WHAT ARE

DEVELOPMENT
CONTROLS

Ar JIT KUMAR GUPTA

Chandigarh
 Defining Development control,
• Development control, planning control,
or development management:
• is the element through which
• local government regulates
• land use and new building.
• It relies on a "plan-led system"
whereby development plans are formed and the
public is consulted.
 What is Development Control?
• Development Control is the process:
• that regulates the development and
• use of land.
• This includes:
• -- the construction of new buildings,
• -- the extension of existing ones and
• -- the change of use of buildings or land to another use.
• Developing new houses/ industrial buildings / shops is
important-- for sustaining the economic success
• It is also important to protect / improve quality of
environment-- towns ,villages, countryside.
 Development controls
• Development controls defined as;
• -- the mechanism
• --through which entire process of urban development is regulated
• -- to achieve the objective of promoting overall benefit of the
society and
• -- creating a distinct image of the city.
• It includes
• i. guiding the development
• Ii use of land,
• Iii curbing misuse of land
• Iv promoting rational and orderly development of built environment.
Development controls are required to meet situations and
contexts which are generally static.
• In this context they tend to become to rigid and complex.
• L ooking at the far reaching impact / implications of the development controls on the:
• -- growth and development
• --character, fabric and personality of a city,
• --they need to be framed with great care and abundant caution.
• --Considering the larger public interest and general welfare of the community,
• --formulation of the development control should satisfy the basic
requirements of the ;
• --health, --safety-- convenience, --economy and --amenity.
 Types of Development Controls
• LAND SUB-DIVISION CONTOLS
• LAND USE CONTROLS
• ZONING CONTROLS
• DENSITY CONTROLS
• HEIGHT CONTROL
• GROUND COVEAGE CONTROL
• FLOOR AEA RATIO
• VOLUMETRIC CONTROLS
• SETBACK CONTROLS
• ARCHITECTURAL CONTROLS
• ADVERTISEMENT CONTROLS
• BOUNDARY WALL AND GATE CONTROLS
 Sub- Division Control
• Subdivision Control
• Subdivision regulations -- require developers to prepare raw
land for development that promotes public health and safety.
• The regulations ensure:
• 1. land can be developed without endangering public health
and safety;
• 2. developers provide for proper water, sewerage, and
drainage and take steps to control soil erosion and
sedimentation; and
• 3. To set standard/create a network of streets for rational
traffic /transportation.
• 4. to plan site in a way that conserves energy or promotes
the use of renewable energy.
• 5 Set standards for providing public utilities and services.
• 6 The lay down the proportion of land under different uses-
housing, commercial, open spaces, roads, public amenities
etc
• Zoning
ZONING
• Urban areas are divided into districts to regulate the way people can use
land within them.
• Zoning regulates the way developers can erect, construct, reconstruct,
alter, or use buildings and structures in each district.
• Zoning also
• 1. regulate the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other
structures;
• 2. regulate the percentage of the area of the building lot that may be
occupied;
• 3. regulate the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for
residential, commercial, and other purposes; and
• 4. consider the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for
particular uses, with a view to conserving the value of buildings and
encouraging the most appropriate use of land within the municipality.
• 5. control the extent to which people can develop land for a permitted
use.
• For example, minimum lot size and floor area requirements control the
number and size of homes in a district
• while setback requirements specify the distance between a structure and
the lot's boundaries.
•
Set Back Controls
Setback – Defined as margins or open spaces in any plot of land where no construction is
permitted
• Land contained in setbacks belongs to the owner but he is not permitted any construction
• Maximum setbacks can be four- one on each side- front, Rear and sides
• Building with all 4 setbacks – Detached building
• Building with all 3 setbacks –Semi- Detached building
• Building with all 2 setbacks – Terraced building
• Number of setbacks depends upon the size of plot and covered area to be permitted at
ground and Requirement of fire safety
• Larger the plot more are the setbacks and larger the depth of such setbacks
• Setbacks are provided for:
• i. Providing space for widening the roads when needed later on without damaging the
buildings
• Ii. To promote urban design of area/ street picture by bringing uniformity
• Iii To ensure adequate air, light and ventilation within and among buildings
• Iv To provide space for Parking within building without causing congestion in area
• V. To create gardens/open spaces/landscape area within the building
• Vi To protect buildings from the street noise/ traffic
• Vii. To promote Privacy for the residents
• Viii To reduce the danger of fire by increasing distance
• Ix. To provide space for laying services in a congested area
• --
 Density Control
• Density- defined as number of persons per unit area
• Housing density- number of housing or dwelling units/per unit area
• Regulates the houses/ population in any area/ building
• Avoids over crowding in any area
• Helps in distribution of population in city/area and working out amenities to be
provides- open spaces, roads, schools, community centre, shopping , health care
etc
• Differentiates area into High/ Medium /Low density area
• Helps in planning the area in terms of plot size with large size in low density area
• Three types of density- Overall Density – at city level- average density of population
per unit area of the entire urban area
• --Gross Density- at Sector level- average density of population per unit area of the
entire residential area
• -- Net Density– at Local Level- average density of population per unit of the
housing area including local roads but excluding open spaces, shopping, public
institutions
• -- Net Density always highest and overall density always lowest
 Density Control
• Density is regulated through regulating the built area/ plot area by defining
• -- setbacks to be provided in buildings
• - Maximum height of building
• --Size of plots
• --number of houses per unit area
• -- Floor area Ratio
• Advantages of Density Controls:
• i. Facilitate proper layout
• 2. Designing appropriate public amenities and services and their distribution
• 3 Ensures adequate light and ventilation to residences for creating healthy
environment
• 4 Avoiding congestion/ over-crowding
• 5 To Stabilize the land values
 Height Controls
• Objectives –
i. to control the height, volume and cubicle contents of the building- by using the
equation of volume of the prism involving 1/3x plinth area x height equal to
width of the road or the FAR/FSI
ii. Street width and setbacks to ensure air, light and ventilation to the buildings- by
fixing the light plane at an angle of 45 degree/ 63.50 degree to the horizontal,
giving a ratio of 1:1/2:1 with the width of road
Restriction on height of building depends on;
-- Nature of Building/ Type of Zone and Climatic conditions
Advantages of Height Zoning
1. To control the development in the area and solve problems involving traffic,
congestion etc
2. Buildings with Uniform Height helps in improving the street picture/ urban
design
3. Ensures adequate air , light and ventilation by avoiding construction of tall
buildings in a low height area.
4. Controls land values and stabilizes them in certain preferred area
 Height Controls
• Height provides the mechanism of providing larger built area over any piece of
land
• More the height more are the setbacks provided in building to ensure air, light and
ventilation in the building and surrounding buildings
• More the height lesser is the ground coverage to provide more open space at
ground and larger space for parking
• Main objectives of Height control are to-- ensure adequate day-lighting in the
building and manage traffic and to provide space for disaster management
• To achieve the above objectives there are two options
• -- to provide buildings of moderate height with less space of
• Buildings with more height and more space between them
• With more height- city of towers can be created
• Former pattern helps in creating streets of normal width with buildings of low/
moderate height
• Latter pattern creates tower like buildings with wide roads
• Height controls helps in checking population density
• Height controls also regulates the needs of disaster management