SA Affordable Housing July - August 2019 // Issue: 77 | Page 14

FEATURES
Planning tips from land
purchase to building ready
By Stephan Fourie, SAARDA (South African Affordable Residential Developers Association)
A
fter purchase and preliminary studies, a site analysis
needs to be done by your professional team and must
include the following:
• The environmental assessment practitioner needs to do
an environmental impact assessment (EIA), which should
be submitted to the relevant department and after
approval issue a Record of Decision (ROD) for the
proposed development. Flood levels need to be
investigated to determine the 1:50 and 1:100 year
flood line.
• The traffic engineer must conduct a traffic impact
assessment (TIA) to see what effect the proposed
development will have on existing roads in the area.
• The civil and electrical engineer must obtain a bulk link
for electricity, water and sewer and obtain confirmation
of services available for the development.
• The town planner may obtain a contour plan and start to
draft a layout. Applications must be sent to the
Department of Minerals and Energy to obtain mineral
rights holder consent.
After any necessary amendments the town planner may
draw the final layout plan and the civil engineer can do the
outline scheme report. The town planner needs to submit
the township application to the Town Planning Department
for township establishment and the application must be
advertised in two newspapers, provincial government
gazette and on the proposed development. This allows for
any objections regarding township approval.
The township application includes the following:
• Layout plan
• Geotechnical report
• Traffic Impact Assessment
• Environmental Impact Assessment (ROD)
• Title deed
• Memorandum to motivate the need for the proposed
development
• Outline of scheme report
• Department of Minerals and Energy consent
• Flood line report
During the township application process, the local authority
receives comments from its internal and other departments
such as Eskom, Rand Water and Telkom. The local authority
then issues a letter approving in principle the establishment
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JULY - AUGUST 2019
• The geotechnical engineer needs to assess the soil
conditions to inform you what kind of development will
be allowed and what the extra costs are to install
engineering services. If the land falls in a dolomitic area,
the report needs to be submitted to the Council for
Geoscience, which will issue approval of the report.
of the township subject
to conditions. If the
developer accepts the
conditions, they become
final and are subject to
pre-proclamation
conditions that the
developer needs to
comply with within one
year of approval. This will
mostly require
engineering outline
scheme reports.
The developer and the
local authority now enter
into a service agreement.
Usually the developer
will install the bulk
Stephan Fourie of SAARDA.
services and the local
authority will maintain it.
The service agreement should include the outline scheme
report, which indicates where the bulk services connect
points are, current capacity and cost estimates for
installation.
The electrical engineer should also apply to the
electricity regulator in the area to request electricity supply.
After township approval, the land surveyor has a time limit
of one year to lodge an application for approval with the
surveyor-general. The land surveyor draws a general plan,
pegs the stands and submits it for approval. A copy of this
must be submitted to the local authority.
Before a township register can be opened, the developer
needs to comply with all pre-proclamation conditions
determined by the local authority. When all conditions are
met and necessary documents submitted to the local
authority, they can issue a section 101*. This means that the
services are available and that the township can be
proclaimed.
After approval of the general plan, signed services
agreement and approved civil drawings, the developer may
proceed with installation of services. After services are
installed, a section 82* is required before transfers of erven
can take place. A section 82 will be issued only once all
engineering services have been installed and approved and
all the bulk contributions are paid. The developer also
needs to provide a guarantee (10% of construction cost) to
the local authority. Erven can now be transferred and
building plans handed in for approval.
*The sections referred to is for townships in Gauteng
established in terms of the township ordinance 15 of 1986.
All municipalities now have their own by-laws established
in terms of the SPLUMA act and each one has different
section numbers.
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