MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 165 / 2010
08 MARCH 2010


Owners who build illegally cannot simply assume that Council will approve their illegally built building afterwards and will face the consequence of possible demolition.

This is the strong message the City of Cape Town’s Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Management Committee (Spelum) sent out to developers at a recent meeting when it refused an application by the owners of Rondebosch Medical Centre in Klipfontein Road for rezoning of the erf, to ‘legalize’ their illegally built building.

Even though large parts of the Rondebosch Medical Centre were built illegally, this can by law not be a consideration in approving or rejecting an application for rezoning. Spelum refused the rezoning application, as well an application for the approval of departures from building restrictions, after the owners could not provide sufficient evidence on various aspects of their development proposal and its impact on the surrounding area.

The owners of the medical centre submitted building plans to the City in 2006 to alter the building on Erf 44356, commonly known as Perbro House, in such a way as to utilize it as a hospital. These plans were approved, however, the owners proceeded to construct additions for which there were no approved plans.

In order to be able to submit the required building plans for the extended building the owners then applied to rezone the property, currently zoned as General Business B1, to General Commercial C3, to “minimise the number of departures” required to regularise the built form of the existing building. The building also exceeds the permissible built form in the proposed General Commercial C3 zone, therefore the owners still needed to apply for permission to deviate from the applied zoning scheme as well.

After a public participation process, Council received various objections to the application from both residents as well as businesses in the area. Concerns were raised at Spelum meetings in December 2009 and again on 10 February 2010 about the number of parking bays available at the hospital, access to the facility for the public and emergency vehicles, the impact that this building will have on traffic flow in Klipfontein Road, how it will impact the Integrated Rapid Transit System planned for the area, as well as how this building fits in with the character of the Klipfontein Corridor. Complainants and councillors also expressed their discontent as building work went ahead illegally, without the approved building plans. According to Alderman Gisela Jespersen, chairperson of Spelum, the committee also carried out a site inspection to obtain the maximum information about the application.

Alderman Brian Watkyns, member of the Spelum committee, suggested at the meeting that steps be taken to remove the illegal building work and this was seconded by a number of Councillors. All Councillors agreed that the application for rezoning be refused.

“The applicants will have the right to appeal this decision made by Spelum, which could give them a chance to address all the shortcomings of their application. There are a number of unresolved issues that need to be addressed before the applicant’s plans can be approved. It is possible that, if by the time the owners appear before the Appeal Committee these outstanding issues are resolved, the Appeal Committee might take a different view,” Watkyns said.

Should their appeal not be successful, they could be forced to demolish parts of the building that do not comply with the building regulations.

Spelum also recommended that the Planning and Environment Portfolio Committee request the City Manager to launch a full scale investigation into how the owners managed to continue building the hospital and why the owners are occupying the building without an occupational certificate.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
CITY OF CAPE TOWN


MEDIA QUERIES:
ALDERMAN BRIAN WATKYNS
CHAIRPERSON OF THE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE TEL: 021 531 3437 CELL: 083 444 4807

ALDERMAN GISELA JESPERSEN
CHAIRPERSON OF THE SPATIAL PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LAND USE
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
TEL: 021 855 4421 CELL: 082 570 6228