Cape Town - The Greater Table View Action Forum (GTAF) is fighting yet another development, this time a block of flats on the corner of Grey Avenue and Blaauwberg Road.
The forum said the four-storey block of flats had balconies that looked directly into the neighbouring properties. It said the City did not care about the law and the damage being done to the values of neighbouring properties.
GTAF planning and biodiversity head David Ayres said they believed this was illegal and was ignored by the City.
“The developer has built to the building lines, which should, in our opinion, triggered public participation for departures. The balconies look directly into the neighbouring properties.
“There is a total disregard for these residents’ privacy. Having these new flats looking directly over their properties will render these properties worthless. Alderman Nieuwoudt is not being truthful when she claims this building has been built within the current zoning,” he said.
Ayres said the City had a pro-development attitude, and has resulted in it failing in its legal obligation to produce the relevant local plans.
“We believe that the planning department has been hollowed out of good people in favour of people who will just pass zoning and plans under pressure from their management.
“Over the last 10 years, the City has implemented a process that ignores the law, the rights of ratepayers in favour of profits for connected developers. The densification of Table View is against City policy. This is about short-term profits for developers,” he said.
Ayres said the GTAF had raised numerous complaints about the standard of work coming out of the planning office at Pienaar Road.
“We have been forced to complain to the City manager about the director of planning, who just ignores our complaints. We see the portfolio headed by Alderman Nieuwoudt failing the ratepayers of the city. Town planning is not fit for purpose with no-one taking responsibility. The City is passing residential-only developments which are not in line with policy,” he said.
Mayoral Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Marian Nieuwoudt said, in terms of the municipal planning by-law, no public participation was needed, as the development complied with the zoning and other land-use rights attached to the property.
“The building plan application was approved on June 1, 2020. The owner submitted a building plan which complied with the zoning for this land and which will be developed in accordance with the applicable rules.
“A number of properties in Table View in proximity to Blaauwberg Road have a historical zoning of General Residential 3 which allows for the development of flats without making any application that would trigger public participation in terms of the municipal planning by-law,” she said.
Nieuwoudt said the neighbouring properties along Blaauwberg Road also had the same zoning.
Cape Argus