Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Residents associations in Nairobi have opposed a new Nairobi County land use policy that proposes to among other changes increase the floor limits to up to 75, in what will areas such as Kileleshwa and Kilimani lose their prime status while Karen, Muthaiga, Spring Valley and Runda will remain single dwelling estates with no construction of high-rise buildings.
The land use policy that is currently before the Nairobi City County Assembly’s planning committee led by Kitisuru MCA Alvin Palapala has created 20 zones, each describing the number of altitudes in the area.
In Zone 1, which will have its boundary running from University Way, Nairobi River, Valley Road, Dennis Pritt Road to State House Road the heights will be 75 except in Tom Mboya, Uhuru Highway, Nairobi River, Landhies Road, Factory Street, Workshop Road, Bunyala Road, Uhuru Highway and Haile Selassie Avenue which will have up to 50 heights.
There is, however, a condition: Areas within three kilometres of State House will be limited to only four storeys.
Zone 2 will include Murang’a Road, Mathare River, Eastleigh Airbase and Nairobi River.
The tallest buildings to be allowed will be up to 25 storeys and will include Ngara East, Habib Ismailia Estate, Boma Yangu Ngara Estate, Kenya Railway Estate, Pangani Area, Kariokor, Ziwani, Pumwani, Majengo, California Estate, Mlango Kubwa, Gikomba Market, Eastleigh Residential, Eastleigh Commercial and Biafra Estate except for Muratina Street, which is a single dwelling.
But residents associations are now saying that the lack of clarity on the development policy such as the zoning plans and the location of recreational areas and public facilities as well as an elaborate infrastructure development plan to support these developments risk turning Nairobi into a concrete jungle.
During a public participation exercise at Charter Hall in City Hall, the residents’ associations submitted a memo opposed to the policy insisting that the passing of the policy will lead to the deprivation of the available infrastructure and amenities.
According to estimations, the passing of the policy will see the city’s sewage infrastructure, which has not been improved over the years, get overstretched due to poor planning.
“You have 240 to 288 persons per acre on the built multiple apartments. So we need to convert these to infrastructure demands like water supply of say 75 litres per person daily and 80 percent of that water consumption becomes waste water for those 240 to 288 persons. How do you handle this yet there is no infrastructure?” read a memo submitted to the county assembly dated November 22.
Apart from stretching the available water resources due to increased demand, the policy will also have an impact on borehole drilling since most of the ground will be covered and water will not seep through to the underground.
“In a situation where you have more residents and a reduced water supply, more developers will apply for abstraction of underground borehole water? But recall the impervious ground area of respective plots will be 75 to 80 built up on their footprint meaning less rainwater to recharge the underground water acquirers leading to the water table to be lower and then the more the number of boreholes the risk of equal or unequal underground subsidence increase while the seepage of leachates and liquid contaminants worsen the pollution of underground water,” read the memorandum.
In the policy submitted to the county assembly, Mr Sakaja notes that it is intended to boost Nairobi as an investment destination.
“To reap benefits of this policy, all stakeholders ought to prioritise its implementation to ensure that land is sustainably used for present and future generations. Individual and collective commitment is required to realise the guidelines contained herein with the aim of developing a city that is attractive for habitation, investment and tourism,” reads the land use policy.
Zone 3 in the policy has its boundary running through Mathari River, Boundary Road, Upper Hill, Ayany and Kibera. In this zone, the maximum height will be 30 storeys and the minimum will be 15 storeys in City Park Estate.
Zone 4 has its boundary at Westlands, Redhill Link Road, Waiyaki Way, Ring Road Parklands, Mathare River, Ngong Road and Joseph Kangethe Road.
The Lower Spring Valley of Zone 2, including Mathare River, Westlands Redhill Link Road, Waiyaki Way and Ring Road Parklands, will have up to four storeys, while the Mathari area between Waiyaki Way, Riverside Drive, Ring Road Westlands and Mahiga Mairu Avenue will have 16 storeys.
Kileleshwa and Kilimani area between Riverside Drive, Dennis Pritt Road and Oloitoktok Road will have up to 15 storeys from the current limit of four.
The Ngong Road area will have 25 levels while Woodley, Kabarnet Gardens, Joseph Kangethe Estate, Ayany Estate, Kapitei Gardens will have 10 levels.
Zone 5 is made purely single dwelling units, including Loresho and Lavington, except James Gichuru Corridor which will have 16 storeys.
Zone 6 is made up of two boundaries – Muthaiga and Spring Valley (Extension) – both of which are categorised as single dwelling units.
Zone 7 made up of Huruma, Huruma NCC Housing, Huruma Kiamaiko, Mathare 4/A, Mathare Valley, Mathare North, Mathare Area 1 up to Kariobangi, Dandora and Korogocho will have up to 5 storeys.
Zone 8 includes Jogoo Road, Nairobi River, Outering Road, Kangundo Road and Ngong River. Shauri Moyo will have buildings of up to 5 storeys, Maringo 16 storeys, Bahati, Kaloleni and Makongeni 8 storeys, Mbotela, Jericho, Jerusalem and Lumumba 16 storeys while Makadara and Donholm-Block 82 will have up to 10 storeys.
Sosian Estate, Jacaranda Estate, Greenfield, Nasra Gardens – Residential, Rabai Road Estate, Harambee NCC Estate and Tena Estate will be individual flats.
Zone 9 includes the railway line, Outer Ring Road, Nairobi River, Mombasa Road and Uhuru Highway.
Main Industrial Area, Railways, Mukuru Village, Viwandani Dandora Industrial Zone, Kariobangi Industrial and Mathare North Industrial will have heights of up to 8 storeys.
Zone 12 and Zone 13 boundaries will include Nairobi/Kajiado County boundary, Mutuini River and Ngong Forest boundary and Nairobi/Kiambu County boundary-Kiambu Road-Karura Forest boundary-Lower Kabete Road.
Zone 12 and 13 under the zoning framework are reserved for single dwellings, meaning there will be no construction of high-rise buildings.
Most of the areas surrounding Karen such as Karen Triangle, Hardy and Lang’ata Road corridor are classified under Zone 12.
Zone 13 areas include Gigiri area between Ruiru Kaka River and the Border of Karura Forest and Limuru Road. Other areas reserved for a single dwelling under the policy include Kitisuru Area between Redhill Road, Thindigua Estate, Ridgeways, Hibiscus, Nyari, Westlands Link Road, Peponi Road, Border of Karura Forest, Lower Kabete Road, Ngecha Road; Runda Park Area between Northern bypass, Mimosa road, Ruaka Road and Limuru Road.
Ruai, Kamulu and Utawala estates are classified under Zone 19 with single dwellings. Upper Kabete, Mountain View Estate and New Loresho Estate are also classified under single dwellings, and Loresho and Lavington areas will also be reserved for single dwellings.
This is yet another attempt by the county government to review the zoning regulations, which have not been reviewed since 2004.
A similar effort by the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) failed to materialise after their term lapsed before the policy was passed by the county assembly.
