‘We pledged to kick affordable housing delivery into high gear. And that’s what this legislative change does. These by-law changes will support and enable new micro-developers to deliver affordable housing in townships, informal, and lower-income suburbs at a far faster rate.

‘I believe this is the only workable plan in South Africa for reducing informality over time. That is no exaggeration. We are excited to see the change this brings for thousands of families in our city who dream to move their family from informal housing to dignified, affordable accommodation,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Also included in the by-law amendments are new incentive overlay zonings to enhance development rights in several focus areas for mixed-use development backed by affordable housing and public transport. The focus areas are Athlone, Maitland, Parow/Elsies River, Bellville and Diep River.

The amended by-law will run alongside various other strategic measures under the Mayoral Priority Programme for affordable housing and land release, including:

• Hands-on support for micro-developers in the form of pre-approved building plans and development charges discounts from a new incentive fund.
• Releasing more land for affordable housing in this term of office than in the last ten years, with a pipeline of 12,000 well-located affordable housing units close to the CBD and other important parts of the metro.
• Publishing Land Discount Guidelines allowing city-owned land to be heavily discounted to maximise the number of social housing units that can be viably developed – a national first.
• And utility discounts for Social Housing developments on water, electricity, and property rates bills, another first.

A further by-law amendment gives the City immediate recourse in situations where developers continue with illegal building work, despite an order to stop work. Some developers ignore the orders, and continue their construction work as they are prepared to pay the fines involved. In the meantime, and given the fact that these matters often take considerable time to be concluded in court, the surrounding communities are impacted while the City is seeking legal recourse.

‘This new addition not only allows the City to impound the developer’s movable property, but also that of the property owners and contractor involved in the illegal work – this is to close any loopholes. By adding this provision we trust that those who ignore the Municipal Planning By-law and notices issued in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act will think twice before doing so,’ said Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment.

Other new revisions aim to regulate the installation of renewable energy structures such as solar roof panels and wind turbines.

The City followed an extensive public participation process, including a call for input prior to the drafting of the by-law proposals. The 90 days of public participation included public meetings, both in-person and online, and various engagements with residents and interested stakeholders.

‘I want to thank residents and stakeholders for robust engagements on the revisions and for their invaluable contributions. We received a significant number of comments from the public, internal City departments, professionals from the development fraternity, and other spheres of government during the drafting of the by-law review process. All of this feedback has been essential in improving and simplifying the new provisions. This amended MPBL refines planning processes, offers greater clarity, and strengthens our ability to promote social and economic development. It also gives greater effect to policies such as the Municipal Spatial Development Framework, and related district and local frameworks,’ said Alderman Andrews.

This latest review of the MPBL formed part of a five-year review process which took into account policies and strategies adopted by Council since the last review in 2019.

The revised MPBL includes the following amendments and new provisions, amongst others:

• Incentive overlay zonings (IOZs) making it easier and more cost-effective to develop in these focus areas: Athlone, Maitland, Parow/Elsies River, Bellville and Diep River. The IOZs assign additional and enhanced development rights to properties that fall within certain areas in these overlay zonings.
• Additional use rights for R1 include affordable rental flats, supplementary dwelling units, and place of instruction. These are subject to certain conditions to control any impact.
• An ‘affordable rental flat’ is a new additional use right on properties as per the approved map. This enables the development of small scale affordable rental accommodation in these areas. The number of small scale affordable rental units on a single property may not exceed eight units plus a dwelling house, or 12 units if there is no dwelling house on the land.
• New additions under Section 135 allow the City to impound moveable property that is being used for illegal building or demolition work if an order to stop work is being disobeyed. This amendment intends to address the challenge of owners and contractors continuing illegal work without tangible consequences.
• Revised or new definitions for ‘affordable rental flat’; ‘affordable rental unit’; ‘commune’; ‘electric vehicle charging station’; ‘structure-mounted energy system’; ‘ground-mounted energy system’; ‘micro wind turbine’; ‘outdoor restaurant dining area’ and so forth
• Single Residential zoning is renamed ‘Residential Zoning’ (R1) and provides for single-family dwelling houses and additional use rights in low- to medium-density residential neighbourhoods.
• Amendments to the emergency housing provisions, now called ‘temporary disaster housing’, under Section 68 to enable the City to provide temporary housing on land that may not be zoned for such purpose for a period of 12 months without needing to undertake a public participation process beforehand if it is reasonable and justifiable, and complies with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. The amendment allows for those who are left homeless due to emergencies such as fires and floods to be temporarily relocated to an alternative site in a timeous manner.
• Amendments under Section 111 to allow the City to use email as the method of contacting, and notifying interested and affected parties; that parties must provide the City with their email addresses and update these; and a person who does not have access to email may apply for notification by other means. If a resident already has their latest email address with the City they do not have to update it again.
• A new rectification chapter combines the existing regularisation provisions with new revocation and amendment provisions to provide an internal remedy for irregular decisions. This is a cost-effective and quicker alternative to review litigation. The process is procedurally fair.

The revised MPBL will become effective on the date as provided for in the promulgation.

See the Mayor’s full speech here.