22 December 2006
Yesterday and today the legal teams advising Ms Tasneem Essop, the Western
Cape Minister of Environment, Planning and Economic Development Provincial
Minister, and Ms Helen Zille, Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town,
discussed the further course of the City's applications for land use planning
permission and an environmental authorisation related to the proposed new
stadium and urban park on the Green Point Common.
The discussions followed the Provincial Minister's letter to the Executive
Mayor of Wednesday, 20 December 2006, that the Municipal Council of the City of
Cape Town not the Provincial Minister, must take the first-instance decision on
the application in terms of section 15(2) and (3)(b) of the City of Cape Town:
Zoning Scheme Regulations for consent to build the Stadium in the Stadium
precinct. The same applies to the application in terms of section 16 of the
Zoning Scheme for consent to build an electrical substation in the Stadium
precinct. The Zoning Scheme expressly vests the power to take those decisions
in the Municipal Council not the Provincial Minister and therefore the City
Council resolution of 7 December 2006 does not constitute a decision for
consent use.
Following these discussions, the next steps will for the Provincial Minister
to determine the following:
1. The appeals in terms of section 35(3) of the Environment Conservation Act
73 of 1989 (ECA) against the granting in terms of section 22 of the ECA on 31
October 2006 of authorisation for the Stadium and Urban Park and associated
infrastructure. The 31 October 2006 decision was taken by the Director:
Integrated Environmental Management (Region B) in the Provincial Department of
Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, pursuant to an application by
the City.
2. The City's application in terms of section 17 of LUPO for the rezoning of
the Stadium precinct from public open space to community facilities use zone in
terms of the Zoning Scheme.
3. The City's application in terms of section 9(2) of the LUPO for the
amendment of Schedule 2 to the Zoning Scheme by excluding the Stadium precinct
from the area of the Green Point Common designated for playing fields.
4. The City's application for a departure from the number of on-site parking
bays for the stadium required by section 77(1) of the Zoning Scheme.
5. The City's application for a temporary departure from the Zoning Scheme
to allow Federation International Football Association (FIFA) to use land
adjacent to the Stadium precinct for temporary parking, a hospitality area and
associated uses during the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.
The Provincial Minister will take and publicise her decision on these
matters by the end of the first week in January.
If the Provincial Minister grants the rezoning, the Municipal Council must
then reconsider and determine:
6. The City's application in terms of section 15(2) and (3)(b) of the Zoning
Scheme for consent to build the Stadium in the Stadium precinct.
7. The City's application in terms of section 16 of the Zoning Scheme for
consent to build an electrical substation in the Stadium precinct.
If the Municipal Council gives consent for the building of the Stadium and
the electrical substation, the objectors will be able to appeal to the
Provincial Minister against that decision in terms of section 44 of LUPO. The
City must send registered letters to the objectors notifying them of the
Council's decision and of their right to appeal in writing within 21 days of
the registration of those letters. If appeals are served within that period,
the City must consider them and send to the provincial department its comments
and recommendations on the appeals or its notification that it has no comments
or recommendations.
Upon receipt of the City's comments and recommendations on the appeals or
its notification that it has no comments or recommendations, the provincial
Minister will consider and determine the appeals against the Council's granting
of the consents.
The Premier of the Western Cape reaffirms the provincial government's
commitment to ensuring that the City's complex and interrelated applications
for land use planning and environmental permission relating to the proposed
Stadium and Urban Park on Green Point Common, are dealt with lawfully and as
expeditiously as possible. Following the meeting of the legal teams and on
advice from the Minister's legal team, this course of action agreed to
constitutes the most legally responsible way forward.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government
22 December 2006
