KENYA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anne Kinyanjui and Loice Erambo, DLA Piper Africa, Kenya (IKM)
• Dealings in agricultural land are regulated by Land Control Boards (LCB) in accordance with the LCA. LCB consent is required for the development of agricultural land. • The EMCA establishes the National Environ - ment Management Authority (NEMA), which is responsible for the general supervision and co-ordination of all matters relating to the environment, including the development of land. 4.4 Obtaining Entitlements to Develop a New Project The Physical Planning Act requires the devel - oper to apply to the relevant county government for development permission. Upon receipt, the county government circulates the application to the relevant state agencies, including the Director of Survey, the NLC and NEMA, for their comments. The state agencies may object to the issuance of the development permit if the development does not comply with the law. The county government also publishes a notice in the Kenya Gazette and newspapers circulated nationwide, inviting public participation in the proposed development. After considering the comments by the state agencies and the gen - eral public, the county government may reject the application or issue the development permit. In addition, the following approvals are required, among others. • The developer must conduct an environment impact assessment (EIA) of the project and apply to NEMA for an EIA licence. NEMA is required to consult with the relevant state agencies and allow for public participation before the EIA licence is issued. • The project must be registered with the NCA.
• If the land is agricultural, LCB consent is required. Public participation is not required for this. • If a borehole is to be drilled, a Water Resourc - es Authority permit. • The consent of the Kenya Railway Authority is required if the development is adjacent to a railway line. • The consent of the Kenya Forest Service is required if the development may affect con - servation areas or wildlife. • The consent of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is required if the development may A developer may appeal a county government’s decision not to grant development permission before the National or County Liaison Commit - tee (as applicable). The developer may lodge a further appeal against the decision of a County Liaison Committee to the National Liaison Com - mittee. Thereafter, an appeal against a decision of the National Liaison Committee may be made to the ELC. If NEMA declines to grant the EIA licence or revokes it, the developer may appeal such deci - sion at the National Environment Tribunal (NET) within 60 days. A further appeal may be made to the ELC against the decision of the NET. affect the airspace in any manner. 4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision If the LCB declines to consent to the develop - ment of agricultural land, the developer may appeal to the Provincial Land Control Appeals Board within 30 days of the decision being deliv - ered. A further appeal may be made to the Cen - tral Land Control Appeals Board. If the developer is not successful, they can consider effecting a change of use of the land to avoid the need to obtain the LCB consent for the development.
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