Kiambu county has held the second round of meetings to consult the public on its proposed spatial plan that will cover the next 10 years.
The county government held the meetings across 12 sub-counties from Monday to Wednesday and invited various organisations involved in physical planning including the Architectural Association of Kenya.
“The plan is meant to provide a long term spatial development framework for the county covering a period of 10 years,” said Wilson Maroa, the acting county secretary.
Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos counties are under high pressure to approve change of land-use requests from developers and land buyers seeking to tap demand for residential housing.
A growing working class which commutes to Nairobi daily has piled pressure on satellite in the outskirts of the city which have become dormitory towns.
Kiambu and Kajiado counties have for a while banned land transactions to clean up the mess in land registries and create proper physical plans. Kiambu deputy governor Gerald Githinji recently said that appetite for real estate in the county has locked out many lower middle income earners from homeownership.
“Supply of affordable housing hasn’t been rising as fast to match demand as developers target high income earners for better returns. This would help those locked out to own homes,” he said.
Expansion of Thika Road into an eight-lane highway has spurred horizontal growth in real estate development. Githinji said the spatial plan will enforce zoning regulations and boost vertical growth in property development while safeguarding agricultural land.