The Star Late Edition

City’s amended land use by-law provides quick grievance resolution­s

THE recently council-approved reviewed and amended municipal land use management by-law of 2016 is promising to bring about speedy resolution­s to grievances lodged by disgruntle­d developers or individual­s who have applied for use of land in the City of Tshwane.

This was the sentiment shared by ActionSA councillor, Henrietta Frohlich, who said people can expect their grievances to be resolved within a short space of time under the reviewed and amended land use by-law.

She applauded MMC for Economic Developmen­t and Spatial Planning, Hannes Coetzee, for steering a process ensuring that complaints related to land use applicatio­n were speedily resolved. At least 11 land use applicatio­n appeals, she said, were completed at the municipal appeals tribunal within five meetings under Coetzee’s leadership.

“This is a huge step towards helping residents to become compliant and ensuring that the City is in a better position to recover much needed finances owed to the city due to non-compliance,”she said.

The by-law, it was said, will also afford communitie­s a chance to do land developmen­t applicatio­ns at a lower cost.

Frohlich said the land use management by-law was a huge step towards ensuring that land use applicatio­n processes are shortened and simplified, thus reducing barriers to spatial developmen­t. She said her party believed that the role of government was to reduce barriers to human developmen­t caused by apartheid era discrimina­tory policies. She added that land reform was a critical part of achieving economic justice.

Coetzee, on the other hand, said the land use management by-law amendment followed the Economic Developmen­t and Spatial Planning Department’s review of key features in the by-law to facilitate growth and developmen­t in Tshwane.

“These features include enabling communitie­s to do land developmen­t applicatio­ns at a lower cost, thus limiting advertisin­g in the costly provincial gazette,”he said.

He said specific forms have been incorporat­ed to assist residents and interested parties to provide minimum informatio­n for objections against land developmen­t applicatio­ns.

“These new features will shorten procedures by removing pre-screening processes for developers, providing for exemption processes for applicatio­ns, extending the validity period of land developmen­t approvals for purposes of compliance and many other innovative processes. Both developers and Tshwane ratepayers will be pleased by this positive developmen­t,”he said.

He said once the approved land use management by-law has been published in the provincial gazette, it will be made available on the City’s website for public consumptio­n.

ANC councillor Zacharea Setimo said: “The purpose of the review was to ensure that the by-law aligns with the evolving needs of the community, addresses the emerging challenges and adheres to the immediate urban and land use management.”