The Provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning for the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, has approved the Cape Town Spatial Development Framework (Cape Town SDF). The Cape Town SDF replaces the Apartheid era ‘Guide Plans’ approved some 24 years ago. The SDF is one of the plans in support of the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plan.
The Provincial Minister has assessed the Cape Town SDF for alignment with the Provincial Spatial Development Framework and was pleased to find that it supports the Provincial imperative of sustainability and is therefore in harmony with Provincial planning and environmental principles. “The Cape Town SDF is a long-term plan to manage growth and change in Cape Town and to ensure that it becomes a more sustainable, integrated and equitable city. It will ensure that Cape Town remains a quality place in which to live, work and invest, as well as to visit,” said MEC Bredell. It has taken some six years to prepare the Cape Town SDF. This was a collaborative initiative between the two spheres of government which began with the mutual understanding that we can improve this Province and the city through excellence in plan-led development. The process commenced with the collation and analysis of information on the key development and environmental challenges, opportunities and trends facing Cape Town and the preparation of an internal strategic discussion document called ‘Future Cape Town’ in 2006. Through three rounds of public participation (in 2007, 2009 and 2010), the residents of Cape Town, as well as public and private sector roleplayers, voiced their views about how the growth and development of Cape Town should be managed and, in so doing, played a valuable role in making sure that the proposals and policies contained in the Cape Town SDF were relevant and appropriate. The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environment and Spatial Planning, Alderman Belinda Walker, has welcomed the announcement. “We are delighted that the Cape Town SDF has been approved. The City would especially like to thank the residents of Cape Town for their valuable contributions to the SDF drafting process. Many diverse comments were received on how the City needs to manage urban growth. This placed the City in an important mediation role in finding the most fair and sustainable compromise to serve the public interest in the long-term. We think we have managed to strike a good balance between the interests of communities, property developers, built environment professionals, and the environmental sector. The City now has the first building block of its rationalised, policy-driven land use management system in place. We hope the other two key building blocks, namely the eight District Spatial Development Frameworks and the Integrated Zoning Scheme will be approved in the next few months,” said Alderman Walker. With the approval of the Cape Town SDF, property developers will no longer need to apply for time-consuming ‘Guide Plan’ amendments. They will be able to make better investment decisions as the Cape Town SDF indicates very clearly where urban development should take place and where it should not. It also proposes a phasing of development that will support the efficient roll-out of infrastructure, services and social facilities. “The Cape Town SDF has been guided by the principle that the City should provide all residents with equal access to opportunities, resources and amenities and that historical and present spatial imbalances need to be redressed. We need to create high-quality living environments that celebrate the diversity of people living, working and visiting in Cape Town. The future spatial planning of Cape Town must ensure that the City works for all residents,” said Alderman Walker. She added that whilst drafting the Cape Town SDF, great thought and emphasis was placed on creating a balance between urban development and environmental protection, and incorporating into the planning processes the effects that climate change may have on the city. “Climate change forecasting was used in the drafting of the Cape Town SDF, as this will allow the city to develop in such a way as to manage the foreseeable effects of climate change,” said Alderman Walker. The approved Cape Town SDF can be downloaded here. http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/sdf/
