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Managing Land through Development Control in

Singapore

SDN learning event 27 Jan 2010

Washington, DCBelinda Yuen

Learning Content • 2

 Singapore experience  Development vision  Land use control

Letʼs Begin • 3

 Singapore experience  Development vision  Land use control

Singapore •  Highly urbanised city state •  Land area: 700 sq km •  Population: 4.8 million

•  Singapore

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• Singapore in the 1960s • 5

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• From this to that

• Singapore in the 1990s • 7

• The Future Singapore • 8

Content • 9

 Singapore experience  Development vision  Land use control

Development Vision • 10

 Towards a tropical city of excellence (1991)

 A dynamic, distinctive and delightful city to live, work and play (2001)

 A sustainable Singapore (2008)  A lively, liveable and well-loved home

(2010)

Salient Strategies • 11

 Singapore Concept Plan  Time: year X  Quantity: 5.5 million

  4/5 new development  Position: One of the most liveable cities in

Asia  Form: 730 sq km

  high density but spacious,   green environment   working infrastructure

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Content • 13

 Singapore experience  Development vision  Land use control

Order from Chaos

  Dan Brown: The Lost Symbol

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Singapore Planning Framework • 15

What is development control? • 16

  implementation of physical planning and enforcement of planning rules and standards through the Planning Act

  deals with use and control of land and building   sets out a procedure for the seeking of and giving of

decisions on planning permissions   sets out the limits within which planning controls

operate (safeguard against arbitrariness and abuse of power)

  provides mechanisms and remedies for legal challenges to the process/system if people feel aggrieved

Why do we need to control development? • 17

3-fold objective in controlling development

1.  to implement policy of development plans 2.  to minimize conflict between various activities 3.  to promote economic and social welfare

NOTE: to an extent, the rationale for development control is also the rationale for town planning in modern urbanized societies

Question

 Is the regulatory role of the government more/less important in a market economy than a socialist economy?

 Why?

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According to Alain Bertaud

  In a socialist economy, the government is   a planner, a developer and a builder   its role as regulator is secondary

  In a market economy, the government is   a regulator first   its role as developer is much reduced to primary infrastructure

and some social facilities   it has no role as a builder

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How is land development regulated?

 Subject to statutory control   NO DEVELOPMENT COULD BE UNDERTAKEN

WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION  Main statute underlying this control is The Planning

Act

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THE PLANNING ACTNo 3 1998

  an act to provide for the planning and improvement of Singapore

  Confers upon CA certain statutory powers:   POWER TO PLAN   POWER TO CONTROL DEVELOPMENT OF LAND

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The Planning Act---8 main parts

Part I—Preliminary: deals with •  definition of terms eg building, master plan, etc •  meanings of ʻdevelopmentʼ and ʻsubdivideʼ S3(1) of the Planning Act defines development as: …the

carrying out of any building, engineering, mining, earthworks or other operations in, on, over or under land, or to the making of any material change in the use of any building or land

•  appointment of competent authority

Part II —Master Plan & Conservation Areas & Guidelines: deals with

•  provisions relating to Master Plan & designation of conservation areas

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Selected important provisions

Part III---Development & subdivision of land  enables planning authority to control all development of land  sets out the rights and obligations of both land owners and competent authority

S12---prohibits any development of land, any works in a conservation area and any subdivision of land without planning permission, conservation permission and subdivision permission respectively S22---provides for appeals to be made to the Minister against determination of competent authority

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Selected important provisions

Part IV---Enforcement: deals with breaches of planning control and enforcement of planning control

 S25—empowers competent authority to investigate breaches of planning control through collection of information about activities on the land by an information notice  S26—spells out penalties for non-compliance with information notices   S28—gives competent authority power to issue and

serve enforcement notice   S29—allows for appeals to the Minister against

enforcement notices

ENFORCEMENT OF PLANNING CONTROL

  Enforcement notice must be in writing—besides breach of planning control, notice will specify measures to be taken to remedy the breach and time allowed for compliance

  Breach of planning control may be discovered through a neighborʼs complaints or by inspectors

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Negative but Supportive

  Development control is often termed as negative planning   It controls by refusing planning permission

 The regulatory role of government is extremely important to allow real estate markets to work   Aside from clear objectives and strategies, planners have

introduced innovations to stay ahead of the curve -  Make it easier, faster and cheaper for people to do business

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Staying ahead of the curve

 Simplified planning approval system  Electronic development application (1999)  Dialogue with industry to improve DC guidelines

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Simplified Planning Approval System • 28

Building a warehouseFrom Doing Business

  Estimated value: S$500,000 • 29

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Performance zoning

Take-out Pointfrom Alain Bertaud

 In making decisions about regulations or planning land use, urban planners should always try to anticipate the reactions of the market

 Potential negative side effects of regulations and investments should always be studied

 Planners do not design cities, they only provide a framework affecting the supply and demand for land and floor space

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References

  P Motha and B Yuen (1999) Singapore Real Property Guide, Chp 6-7

  N Khublall and B Yuen (19991) Planning Law and Development Control in Singapore

  B Yuen (2009) Guiding spatial changes: Singapore urban planning in S Lall et al (ed) Urban Land Markets: Improving Land Management for Successful Urbanization

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