A working page, open for review
This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the 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:
- For Theewaterskloof Municipality’s planning department: on what date did the Act commence in Theewaterskloof, and has the land of Genadendal and the other Farm 39 settlements been incorporated into the zoning scheme under section 34? If so, with what zoning?
- For the Genadendal Transformasie Komitee: was the Komitee consulted on any zoning given to Farm 39 land?
The Western Cape Land Use Planning Act, known as LUPA, is the province’s own planning law [IC]. It works alongside the national Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA): municipalities decide land use applications, and the Province keeps a say in matters of provincial interest [IC]. It replaced the Land Use Planning Ordinance of 1985 [IC]. One of its sections speaks directly to the valley: it requires land that was once governed by the Rural Areas Act, as Farm 39 was, to be brought into a zoning scheme [IC].
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 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 name | Western Cape Land Use Planning Act, 2014 |
| Citation | Western Cape Act 3 of 2014 |
| Made by | Western Cape Provincial Parliament |
| Administered by | The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning; municipalities for land use decisions |
| In force since | Between 1 July 2015 and 8 November 2016, on dates that differ by municipality; the date for Theewaterskloof is not yet confirmed [TBV] |
| Official text | LawLibrary; Western Cape Provincial Parliament |
What it does
- Municipalities decide. Municipalities are responsible for land use planning in their areas, including zoning schemes and land use applications (section 2) [IC].
- The Province plans and comments. The Province adopts the Provincial Spatial Development Framework (section 3) [IC]. A municipality must ask the Province for comment before deciding certain applications, including those outside the planned edge of urban growth and rezonings of agricultural or conservation land; the Province has 60 days to reply (section 45) [IC].
- Old schemes stay until replaced. Town planning schemes made under the 1985 Ordinance remain in force until amended under the municipality’s by-laws (section 33) [IC].
- Land with no scheme must be brought in. On the Act’s commencement, a municipality must incorporate land that was not regulated by a zoning or town planning scheme, “including land that was regulated by the Rural Areas Act”, into its zoning scheme (section 34) [IC]. Until it does, the municipality must give the land a zoning or a deemed zoning that takes into account its lawful use and any conditions in its title deed [IC].
What it means in the valley
On Farm 39. Genadendal, Bereaville, Voorstekraal, and Boschmanskloof stand on land governed by the Rural Areas Act 9 of 1987 until TRANCRAA replaced it in 1998 [IC]. Section 34 therefore applies to them. The Forum reads it as meaning that every piece of Farm 39 land should by now carry a zoning or a deemed zoning in Theewaterskloof’s Zoning Scheme By-law, based on how it was lawfully used. That matters for anyone who wants to build, trade, or farm there, because what is allowed depends on the zoning. Whether the municipality has done this, and with what zoning, is not yet known to this site [TBV]. A zoning does not change who owns the land: the Minister still holds the Remainder in trust.
Farm and conservation land. A rezoning of agricultural land anywhere in the valley, such as on the farms around Greyton or along the Riviersonderend, goes to the Province for comment before the municipality decides [IC]. So does development outside the urban edge drawn in the Spatial Development Framework [IC].
In Greyton and Heuwelkroon. Land here was already zoned under the older schemes, and those zonings carried over [TBV].
Where it touches this site
- Farm 39 and Next Door, Different Rules.
- Madiba Park: Land Status and Basic Services.
- Valley of Grace Agri-Heritage Co-operative and Valley of Grace Learning Campus: ideas that would need land, possibly rezoned.
Who to ask
- Theewaterskloof Municipality’s Town Planning department.
- The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, for provincial comment on applications.
What is still open
- The date the Act commenced in Theewaterskloof.
- Whether, and how, Farm 39 land has been incorporated into the zoning scheme under section 34.
Have your say
If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.
Related
- The Rules the Valley Lives By
- Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act
- Zoning Scheme By-law
- Municipal Land Use Planning By-law
- Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act
References
- Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Western Cape Land Use Planning Act 3 of 2014. LawLibrary. Sections 2, 3, 33, 34, and 45, and the commencement table.
- Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Western Cape Land Use Planning Act 3 of 2014. The Act as published by the Provincial Parliament.