Affected residents of Mende Villa Estate, Maryland, who feel aggrieved have been asked to report the issue to the Lagos State Physical Planning and Building Control Appeals Committee set up by the state government to look into the matter.
The Lagos state commissioner for physical planning and Urban development, Mr Oluyinka Olumide made this comment at the ongoing 2024 ministerial briefing held at Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja to mark the first year of the second term in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
Mr. Olumide says the state government would not have demolished part of the Mende villa estate in Maryland if it was not sitting on the Odo Iya-Alaro water channel servicing major parts of mainland.
According to Mr Olumide in the last one year, the Lagos State Physical Planning and Building Control Appeals Committee received a total of One Hundred and Twenty-Six Petitions against Individuals, Government Agencies, public officials out of which hearings were conducted for Eighty-Six and decisions delivered with Twenty-Six cases ongoing.
The Commissioner called on residents to desist from encroachment of Rights Of Way, in other to achieve the development of the state model smart city.
He also urged owners and developers of existing buildings and structures in the state, to take advantage of the ninety- days Amnesty window, opened on May 2nd to July 30th, to regularize their documents in tandem with the physical planning laws to avoid demolition.
He noted that this was to encourage property owners in the State to do the right thing by ensuring their properties pass all official procedures.
The commissioner announced that a forty percent rebate on Planning Permit approval and payment of duties has been approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for Lagosians, in a bid to ensure that the state maintains its high developmental standard.
Mr. Olumide said the Amnesty initiative would allow owners and developers of existing buildings to obtain planning permits without the payment of statutory penalty fees within the amnesty window from May 2 to July 30, 2024, with a five person discount applicable to payments completed within ten working days of the bill’s issuance.
He described the incentives, as a relief measure to mitigate the effects of the current economic hardship being experienced in the built environment, and applicants are expected to submit all relevant documents for assessment through the LASPPPA Head Office and District Offices in the Local Councils.
The Commissioner, warned that non compliance would draw the wrath of the state government as Governor Sanwo-Olu’s led administration would not compromise the safety of every individual in the State.
He stated that some of the activities embarked upon by the Office of Physical Planning, include over seventy four percent rate in the grant of Planning Permits in the last one year, the preparation and review of Master Plans and Model City Plans such as the Lagos Island Model City Plan and Alimosho Model City Plan among others.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Electronic Geographic Information System (E-GIS), Mr. Babatunde Olajide, said the office is saddled with strategic objectives and innovative urban solutions to develop Lagos State.
According to him, efforts are ongoing to formulate a new building Code for Lagos in collaboration with key stakeholders. He revealed that new lease approval have been given to Obalende developers for regeneration of the area.
Mr. Olajide also said the state government is working on relocation of Computer Village to Kantagowa market in Abule-Egba area, the redevelopment plans of Alaba-Rago and Pelewura market and replanning of
Dosumu Market among others.
The special adviser on E-GIS said his office will continue to engage stakeholders across the state to carry them along about the developmental plans of the government, adding that it will not stop its enforcement exercise that will help detect distress buildings, unapproved structures, in other to guild people to do the right thing in the built environment.
