Civics tackle City on planning by-law

Proposed amendments to the City’s Municipal Planning By-law would serve the interests of City officials at the expense of ratepayers and property owners.

This is according to a response to the planned amendments drawn up by an attorney instructed by both the Camps Bay and Clifton Ratepayers Association and the Green Point Ratepayers and Residents Association.

Outlining the associations’ objections to the amendments, the letter by Van Rensburg and Co says: “One of the principal comments of this document is that the proposed amendments to the planning by-law do not serve the best interests of the ratepayers and the property owners of the City. The amendments are aimed at advancing the interest of City officials who administer the by-law, often against the best interest of existing ratepayers and property owners.”

The City published a draft of the revised by-law in July, giving the public two months to comment, but then pushed the deadline back to Friday October 25. The revised by-law has been slammed by the Collective Ratepayers’ Association of the City of Cape Town (CRA), which says it places developers’ commercial interests over residents’ rights to property, health, and safety (“Planning by-law changes draw flak,” Atlantic Sun, October 21).

According to Chris Willemse, chairman of the CBCRA, the proposed changes signal the City's virtual abandonment of title deed limits in terms of planning regulations as well as its contempt for registered property rights, and this constitutes an abuse of authority.

“This clearly reveals the City’s desire for unfettered access to the value of owners’ properties, which they can then extract for the profit of developers. Technically, this is deprivation of property and not an expropriation but the nett result is that property owners have lost their rights in the property for which they paid and to which they are entitled. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

Earlier this year, a CBCRA objection to a hotel being built on Victoria Road was rejected (“Camps Bay ratepayers to appeal dismissed hotel case,“ Atlantic Sun, September 5), and Mr Willemse said rezoning was a serious concern as much of Camps Bay had General Residential (GR2) zoning.

“Almost half of Camps Bay has GR2 zoning, which allows heights up to 15m, and, if rezoned to GR4, up to 25m. One can see where the City is going with this: It doesn’t want to be troubled with a blanket restriction and will grant wholesale rezonings if this is allowed to be promulgated,” he said.

The City Bowl Ratepayers’ Association said that the proposed amendments to the Municipal Planning By-law appeared to favour developers at the expense of residents.

In a five-page letter the CIBRA proposes:

A reduced rates structure for heritage-graded properties: This would recognise the costs and difficulties involved in maintaining them and their limited development potential and incentivise preservation.

Inter-connectivity of heritage areas: This would maintain spatial and pedestrian links between heritage zones to avoid isolation by new high-rise developments.

Height limits: Impose intermediate height limits near heritage sites, such as Bo-Kaap houses, to prevent overpowering contrasts between modern buildings and historical structures. Shanghai is an example of such irreversible contrasts.

Developmental limits on heritage land: Ensure clear understanding of the limits of development on heritage-worthy land to prevent inappropriate expansion and destruction of intact architecture.

Avoid façade-only preservation: Resist the practice of using heritage buildings as mere façades for modern developments.

Meanwhile, the closing date to comment on the local spatial development framework (LSDF) for the CBD ends today, Thursday October 31.

According to the City, the draft LSDF addresses the core economic area of the CBD, and proposes development guidelines for each of the eight precincts in terms of its urban form, approach towards height management, and character assessment. The eight precincts are De Waterkant, Convention District, Mid-City, Company’s Garden, East Foreshore, Cape Town Station, East City, and Lower Gardens.

Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the CBD was still dominated by vehicles, and the draft LSDF proposed measures to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

“The LSDF intends to transform the CBD into an environment that is more people-centred with urban design interventions to improve general mobility and access for pedestrians, efforts to conserve heritage areas, a public land programme to inform land release in support of affordable housing opportunities, an appropriately scaled urban form and interface to encourage mixed use intensification,” he said.

CIBRA questions why the research on the Vredehoek area and its designation as a heritage protection overlay zone (HPOZ), which began in 2016, has not been finished, but Mr Andrews said the City intended to develop heritage management plans for each area.

“These plans will determine guidelines to assist with decision making that is aligned with the identified significance and heritage value of an area, which is a driver for economic development, tourism, liveability of the city and attraction of investment – key considerations in the integrated development plan.”

The process for the designation of further areas to have the HPOZ would commence after council had considered the amendments to the Development Management Scheme (DMS), he said.

“A report will be submitted to political structures to consider the proposed amendments to the DMS during the first quarter of 2025, if all goes as planned,” he said.