PRESS STATEMENT
BY THE COLLECTIVE RATEPAYERS’ ASSOCIATION (CRA) OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
11 September 2024
CRA welcomes CoCT commitment to meet with residents ahead of Municipal Planning By-Law deadline; reiterates call for Impact Assessment Study
Last week, the Collective Ratepayers’ Association of the City of Cape Town (CRA) launched a joint appeal now representing close to 50 000 households concerned about the amendments being made to the Municipal Planning By-Law of 2024 (MPBL). In its open letter to Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, the CRA flagged a number of concerns regarding the City’s approach to public participation in terms of land use and private developments, and the implementation of the City’s overarching densification efforts.
Since launching its appeal just one week ago, the CRA has grown significantly. While the association initially represented the interests of 26 resident and ratepayers’ associations, since its public call to action, the CRA can confirm that an additional 12 associations and homeowner groups have confirmed their participation as signatories to the open letter, with 3 new auxiliary organisations pledging their support as well. An updated list of all signatories is available here for reference.
“The CRA is grateful to the City for responding to our open letter and confirms its willingness to work collaboratively with the Mayor to address its concerns. In the City’s public press statement, it committed to two things in particular: to meeting with the CRA and to considering all comments submitted on the proposed changes to the MPBL. We can confirm that we have reached out to the Mayor’s immediate team to schedule this meeting as a matter of urgency, ahead of the proposed deadline for comments on 23 September 2024,” comments Bridgette Lloyd, Spokesperson of the CRA.
She adds that as a collective, the CRA is well aware of the difficult task the City faces with a consistently increasing city population. The primary aim of the CRA remains a strong and meaningful public participation process, where residents’ voices are heard and their concerns responded to and incorporated in parity with other lobby groups.
“The By-Law amendments will impact every resident directly. They will allow for four dwellings on any erf or twelve apartments on erven in a large group of pilot areas. Should the city continue to allow sectional title as a substitute for sub-division (ie, de-facto sub-division), with no public participation, then property owners can build, rent out, and/or sell these individual houses or flats with no public notification to or involvement from neighbours, communities, associations, or other affected persons. Unless it is necessary to request a departure, there is no public participation process available to interested and affected parties, and no appeal process available to them in the event of a disputed outcome. They are left with no option but to directly approach the courts,” adds Lloyd.
Another area of concern is that enforcement of by-laws is weak in the City. This is recognised in the City’s own Spatial Planning and Environment Report to Mayco of 2 May 2024 (MC 61/05/24) referenced here. The member associations of the CRA want to be part of the solution, for the future benefit of the City and their communities. Without a meaningful voice for residents, either in policy, comments, or in the implementation of the amendments, there are significant risks of abuse in this system.
The CRA can confirm that the following items will be discussed in its meeting with the Mayor before 23 September:
1. A second request to delay the deadline for comments on the MPBL. The CRA believes there is no reason for the CoCT not to extend the deadline, given the complexity and pervasive influence on many areas of city life, and the fact that the City has extended deadlines in other public participation processes before;
2. Collaboratively discuss the intentions behind the proposed amendments to the MPBL, and how they will affect communities and less affluent areas;
3. To highlight that the CRA is not against densification efforts, but that residents are simply requesting a democratic influence on how the MPBL is applied in each suburb, specifically through overlay zones and Community Improvement Districts, which the CRA could help to update/expand;
and,
4. To discuss how residents can be part of future amendments of the MPBL, in parity with other lobby groups that take part in the drafting process, in an attempt to ensure that public and residents’ involvement begins at the policy development level.
The following addresses other statements made by the CoCT in its media release:
1) The City claims that its public participation process fully complies with the statutory requirements of the Municipal Systems Act (MSA):
● The CoCT’s approach falls short in light of the potential constitutional implications of the 2024 changes to the Municipal Planning By-Law (MPBL). These amendments could infringe upon the constitutional rights of residents, necessitating a more comprehensive and inclusive public participation process.
● The CoCT has thus far ignored calls for such a process – until the CRA released a public press statement on the issue last week. Specifically, the associations within the CRA have asked for a public participation process in their respective areas, none of which have been held to date, other than five public meetings in the new Special Overlay Zones. The CRA affirms that adhering to the MSA does not absolve the City from its broader obligations under higher laws, including the Constitution and relevant court judgments regarding public participation.
● Taking a narrow approach to public participation starkly contrasts with the City’s own Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which emphasizes the need for a “capable and collaborative city government” that empowers residents to actively participate in decision-making.
2) The CoCT claims that it made extensive documentation available to help the public understand the changes to the MPBL, including the updated by-law, summaries, memorandums, maps, and media releases:
● While documentation has been made available, the value of these summaries is questionable in helping the public to grasp the impact and implications of the proposed changes. On 17 August 2024, the Spatial Planning Report to SubCouncils confirmed that the “proposed amendments were extensive” in Section 7.2.1.
● Summaries and media releases seem to obscure critical issues rather than clarify them. As an example, the removal of single residential zoning and increasing the number of dwellings per erf with affordable apartment rights are material changes affecting the entire City, yet public participation meetings have only been held in five suburbs, and the City’s “explanatory memorandum” does not mention the inclusion of an additional use right to a supplementary3 dwelling, in addition to the additional use right for second and third dwellings.
● With by-laws, the principle often holds that “the devil is in the details” and the provided documents fail to adequately address certain critical impacts. For example, boarding houses are not mentioned in the Executive Summary, while the memorandum gives a basic definition of boarding houses. However, adding these as a consent use for all SR1 properties is a pervasive issue that deserves full explanation to residents. This is a particularly contentious issue that, if improperly managed, can have severely negative consequences.
3) The CoCT does not respond to requests for an impact assessment:
● When constitutional rights are potentially affected, and given the scale and nature of the impacts inherent in the proposed amendments, it is difficult to justify the City’s refusal to conduct an Impact Assessment or to share the results of those that have already been performed.
● The City is proposing significant changes to land use planning law without understanding what the implications of those changes will be.
● An independent Impact Assessment would provide a shared, objective baseline for both parties to evaluate the MPBL, ensuring that the process is transparent, fair, and fully informed.
The CRA believes that it is essential to move forward with a collaborative approach that respects the rights and interests of all residents. This means not only extending public participation and commissioning impact assessments but also ensuring that the city’s planning processes are transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of all communities.
ENDS
Media Enquiries: Natalie Boyd via natalie@omniacounsel.com or 084 336 4466
Note to Editors: The CRA represents 37 residents’ and ratepayers’ associations and over 40,000 households in Cape Town, a diverse group of residents and property owners who contribute significantly to the city’s finances through their rates. These contributions come with the expectation that their voices will be heard and their interests respected in decisions that directly impact their communities.
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