Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?
An owner or developer obtains an 'affection plan' from Dubai Municipality. The affection plan is a high level general site plan that is issued with basic information containing the plot number, the land use classification and any other particular zoning requirements that are required by Dubai Municipality.
The plan will state:
In addition, the affection plan will state what permissions from the particular government authorities or third parties will need to be obtained prior to approval. There are no general rules regarding the requisite authorisations as each affection plan is issued on a plot by plot basis. Depending on the location of the plot, there may be additional approvals that will need to be obtained.
The general approvals that are required are:
The affection plan may also state whether environmental impact studies are required and whether there are any aesthetic requirements that must be complied with.
As part of the review process for the issue of building or work permits, other statutory authorities (telephone, civil defence, road transport, electricity, water, and sewerage) are all required to provide approvals for the scheme.
Once completed, a completion certificate must be obtained from the relevant municipality, which is based on a comparison of the drawings originally submitted to obtain the building permit (and any subsequent, approved revisions) and the actual structure which has been built. Again, as part of this process, the approval of other statutory authorities (telephone, civil defence etc) is required to demonstrate compliance of what has been built with the original approvals. Without a completion certificate, use and occupation of the building by end users is not permitted.