Ward 2 Development Forum

Zoning Scheme By-law

Properties3
descriptionTheewaterskloof's zoning scheme: the binding rules on what every piece of land in the municipality may be used for, and what needs the municipality's consent. A revised scheme was published in draft in 2025 and 2026.
tagstheme/trancraa, lang/en
aliasesTheewaterskloof Zoning Scheme, zoning scheme, Theewaterskloof Municipality Zoning Scheme 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: where does the revised zoning scheme stand? Was the public comment period on the February 2026 draft closed, and when will the council decide?
  2. Is the Urban Conservation Overlay zone applied in Greyton or Genadendal? Which zoning does land in the Farm 39 settlements carry?
  3. For residents bodies: did any body in the valley comment on the 2025 or 2026 drafts?

Theewaterskloof Municipality’s Zoning Scheme By-law is the land use scheme the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act requires: binding rules on what every piece of land in the municipality may be used for [IC]. It was published in the Provincial Gazette on 24 August 2020, and it applies to the entire municipal area [IC]. Each property has a zoning. The zoning says what the owner may do as of right (a primary use), what needs the municipality’s consent (a consent use), and the limits on building, such as height and building lines [IC]. A revised scheme was published in draft in March 2025 and February 2026 [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 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 Zoning Scheme By-law
CitationProvincial Gazette Extraordinary 8312, 24 August 2020
Made byTheewaterskloof Municipal Council
Administered byTheewaterskloof Municipality, Town Planning
In force since24 August 2020
Official textTheewaterskloof Municipality; February 2026 draft revision

What it does

  • It covers the whole municipality. The scheme applies to the entire municipal area [IC]. A schedule converts zonings under the older schemes into the new zones [IC].
  • It sorts land into zones. Each zone lists primary uses, consent uses, and development rules [IC]. Some examples that matter in the valley [IC]:
ZoneAllowed as of rightNeeds the municipality’s consent (among others)
Single Residential Zone 1A dwelling houseA guest house, a house shop, a house tavern, a second dwelling larger than 60 m²
Agricultural Zone 1AgricultureA farm shop, tourist facilities
  • It has overlay zones. Overlays add rules over the base zoning in a defined area. The scheme provides for a Subdivisional Area overlay, a Special Planning Area overlay, and an Urban Conservation overlay [IC].
  • Changes go through the planning by-law. A rezoning, a consent use, or a departure is applied for under the Municipal Land Use Planning By-law [IC].

What it means in the valley

For guest houses and home businesses. The municipality’s spatial plan calls tourism Greyton’s main economic sector [IC], and a guest house in a Single Residential zone needs the municipality’s consent [IC]. So does a house shop or a house tavern [IC]. A resident in Greyton, Heuwelkroon, or Genadendal who wants to open one applies for consent, and neighbours are notified.

For farms. A farm shop or tourist facilities on agricultural land need consent [IC]. The farm stall, tasting room, or overnight huts that agri-tourism ideas for the valley propose would need this.

For Greyton’s character. The municipality’s spatial plan describes an urban conservation area covering Greyton’s original layout of 1854 [IC]. The scheme’s Urban Conservation overlay is the tool that would give such an area binding rules. Whether the overlay has been applied to Greyton, or to the heritage precincts the spatial plan identifies in Genadendal, Bereaville, Voorstekraal, and Boschmanskloof, is not yet known [TBV]. Heritage protection also comes separately from the National Heritage Resources Act.

On Farm 39. The scheme applies to the whole municipal area, which includes Farm 39 [IC]. The scheme itself does not name Genadendal or the other mission settlements [IC]. The Western Cape Land Use Planning Act requires land once governed by the Rural Areas Act to be given a zoning or a deemed zoning [IC]. What zoning the settlements and the Remainder carry today is a question for the municipality [TBV].

The revision. The municipality published drafts of a revised Zoning Scheme By-law in March 2025 and February 2026 [IC]. A by-law may only be passed after public comment [IC]. Whether the revision has been adopted is not yet known [TBV]. When it comes before the council, the Forum reads it as a chance for the valley’s residents bodies and initiatives to check that the zones fit what the valley does.

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

  • Theewaterskloof Municipality, Town Planning, for the zoning of a particular property (a zoning certificate) and for the status of the revision.

What is still open

  • Whether the revised scheme has been adopted, and how it changes the zones above.
  • Whether the Urban Conservation overlay applies anywhere in the valley.
  • The zoning of land in the Farm 39 settlements and the Remainder.

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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