SA Affordable Housing July - August 2019 // Issue: 77 | Page 22

FEATURE: TOWN PLANNING
Town planning procedures
protect occupants
Long before the keys are handed over to an occupant, developments
are documented and need to follow correct processes. Less than
50% of a project’s duration is the visible construction period on site
as the majority of time is spent in planning, securing approvals,
documentation and financing.
By Eamonn Ryan
There are a number of distinct steps that every property
developer must follow to achieve the best possible
outcome. The process is rarely completely linear but each
needs to be done in parallel. It is consequently important
for the developer to be flexible, to have problem-solving
capability and to think on his or her feet. At any point plans
can go awry.
The first step is to seek out a piece of land that has
developmental potential to construct multiple dwellings.
Once a potential site is located, the next step is to come up
with a concept. What can be put on the site? How many
units? What restrictions are there? At this stage it is wise to
already have finance in place or at least understand one’s
borrowing capacity and therefore the project’s viability.
This step requires coordination of a team of industry
professionals which includes an attorney, architect,
surveyor, town planner and estate agent. Each one needs to
give their honest assessment of the marketability of the
completed product.
Jean-Luc Limacher, director of town and regional
planning consultants Urban Dynamics, which was the town
planner behind Cosmo City, explains the process, “You first
of all identify growth areas within a municipal boundary as
opposed to a rural area where you know there may be
geotechnical, environmental and engineering issues and
problems with bulk infrastructure. To make the latter work
may be close to impossible. Most likely such a plot will be a
farm portion which then needs to be subdivided through a
township establishment process into individual erven which
can be sold to a purchaser.”
Describing the challenges of a complete greenfields site,
Sam Mhlaba, CEO of Montrose City Mega Development,
relates some of the experiences of establishing a township
at Montrose Mega City (developed on the same lines as
Cosmo City) near Randfontein.
“It is a greenfields development on what had previously
been farms. It provides subsidised housing: 100% subsidy
(1 608 units in phase 1) and for military veterans (174
units), social housing (1 915 units), bonded units (1 225
units) and community rental units (680) - a total of 5 602
units,” says Mhlaba. Under government regulations, there
DEVELOPMENT PLANNING TO EXECUTION
The launch of Montrose City.
are qualifying criteria for each category, such as a wage cap
or provable military experience.
In a development as complex as this, the developer
cannot afford to sit back and rely on the pace of government
action, as momentum is vital. Mhlaba says SCM Property
Developers took the initiative in bringing together all the
parties – Transnet, Prasa, Departments of Education and
Human Settlements, to ensure all the legs moved in a
synchronised fashion.
“It was a journey that began in 2015 until we broke
ground in November 2017. As the land was a farm, it had to
be converted to a township for planning purposes. We acted
as enabler of all the professionals and the myriad processes
such as EIA, geotechnical, surveyor-general and more. For
instance, in respect of the school we are entering into a
partnership where we build a smart school that will align
with education department goals,” says Mhlaba.
“To come up with the concept it is critical to understand
what a mega project is and its objectives: a mega project as
clearly defined by the Gauteng Department of Human
Settlements as ‘an integrated development which is self-
efficient and the beneficiaries can reside, work, shop and
fully serviced socially and economically’.
“We then came up with the Montrose City Mega
Development concept which includes residential, retail,
commercial, industrial, commercial agricultural farming,
renewable energy and revitalised passenger train station
and goods station and all the components would then make
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JULY - AUGUST 2019
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