KSAMC outlines how objections to building approvals will be handled
Published:Monday | September 16, 2024 | 12:06 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby has outlined how objections to building approvals will now be handled, in light of complaints that the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is failing to address objections that are made to the municipality.
Addressing the issue at last Tuesday’s meeting of the KSAMC, Swaby said he and a team, including the CEO and technical officers, have been attending various community-related meetings regarding issues affecting them.
“Chief among the issues/complaints is the KSAMC’s failure to address objections made by community members regarding proposed developments. This has become a sore point and is of growing concern to this administration,” Swaby said.
The mayor outlined how complaints will be dealt with going forward.
“I have taken a policy decision which will see the person or persons objecting to the proposed development, meeting with technical officers of the KSAMC, as well as our legal officer,” he outlined.
Swaby continued, “This process is internal and is initiated whenever an objection is received by the city engineer, either by email or letter addressed to the KSAMC. Upon receipt, each objection will be acknowledged within a reasonable time and is logged into our internal database, dedicated solely for the purpose of dealing with objections. After review by the technical team, a date will be scheduled for the person or persons to attend a consultation at the KSAMC where the matter will be discussed. Following this consultation, a report will be submitted to the Building and Planning Committee regarding that objection.”
The mayor said that, to ensure greater transparency, he has invited a member of the Jamaica Accountability Metre Portal (JAMP) to attend the meeting as an independent observer.
He noted that JAMP is a non-partisan, non-government and non-profit organisation, dedicated to improving public financial governance in Jamaica, and is known for highlighting and tracking the government’s response to breaches of public policy and regulations.
Swaby reminded his colleagues that Section 23 of the Building Act 2018 states, “A local authority MAY direct the holding of a public-private consultation in the area under its jurisdiction as the case may require, where; 6a. Building work is proposed: or There is objection to the proposed building work”.
Swaby said despite the law explicitly allowing the KSAMC to determine whether or not a public/private consultation should be held, he has taken the decision that once the KSAMC receives an objection to a proposed development, consultation will be convened to discuss the objection.
“It must be understood that this meeting will not determine whether or not approval will be granted as this decision is taken at the Building and Planning Committee meeting of council,” he pointed out.
The Building and Town Planning Committee comprises councillors, as well as representatives of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, National Environment and Planning Agency, Mines and Geology, and the National Works Agency.