Northern Cape Province Provincial Land Use Legislative Reform RESEARCH FINDINGS 26 July 2011 Bloemfontein

Northern Cape Province STUDY AREA 5 district municipalities and 27 local municipalities Source: Demarcation Board

Northern Cape Province PURPOSE OF STUDY  To provide an overview of land use / planning legislation in the Northern Cape  To review the state of the present provincial legislation to understand:  land use laws and procedures in practice;  law reform processes since the advent of democracy;  institutional responsibilities;  decision making structures and processes; and  the performance of provincial and municipal laws  To draw conclusions on the status of current land use legislation and see how these might inform new provincial legislation.

Northern Cape Province STUDY APPROACH  Literature review  Interviews with officials  NC Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs  Sol Plaatje Municipality  Focus of interviews  What works well in law? (planning and other related legislation)  What does not work so well?  What needs to be changed and what should a new provincial (or national) law focus on?  Performance of provincial laws which focused on collection of quantitative data (number of applications and appeals; type of applications etc.)

Northern Cape Province KEY FINDINGS Provincial Legislation and relationship to its predecessor  Northern Cape Planning & Development Act, No. 7 of 1998  Land Use Planning Ordinance, No. 15 of 1985 Applicable in so far as schemes approved in terms of LUPO determine what land use is permissible Other Legislation  Removal of restrictions Act, No. 84 of 1967  Subdivision of Agricultural Land, No. 70 of 1970  National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998  Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999  Municipal Systems Act, No. 32 of 2000  Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, No. 28 of 2002

Northern Cape Province Institutional  Land use applications: applications submitted and final decision made at municipal level.  Applications made in conjunction with other legislation (e.g RoR): decisions made by Provincial Government upon a recommendation of a municipality.  Appeals: submitted and decided by the appeals tribunal. KEY FINDINGS (CONTINUED)

Northern Cape Province KEY FINDINGS (CONTINUED): STAKEHOLDER VIEWS What works well  Provision and Guidelines for Preparation of Spatial Development Frameworks  Preparation of Land Use Management Schemes  Clear Land Use Application Processes and Applications made in conjunction with other Legislation e.g Removal of Restrictions What does not work so well  Appointment of (a) Planning and Development Commission; and (b) Forum for Co-operative Planning and Development What needs to be changed  Alignment with other Legislation  Relationship with the Development Facilitation Act

Northern Cape Province OVERVIEW OF IMPLICATIONS FOR PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION  Low cost housing land use applications are processed and approved in terms of the Act and associated zoning schemes.  One of the decision making criterion in terms of the Northern Cape PDA includes consistency with provincial and municipal SDFs.  New legislation should provide clear guidance as to how land use approval processes relate to other legislation such as NEMA e.g. what decision comes first. Relationship of a new legislation and its predecessors should be clarified and interim measures adopted to avoid vacuum in land use management.  There is a need to understand ways in which the new legislation can move away from reliance on the DFA.  Record keeping seems to be a problem with far reaching implications and should be considered in the new legislation.  Although timeframes are very clear in the act, in practice applications are finalised over longer times. Compliance to the law from all aspects should considered.  New law should consider professionalisation of planning within a context where small municipalities do not have planners.  New law should give consideration to governing (a) the question if penalties in terms of land use contraventions and (b) the use of sub-surface and air rights.