Oh boy - just leave it to the politicians to cock it up big time! In the meantime, how do they expect things to be ready by 2010 - my guess is that someone else will get the blame! Isn't that the usual way things go - never the people who mess it up always someone else's problem!

Regards

Nikki

October 20 2006 at 10:26AM

By Anél Powell

Confusion in the City of Cape Towns planning department is holding up development and costing town planners thousands of rands in delays, say industry experts. "Nothing is coming out of the city's planning department and development is effectively grinding to a halt," said land surveyor Gavin Lloyd, who is also the national vice-president of the South African Geomatic Institute. "This will cost our clients thousands, if not millions, of rands in delays."

Mayoral committee member for planning and environment Marian Nieuwoudt said in June that "in a reversal of previous centralisation", 21 sub-councils would be allowed to make final decisions on planning and land use management of a "local nature". Matters with a city wide impact would be decided by the newly established Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Management Committees (Spelum).

This stripped planning officials of any authority to approve land use applications, including those that were submitted to council without objection. "It is absurd," said Ken Hodge, a land surveyor. "When it comes to planning the DA is a disaster. " Lloyd said changes in the delegation of authority to approve building and land use plans meant that no applications have been approved since October 1.

So frustrated are town planners and land surveyors, that they are considering holding a picket outside the Civic Centre next week. Lloyd said the DA led council decided in September that planning officials would no longer have delegated powers to approve building plans. Whereas in the past, only plans that were "controversial" or complicated would require council approval before being signed off, all applications for even "mundane" projects must now be approved by the relevant sub-council or Spelum. Nieuwoudt said in June: "Cape Town is a fast growing city and we acknowledge the need for responsible, consistent, yet speedy decision- making. " But Lloyd said: "We need this like we need a hole in the head. This could cause delays of between three and six months on all developments, which is mind blowing. "Lloyd said the politicians who made the decision to amend the delegation powers "did not fully understand the ramifications". He added that staff morale in the city's planning department had plummeted "through the floorboards".

Gisela Jespersen, DA councillor and chair of Spelum, admitted there was "a little bit of panic" but said Spelum was "dealing with the matter as quickly as we can". She added that no building plans had been frozen. The confusion arose, said Jespersen, from a misunderstanding by planning officials as to which of their powers had been changed. "Some think that they do have the power (to approve plans) while others say they do not. "DA councillor Brian Watkyns, chair of the planning and environment portfolio committee, said: "By and large the delegations are in place, but there are areas where some issues are not clear and do need some clarity. But if developers are getting the message that the officials have no delegated powers, they are getting the wrong message. "But Lloyd said the already scant staff were now being forced to compile detailed reports of every planning application for submission to council. "It's just insane."Hodge said: "Council is already two months behind with report writing. Now every application must get a report. It has turned the officials into report writers.

"Another professional land surveyor, who declined to be named, said: "We are heading for a huge problem where the whole system will just grind to a halt at a time when we need to get to a pace (of building) ahead of 2010."

This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on October 20, 2006