Ward 2 Development Forum

Municipal Land Use Planning By-law

Properties3
descriptionTheewaterskloof's by-law on how to apply to rezone land, use it for something else, subdivide it, or lift a title deed restriction, and how neighbours are told and can object. Using land without the approval it needs is an offence.
tagslang/en
aliasesTheewaterskloof Municipality By-law on Municipal Land Use Planning, 2020, Land Use Planning By-law, planning by-law

6 min read

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this by-law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the by-law in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

  1. For Theewaterskloof Municipality’s planning department: who is the appeal authority, and how many days does an objector have to appeal a decision?
  2. How should a resident of Genadendal or another Farm 39 settlement apply, given that the Minister holds the land in trust?

Theewaterskloof Municipality’s By-law on Municipal Land Use Planning sets out how to apply to change how land may be used, and how those applications are decided [IC]. It was adopted as the by-law of 2020 and published in the Provincial Gazette on 4 March 2022, replacing the municipality’s first planning by-law of 2015 [IC]. It is the by-law a resident uses to run a guest house from home, to rezone a plot, to subdivide land, or to remove a restriction in a title deed, and the by-law under which neighbours are told about such applications and can comment.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the by-law, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the rule could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full nameTheewaterskloof Municipality: By-law on Municipal Land Use Planning, 2020
CitationProvincial Gazette 8558, 4 March 2022
Made byTheewaterskloof Municipal Council, under SPLUMA and LUPA
Administered byTheewaterskloof Municipality, Town Planning
In force since4 March 2022
Official textTheewaterskloof Municipality

What it does

  • No land development without approval. No one may start or continue land development that needs the municipality’s approval without it (section 15(1)) [IC]. Doing so is an offence (section 86) [IC].
  • The kinds of application. Section 15(2) lists them, among others [IC]:
    • a rezoning of land;
    • a permanent departure from the development rules of the zoning scheme (such as a building line or height), or a temporary departure of up to five years for a land use;
    • a subdivision or consolidation of land;
    • the removal, suspension, or amendment of restrictive conditions in a title deed;
    • a consent use, or another permission the zoning scheme requires;
    • the closure of a public place.
  • Who decides. Depending on the kind of application, an authorised official or the Municipal Planning Tribunal decides (section 69) [IC]. An official must decide within 60 days of the last comment, and the Tribunal within 120 days (section 57) [IC]. A decision can be appealed to the municipality’s appeal authority (section 79) [IC].
  • How the public is told. Applications that need public notice are advertised in two of the official languages most spoken in the area, on the municipality’s website, and, where required, by notice on the site and in a local newspaper (sections 45 to 48) [IC]. The notice must give a closing date for comments of at least 30 days (section 47) [IC].
  • The spatial plan guides, but grants nothing. The by-law says the municipality’s spatial development framework guides decisions on land development but does not confer or take away rights (section 11) [IC].

What it means in the valley

Running a business from home. On land zoned Single Residential Zone 1, a guest house or a house shop needs the municipality’s consent [IC]. Many houses in Greyton and Heuwelkroon carry that zoning [TBV]. That consent is applied for under this by-law. An accommodation or food business listed on this site that operates from a home will usually have, or need, such a consent. See Zoning Scheme By-law.

Commenting on neighbours’ plans. The by-law gives neighbours and residents’ bodies a right to be told about, and to comment on, applications that affect them. Residents bodies such as the Greyton Ratepayers & Residents Organisation can follow notices on the municipality’s website.

On Farm 39. Most applications must be made by the owner of the land or with the owner’s consent [TBV]. On Farm 39 the owner of the Remainder is the national Minister, holding the land in trust [IC]. The Forum reads this as the main practical obstacle to formal land use changes there until the land is transferred under TRANCRAA.

For ideas tabled at the Forum. Ideas that would need a building or a change of use, such as the Valley of Grace Learning Campus or a farm shop for the Agri-Heritage Co-operative, would pass through this by-law. The Forum has said it will take practical planning matters to the municipality’s operational officials [MS].

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

What is still open

  • The appeal authority and the time allowed for an appeal.
  • How applications on Farm 39 land are handled while the Minister holds it in trust.

Have your say

If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

References

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