The mandate of the Saint James Municipal Corporation is to promote sustainable social, physical and environmental development and to facilitate the economic and financial viability of the Parish and the Corporation. The Municipal Corporation works to facilitate the orderly development of land through ensuring that the public adheres to all development regulations. The Planning Unit and the Roads & Works Department are the primary executing bodies for Municipal Corporation planning related matters.
Activities associated with disaster management are dealt with at the parish level through a Parish Disaster Committee, which operates out of the Municipal Corporation’s office. Please click here for the Disaster Relief Unit.
The Planning and Disaster Relief Department web pages aim to inform the public of our areas of responsibility. We offer instruction on how to obtain subdivision approval, planning statistics, links to planning and disaster relief-related sites and maps of St. James and Montego Bay.
Why Plan?
An important goal of the planning department is to provide orderly development within the parish. Random and haphazard development does not take into consideration the health and security of a community. Rules and regulations are critical to ensure that communities have access to water, electricity and waste water facilities; roads need to be laid out so that traffic is properly controlled; buildings must be strong to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters. Montego Bay is one of the fastest growing cities in the Caribbean, and these issues have never been more vital to the well being of our community. Working in conjunction with the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA), the Municipal Corporation strives to shape our city in the healthiest way possible.
Guiding Legislation
Legislation guiding the Planning Unit and the Physical Planning and Environment Committee includes the following:
- Building Act
- Parochial Markets Act
- Building Code
- Places of Amusement Act
- Control of Advertisement Regulations
- Pound Act
- Development Order
- Preservation of Trees Regulations
- Land Surveyors Act
- Public Cemetery Management Act
- Litter Act
- Public Health Act
- Local Improvements Act
- Registration of Titles Act
- National Land Policy
- Town and Communities Act
- National Physical Plan
- Town and Country Planning Act
- Natural Resource Conservation Act
- Town Nuisances Prevention Act
- Parish Council Act
- Water Supply Act
Municipal Corporation's Building Act is available for a fee at the Jamaica Printing Service Ltd, 77½ Duke Street, 967-2250 or 948-4951.