City hits push-back over planning by-law

Tokai residents fear by-law amendments that promote greater densification have been “steamrollered in” by the City with scant regard for the consequences.

The concerns were raised at the Tokai Residents’ Association annual general meeting attended by more than 50 people at the Steenberg Golf Estate on Tuesday November 12.

The association’s chairman, Don Kourie, said the main concerns around the Municipal Planning By-Law centred around land-use amendments, the increased number of buildings per plot, changes to minimum plot sizes and the City’s power to override them.

The consensus was the wording of the amendments was vague and wide-ranging and gave the City carte blanche, he said.

“This will lead to major changes for the area impacting on all residents as the minimum erf sizes are one of the key foundations of the unique characters of our valley of the Constantia Tokai Valley. So it's feared that this may just favour developers, and our ability as residents to object will be severely hampered. We have submitted quite a detailed set of information to the City and we await their responses.”

The association, which represents 730 residents, had also raised concerns that a civic organisation’s submission of comments or objections only counted as one voice, he said.

“We've written to the mayor saying this is fundamentally flawed. Can it please be addressed because it goes to the heart of our purpose as an association and literally the purpose of us existing. We are supposed to represent and do the right thing for all the residents, but if it's finally only being counted as one that's just not right now,” Mr Kourie said.

He said the association needed three-to-four volunteers to run its membership, finance, administration portfolios, and was also looking for help from anyone with legal, town-planning and finance skills.

Treasurer Terry Simon said the association’s finances were in good shape due, in part, to bulk membership of the many estates in Tokai.

The organisation had R18 000 worth of spare funds to use for community improvements, and this year, it had decided to reserve R75 000 for “future unforeseen events”, he said.

Stan van Wyk, a resident, said civic groups needed to stand together to fight the City over the Municipal Planning By-Law amendments.

“We have to fight council on this, to block them. That's why TRA is asking for legal people in the community here, to stand together and give us input.”

Another resident, Cliff Court, said densification resulting from the amendments would have disastrous implications and the suburb’s roads and infrastructure “simply can't take thousands more people”.

He added that his comment was based on the “complete lack” of appropriate transport planning for the Tokai/Constantia areas in both the City's own Municipal Spatial Development Framework 2022 document and the Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan 2023-2028 document.

Ward councillor Carolynne Franklin said she had to give the City credit for extending the comment period on the amendments.

“As a result of the significant push-back from all 30-plus residents’ associations who are part of the Collective Residents’ Association, the City and the officials are listening and have realised that there are some changes that need to be made,” she said.

“I still do not believe that it's a steamroller process. I believe that, in terms of public participation, both the national and the local procedures, the City is 100% above board... Everybody has been heard. It doesn't mean that we will always get what we want out of the amended by-law, but I do believe there are some changes that will be made. We can't stop people coming into the city. They have to go somewhere. Just like we can't stop the backyarders living in our neighbouring suburb of Westlake.”

With 15 000 people living in Westlake, alone, the strain on the infrastructure and the social ills were there already, which was why the small-scale rental units planned for the area would be beneficial, she said.

In response to questions sent by the Bulletin, mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the City was collating all of the comments received during the 90-day public participation period.

A public participation report and the revised Municipal Planning By-Law would likely go before the city council for consideration in the second quarter of next year if all went as planned, he said.

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