CONSOLIDATED ACTS OF SAMOA 2008

BUILDING ALIGNMENT ORDINANCE 1932

Arrangement of Provisions

TITLE
1. Short title 
2. Interpretation 
3. Application of Ordinance 
4. Fixing building line 
5. Marking out building line 
6. Building permits 
7. Building line to be observed 
8. Repealed 
9. Offences 
10. Demolition of buildings 
11. Verandahs and balconies 
12. Exemption of public or memorial buildings 
13. Definition of Town Area of Apia 
14. Repealed 
 Schedule

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THE BUILDING ALIGNMENT ORDINANCE 1932

1932 No.3
 
AN ORDINANCE to make provision for the fixing of building lines in certain areas.
(10 October 1932) 
(Commencement date 10 October 1932)

1. Short title - This Ordinance may be cited as the Building Alignment Ordinance 1932. 

2. Interpretation - In this Ordinance, except where a contrary intention appears: 
 
"Building line" means the line to be fixed in accordance with this Ordinance defining the position nearest a street or road to which a new building may approach. 

"Building regulations" means the Board of Health Regulations No.6. 

"Chief Surveyor" means the person for the time being holding the appointment of Chief Surveyor in the Public Service. 

"New building" includes additions to and the re-erection of an existing building. 

"Town Area of Apia" means, pending the definition thereof under section 13 hereof, the area within a radius of 2 miles from the intersection of Vaitele and Vaea streets. 

3. Application and administration of Ordinance – (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Ordinance and any other Act, the Planning and Urban Management Agency shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance. 
 
(2) Where this Ordinance and the Planning and Urban Management Act 2004 make no sufficient provision to give effect to subsection (1), the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (formerly the Minister of Lands, Surveys and Environment), the Chief Executive Officer (formerly the Director of Lands, Surveys and Environment), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (formerly the Department of Lands, Surveys and Environment), the Chief Surveyor and the Planning and Urban Management Agency may make such adaptations and modifications to the provisions of this Ordinance and take such action as they consider necessary to ensure that subsection (1) has full force and effect. 
 
(3) Any reference to the Chief Surveyor in this Ordinance shall be read as a reference to the Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Planning and Urban Management Agency (appointed under section 6 of the Planning and Urban Management Act 2004), unless the context otherwise requires. 
 
(4) This Ordinance shall apply to all land within 100 feet of any street or part of a street within the Town Area of Apia or of the main Coast Road of the Town Area of Apia in the East and Cape Fatusofia in the West. 
 
4. Fixing building line - (1) The Chief Surveyor may with the approval in writing of the Head of State fix the building line of all land to which this Ordinance applies and delineate the same in a map or plan or in separate maps or plans of the respective parts thereof.

(2) Every map or plan delineating the building line shall be deposited by the Chief Surveyor in his or her office in Apia and shall be open to public inspection during ordinary office hours. 
 
(3) The building line of any land shall be deemed to have been fixed immediately the Head of State shall have signed approval thereof upon the map or plan which delineates the same. 

5. Marking out building line - Any person who intends to erect a new building on land to which this Ordinance applies may apply in writing to the Chief Surveyor to mark out on such land the building line thereof and the Chief Surveyor or some person authorised by the Chief Surveyor shall mark out the same accordingly. 
 
6. Building permits - Every permit issued under the building regulations to erect a new building on land to which this Ordinance applies shall be subject to the provisions of this Ordinance. 
 
7. Building line to be observed - No new building shall be erected on land to which this Ordinance applies until the building line thereof has been fixed or so that any part of such building shall be nearer to the street or road than the building line. 
 
 8. Repealed by section 5, Lands, Surveys and Environments Amendment Act 1992/1993. 
 
9. Offences - Every person who shall erect or take part or be concerned in the erection of any new building in contravention of the 2 last preceding sections commits an offence and shall be liable to a penalty of 2 penalty units. 
 
10. Demolition of buildings - (1) The Chief Surveyor may apply to the Supreme Court for an order that any new building erected in contravention of sections 7 and 8 be demolished wholly or in part as the case may require and the Supreme Court may make such order in the premises as to it may seem just. 
 
(2) Every such application shall be made by motion in accordance with the rules of the Supreme Court.

(3) All costs, charges and expenses incurred in carrying out a demolition order made under this section shall be recoverable from the owner of the building as a debt owing to the Government of Samoa. 

11. Verandahs and balconies - Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6 the Chief Surveyor may, subject to the provisions of the building regulations and to such terms and conditions as the Chief Surveyor may think fit to impose, permit the verandah or balcony of a new building to be erected beyond the building line and the street boundary of the land to a distance of not more than 14 feet from such boundary. 

12. Exemption of public or memorial buildings - Notwithstanding the provisions of this Ordinance the Head of State may authorise the erection of any building in contravention of the provisions of sections 7 and 8 if the Head of State is satisfied that such building is required for public purposes and is to be erected on land belonging to or used in connection with the Government of Samoa or that such building is in the nature of a memorial of a religious or historical event. 

13. Definition of Town Area of Apia - The Head of State may at any time hereafter by proclamation published in the Savali declare that any area therein perimetrically described shall be the Town Area of Apia and thereafter the area so described shall be the Town Area of Apia for the purposes of this Ordinance. 
 
14. Repeal - The Ordinances set out in the Schedule are hereby repealed. 

SCHEDULE
Section14
 
1. Ordinance of the 25th day of April 1903 (Samoanishces Gouvernement Blatt Band 111 No.22, page 71). 
 
2. Ordinance Extending Building Restrictions (being Proclamation No.22 made during the British Military Occupation of Samoa). 
 
3. Building Alignment Ordinance 1921. 
 
4. Building Alignment Amendment Ordinance 1922. 

REVISION NOTES 2008
 
This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. The following general revisions have been made – 

(a) References to Western Samoa have been amended to Samoa in accordance with an amendment to the Constitution of Samoa in 1997. 

(b) The fines have been amended and are stated as penalty units as provided for by the Fines (Review and Amendment) Act 1998. 

(c) All references to the male gender have been made gender neutral. 

(d) Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa. 

(e) Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes. 

(f) Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General. 

The following amendments have been made to specific sections of the Act to incorporate amendments made by Act of Parliament passed since the publication of the Western Samoa Statutes Reprint 1978-1996 – 

Section 3 	Replaced by section 106 of the Planning and Urban Management Act 2004	

Revised and consolidated by Graham Bruce Powell 
Under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulital
 (Parliamentary Counsel) 

REVISION NOTES 2008 No. 2

Section 4 (general powers of the Attorney General) of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 is used to insert the commencement date. By virtue of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1974, in the absence of an expressed commencement date, the date of assent is the commencement date. 

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007. 

Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel)

The Building Alignment Ordinance 1932 is administered in
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.