More than 750 residents from Brandwacht, Dalsig, Die Boord, Jonkershoek, Paradyskloof and other affected neighbourhoods have signed a petition driven by the Brandwacht Rezoning Action Group (BRAG), objecting to the approval of the rezoning the Brandwacht Erf 1049.
In it they voice their objection to the rezoning of the property from agricultural land to residential land, citing various reasons.
“This rezoning will have far-reaching implications, not only for the direct neighbours but also for residents of all the adjoining neighbourhoods in terms of traffic, noise, crime, spoiling of precious natural resources and views,” the BRAG says.
The group says another serious consequence is the inevitability of the building of the Eastern Link road. “This road goes from Technopark, via Blaauwklippen Farm, straight through Paradyskloof, connecting through the farm land to dissect Brandwacht Upper from Brandwacht Proper, make its way through the Mountain bike tracks, through Welgelegen farm to Coetzenburg,” they elaborated. “It is for this reason that comments are sent in by affected residents. We urge the municipality to disapprove and reject the application.”
But, says the Stellenbosch Municipality, any landowner is entitled to launch an application to change the prevailing land use rights of a property in pursuance of a development. “The municipality is also compelled to process such land use application in accordance with the prescripts of the subject Planning Bylaw,” municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar explained.
“In terms of the status of this application, the application was recently advertised to interested and affected parties for inputs. Through this public participation process, all the inputs received will be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the application.”
BRAG claims the application does not comply with sections 35, 45, and 47 of the Stellenbosch Municipality Land Use Planning ByLaw (2015). The say the applicant failed to serve a notice of the application for rezoning “on every owner of land adjourning the land concerned,” which makes the application incomplete, and the municipality should, on that basis, refuse to accept the application as a whole.
According to BRAG the timing of the application, which requires the amendment of the Municipal Spatial Development Framework (MSDF), to coincide with the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) public participation process is deliberate and mischievous. “Revisions of the IDP and SDF are matters of fundamental importance to the sustainable development of Stellenbosch and its environs, and should not be allowed to be pushed through as a consequence of a rushed public participation process. While we appreciate the extension that was granted for the submission of comments, this extension was provided only after extensive pressure from residents and only for those who were informed about the requirement to request the extension individually.”
BRAG says the application had been rejected by several ward committees in affected areas. “The rejection of the application by these ward committees demonstrates strong residential objection to the rezoning and proposed development and should guide the municipality in its rejection of the application.”
The group added that the application failed to make mention of condition 3.11 of the amendment of the Stellenbosch Urban Structure Plan (Guide Plan) and the rezoning of a portion of the farm on 11 May 2009, stating that “the remainder of the property must be retained for agricultural purposes and no further urban development be allowed.
“The imposition of condition 3.11 aligned the planning decision to the environmental authorization and served to reinforce the application proposal for the development of Brandwacht-aan-Rivier. On this basis alone the application must be rejected, as it contravenes a stated municipal condition which is municipal policy. The condition has not been revoked or repealed and there is no rational reason to revoke or repeal the condition, nor has the due process been followed in this regard.
“It is of great concern that the condition has not been enforced by the municipality through amendment of the title deeds, formation of servitude, or similar measures to ensure that the agricultural nature of the land is retained and legally enshrined. However, municipal failure to enforce this municipal condition should not be in the applicant’s favour as the farm has been neglected for the sole purpose of demonstrating the lack of viability of the agricultural potentials of the farm and with the intention of future development, in clear contravention of the municipal condition.”
BRAG stated the application was contrary to the strategic planning processes of the municipality, saying it constituted development-driven change to existing spatial and legal frameworks, including the Municipal Spatial Development Plan (MSDP).
Grobbelaar said all applications must be processed with the necessary objectivity and can be undertaken only once the public participation process had been finalised and all the relevant information was available and properly assessed.
“Stellenbosch Municipality is committed to upholding sensible spatial planning and development provisions,” he said.
