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Capetonians encouraged to comment on proposed amendments to Municipal Planning By-law

The City of Cape Town is proposing a number of amendments and new provisions to the Municipal Planning By-law (MPBL) that regulates development and land use in the city. These are intended to make it easier to build and develop in Cape Town, improve clarity and certainty, encourage the development of affordable rental accommodation in identified areas, accommodate advancements in the renewable energy sector, and enable the City to impound moveable property that is being used for illegal building and demolition work when an order to stop work is ignored, amongst others. Residents, and interested and affected parties are encouraged to peruse the draft revised MPBL, and to submit their comments by 23 September 2024.

The Municipal Planning By-law regulates development and land use in Cape Town. The City is proposing a number of amendments and new provisions to the by-law as part of its five-year review process to respond to needs and advancements in the land use and spatial planning environment, and to also give effect to the policies and strategies that have been adopted by the City Council since the last comprehensive review was undertaken in 2019. 'We receive a significant number of comments from the public, internal City departments, professionals from the development fraternity, and other spheres of government with every review we undertake. The City's Development Management Department assesses these comments to see how we can improve and simplify our planning by-law and the prescribed processes, provide greater clarity, and strengthen our mandate to facilitate and promote social and economic development.'For this review, many of the suggestions that we have received from the public over the past few years are reflected in the version that is now available for comment. The officials also analyse the City's latest revised spatial policies such as the Municipal Spatial Development Framework, the district frameworks, local spatial development frameworks and other important policy changes to determine how the MPBL should be amended to ensure these policies are effected through development and land use. 'Very importantly, as the world changes around us, we also need to adapt our MPBL to address these. For example, some of the revisions regulate the installation of renewable energy structures such as solar roof panels, wind turbines, and so forth. We also need our MPBL to be responsive to Cape Town's unique built environment and social reality. 'There is a huge demand for affordable rental accommodation in Cape Town and this time around, we are proposing additions to the by-law to stimulate development in this market in areas where the need is greatest; and we are also proposing an incentive overlay zone to encourage development in five development focus areas in Maitland, Eerste River, Parow/Elsies River, Bellville, and Athlone,' said the City's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.The proposed revised Municipal Planning By-law and an explanatory document to guide comments are available on the City's website at <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay" target="_blank">www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay</a>. Comments and recommendations can be submitted as follows:<ul><li>Online, at <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay" target="_blank">www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay</a></li><li>Email to <a href="mailto:lums@capetown.gov.za" target="_blank">lums@capetown.gov.za</a> </li></ul>Residents are advised to take note of the following proposed amendments and new provisions, amongst others:<ul><li>Amendments to the emergency housing provisions under Section 68 to enable the City to provide temporary housing on land that may not be zoned for such purpose for a period of 12 months without needing to undertake a public participation process beforehand if it is reasonable and justifiable, and complies with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. The proposed amendment will allow for those who are left homeless due to emergencies such as fires and floods to be temporarily relocated to an alternative site in a timeous manner</li><li>Amendments under Section 111 to allow the City to use email as the method of contacting, and notifying interested and affected parties; that parties must provide the City with their email addresses and update these; and a person who does not have access to email may apply for notification by other means</li><li>New additions under Section 122 to promote effective law enforcement and lawful development by empowering the City to revoke or amend an approval or a building plan approval, to approve a replacement building plan and regularise a contravention, without the need for judicial review</li><li>New additions under Section 135 to allow the City to impound moveable property that is being used for illegal building or demolition work if an order to stop work is being disobeyed. This amendment intends to address the challenge of owners and contractors continuing illegal work without tangible consequences</li><li>Revised or new definitions for 'boarding house'; 'guesthouse' 'hotel'; 'affordable rental flat'; 'affordable rental unit'; 'commune'; 'electric vehicle charging station'; 'small-scale energy structure'; 'medium-scale energy structure'; 'micro wind turbine'; 'outdoor restaurant dining area' and so forth</li><li>Single Residential zoning is renamed 'Residential Zoning' (R1) and provides for single-family dwelling houses and additional use rights in low- to medium-density residential neighbourhoods </li><li>New primary uses for R1 are proposed such as electric vehicle charging stations, small-scale energy structure, and micro wind turbine</li><li>Additional use rights for R1 are proposed, amongst which affordable rental flats, supplementary dwelling units, and place of instruction </li><li>An 'affordable rental flat' is a new proposed additional use right on properties within 194 identified areas across Cape Town to enable the development of small scale affordable rental accommodation in these areas. It is proposed that the number of small scale affordable rental units on a single property may not exceed 8 units plus a dwelling house, or 12 units if there is no dwelling house on the land. A map of the proposed 194 areas is available online, and residents are encouraged to peruse the map and to submit their comments</li><li>One of the key initiatives for making it easier and more cost-effective to develop, is the proposed introduction of incentive overlay zones (IOZs) for development focus areas in Athlone, Maitland, Parow/Elsies River, Bellville and Diep River. The intention is to assign additional and enhanced development rights to properties that fall within these zones</li></ul>'I encourage all who live, work, and do business in Cape Town to please make use of the opportunity to comment on the proposed new provisions and amendments. This is the ideal opportunity for residents, ratepayers' associations, body corporates, and developers to collaborate with the City. We are eager to hear from you,' said Alderman Andrews. End

2024-07-21T22:00:00Z

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