Parklands residents sue county over erection of high-rise building

A section of Parklands, Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

A group of homeowners in Parklands have sued the County government for allowing a private developer to construct a high-rise residential building in their neighbourhood.

Taza Lane Residents Association along City Park Drive, in their petition filed before the Environment and Lands Court, claims that the private developer is putting up 16-storey residential apartments without proper approvals.

"The documents being used by the developers claiming that they obtained approval from the then Nairobi Metropolitan Services are forgeries. The letter of approval and the alleged permission have since been disowned by the City County's Urban Planning Committee," said the residents.

They want the court to declare that the development being done by Ameey Homes Ltd and Koch Construction Ltd was not approved by Nairobi County's Urban Planning Committee and the ongoing construction is illegal, irregular, null and void, and the buildings on site be brought down.

They filed the suit through Wageni and Company Advocates arguing that despite confirmation by the Urban planning committee that the project was not approved, no steps have been taken to stop the ongoing construction.

They further claimed that the development is being undertaken in an area without a sewer line thus exposing them to environmental hazards. "What we want is an order that the property is demolished and the piece of land be restored to its original condition as of September 2020. The high-rise building once completed will cause irreparable harm to the environment and the neighbourhood," said the residents.

According to the residents, the building has negatively affected the physical and natural environment of the area since it was not properly planned and approved by the necessary regulatory authorities. They told the court that they live in fear that the apartments could collapse because it is being constructed without approval by any architect and structural engineer.

They also claimed that the residential apartments are being developed in an area with no sewer line which means they will be discharging their waste into the nearby Nairobi River and endanger lives.