Physical Planning Act 1989

Physical Planning Act 1989 Warning: The Physical Planning Act 1989 has been amended by the Physical Planning (Amendment) Act 2016 (No 27 of 2016) which at the date of publication of this Infobase (18) had not yet commenced, and has not therefore been consolidated in this Act.

[ Physical Planning Act 1989 consolidated to No 3 of 2004]

INDEPENDENT STATE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

Physical Planning Act 1989,

Being an Act to establish a comprehensive mechanism for physical planning at national and provincial levels of government and to provide powers for the planning and regulation of physical development and to repeal the Town Planning Act (Chapter 204), and for related purposes,

MADE by the National Parliament to come into operation in connection with a notice in the National Gazette by the Head of State, acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the Minister.

PART I.—PRELIMINARY. 1 Compliance with Constitutional requirements.

(1) This Act, to the extent that it regulates or restricts a right or freedom referred to in Division III.3.C. (qualified rights) of the Constitution, namely:—

(a) the freedom from arbitrary search and entry conferred by Section 44 of the Constitution; and

(b) the right to privacy conferred by Section 49 of the Constitution; and

(c) the right of freedom of expression conferred by Section 46 of the Constitution,

is a law that is made for the purpose of giving effect to the public interest in public welfare and public health.

(2) For the purposes of Section 29 of the Organic Law on Provincial Government, it is declared that this law relates to a matter of national interest.

(1) This Act binds the State.

(2) All land in Papua New Guinea is subject to this Act.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

"amenity" means those physical attributes in a neighbourhood which contribute to the quality of the environment and to its better enjoyment for any permitted use;

"appeal" means an appeal under Section 94;

"approving authority" means the approving authority for a development plan as specified under Section 55, and in relation to a specific development plan means the approving authority appropriate to that plan;

"arterial road" means a road, within a physical planning area, which is designated by a Board as being of major importance as a traffic artery;

"authorized person" means a person designated in writing by a Board or by the Minister or by a provincial minister to be an authorized person for the purposes of a particular provision of this Act;

"authorized purpose", in relation to a building or land, means a purpose for which, under Section 72, a building may be erected or land may be used;

"Board" means a Physical Planning Board established pursuant to the provisions of this Act;

"building" includes any house, hut, shed, or roofed enclosure whether or not used for human occupation, and any wall, fence, platform, staging, gate, post, pillar, paling, frame, hoarding, slip, dock, wharf, jetty, landing stage, or bridge, and any structure, support, or foundation connected to or supporting any of those structures;

"building operations" includes rebuilding operations, alterations of buildings and additions to buildings;

"conditional use", in relation to land or buildings in any zone, means any use for which planning permission for development under this Act has been approved subject to conditions regulating the use of the land or buildings;

"conditional permission" means any planning permission for development under this Act which has been approved subject to conditions;

"consolidation" means, in relation to land, the combination into one parcel of two or more.