September 7, 2004

IN an effort to remove confusion over land use rights, Johannesburg is in the process of formulating an integrated land use management system that will create a single zoning scheme for the whole of Johannesburg.

The City of Johannesburg has set up a steering committee to formulate the system, a move that will see the current 13 zoning schemes in the City being reviewed to create a single zoning scheme.

The land use management system is a planning system used by the City to manage and control physical urban growth through land development applications that convert "virgin land to urban land". These developments manifest themselves as rateable properties in the urban system which are then valued and rated according to the permitted use of the property.

The new land use management system will be "simplified and user-friendly", says the City's deputy director in the department of development planning, transportation and environment, Erika Naude.

The proposed zoning scheme, a legal instrument that can be used by a local authority to implement planning policy and also to maintain, protect and upgrade the general welfare of the public, will be determined in terms of the integrated system.

Through zoning, the City "controls and shapes the built and natural environment through land use rights and how the land can be used in terms of height of buildings, distance from street and so on," explains Naude.

The mayoral committee approved the intent to formulate a consolidated land use management system in September 2003, to reinforce the City of Johannesburg's 2030 vision - a strategy intended to reshape the city's economy and geography and ultimately transform it into a world-class business centre with services and standards of living on a par with the capitals of the developed world.

In its initial meeting, the steering committee noted that the land use management system cannot be formulated in "isolation". It will be formulated along with a valuation roll (a record of all the valuations of properties in the city), and a rates policy. "These processes are inter-related and changes to one system will affect the other."

Before enacting or amending the rates policy, which is reviewed annually, the City will consult with the community and a draft policy made available for public comment.

According to a report from the City's department of development planning, transportation and environment, the fragmented urban management systems currently in place have been found to be "inappropriate and outdated and consequently do not respond to current and identified future development and conservation needs".

The number of consents and re-zonings has increased as a result of attempts to manipulate the existing zoning schemes. "This has resulted in administrative inefficiencies and private sector initiatives and investments have been hampered since their primary rights are often no longer aligned with current needs," says the report.

"The current systems are not aligned in dealing with physical urban problems such as overcrowding and densities provision of infrastructure, built form, open space and so on".

The establishment of the Unicity in 2000 - the amalgamation of the five previous metropolitan councils - further compounded the situation. The management of different and often unsuited zoning schemes within a single city structure became neither "sustainable nor desirable".

The recent introduction of new legislation which requires the planning approach to be policy-led and normative-based also necessitated the need to review the "divergent" schemes in an "integrated and holistic manner".

Since the gold rush in 1886, Johannesburg has developed as the business and industrial hub of both South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, the City has been subjected to diverse and complex growth demands, some "politically motivated" and others based on "economic imperatives".

The urban form of Johannesburg still reflects the history of the city and certain elements bear reminders of the gold mining era, while other elements hark back to the apartheid era which resulted in the visible dual structure which contributed to the deep divide between the rich north and the poor south.

"In effect, different zoning rules are applied by the City in different parts of the city. The proposed land use management system will do away with the political and economic complexities set up by the current zoning systems, remove certain restrictions and inconsistencies. Hopefully, a draft of the system will be presented by June next year," says Naude.
Source: Jonews <http://www.joburg.org.za>