The new measures were revealed during a tour of service stations by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development, chaired by Chinhoyi MP Leslie Mhangwa. The tour comes amid concern over the rapid spread of fuel stations, especially in residential areas.
Acting director of Urban Planning, Samuel Nyabezi, told the committee the policy is meant to bring order, safety and public participation to the approval process.
Under the new rules, a service station must be built on a stand of at least 2,000 square metres to provide enough space for ancillary facilities, and there must be at least 1.5km between service stations.
Applicants will also be required to erect a billboard at the proposed site showing what they intend to build and displaying the relevant plans.
The billboard must inform the public and neighbouring property owners of their right to object or make representations to the local planning authority, which the City will consider before making a decision.
In addition, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approved by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and approval from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) will be required before construction can begin.
For fuel service stations near residential areas, the council will enforce minimum separation distances between fuel infrastructure and homes. Where a station shares a boundary with residential properties, the developer must build specified boundary walls.
Nyabezi said all applications will be assessed on their individual merits under the new guidelines.
The council came under scrutiny during the tour, with committee members questioning why some existing service stations were allowed so close to homes.