards, gardens and curtilage of buildings;
   4. the purposes for and the manner in which buildings may be used or occupied including, in the case of dwelling houses, the letting thereof in separate tenements
   5. the design, external appearance and materials of buildings and fences.
2. Reserving or allocating any particular land or all land in any particular area for buildings of a specific class (including dwellings of temporary materials not subject to by-law control other than by-laws relating to public health) or prohibiting or restricting either permanently or temporarily, the making of any building or any particular class of building on any specified land.
3. Regulating and controlling the density of development in any area, either by limiting the number of buildings of any type which may be constructed on or in any area or plot or by limiting the number and size of plots in any area.
4. Providing for the demolition or alteration of buildings or works which are inconsistent with or obstruct or retard the operation of a scheme.

In addition, regulations have been issued with relation to uses. Use categories are enumerated and described in the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Regulations of 1960, and include:

The National Land Use Planning Act, discussed earlier in section 4.1, created the Commission with the responsibility of devising physical regional land use plans. The following are some of the physical plans already prepared;

1. The Zonal physical development plans, these seek to combine physical planning with economic plans. They include:
   1. Uhuru Corridor (1975 - 1978) plan. This covers the Coast, Morogoro, Iringa and Mbeya regions.
   2. Lake zone (1978 - 82) plan - covering Mwanza, Mara, Kagera and Shinyanga regions.
   3. The Northern zone (1992) covering Tanga, Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions.
2. Some district plans prepared includes those of Kiteto, Urambo, Masasi, Babati and Kondoa.

In summary, any developer in the industrial sector (or any sector) must determine whether the area sought for development is covered by a planning scheme or declared as a planning area; what the zoning requirements are for that area; and whether the desired use group is permitted within that zone. Then, the developer must acquire a planning consent from the relevant planning authority before embarking on any development. If there is a physical regional plan for the area, the developer should also be bound by that plan.