1.  INTRODUCTION

1.1 Legal Framework

The physical planning standards outlined in this manual have been prepared under provisions of the Planning and Development of Land Bill, 2001. The purpose of the Planning and Development of Land Bill is to reform the Town and Country Planning Laws of Trinidad and Tobago by establishing a system of planning and development approvals which is designed to secure predictability, simplicity, promptness, and transparency in the treatment of development applications.

The Bill makes provision for the establishment of a National Physical Planning Commission and for the decentralisation of certain decision making powers to local government.

Under Section 6(1)(c) of the Bill, the National Physical Planning Commission, among its other functions, is required to develop codes of appropriate building construction and land development standards and practices. As part of that requirement, this manual presents site planning and zoning standards to guide the planning and implementation of various types of development projects. In keeping with the spirit of the Bill, the standards have been designed to ensure harmony and consistency with the National Physical Development Plan and other established planning policies, and to ensure transparency and expeditiousness in the development control process.

1.2 Development Planning Context

1.3 Development Control

1.4 Administrative Provisions

1.5 Purpose of the Manual

Essentially, the manual represents a review and update of the Guide to Developers and Applicants for Planning Permission published by the Town and Country Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and Mobilization in 1989. It has also benefited however from a wider Caribbean experience through review of the Jamaican “Starter Standards” Manual and the OECS Planning and Infrastructure Standards, which was developed for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements and United Nations Development Programme in 1994.

The manual is intended to convey information to the general public on the major considerations involved in planning decisions and the standards and requirements for different types of developments. In particular however, the manual has been prepared to provide assistance to developers and other persons seeking to obtain planning permission for particular development projects.

The overall intention of the manual is to contribute to a process of orderly and rational development and efficient use of land resources.