CAPE PENINSULA (SOUTH)
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APPLICATION TO REZONE ERF 15300 CAPRI (Summary of proceedings to date)

On the 14th August 2003 MLH Architects and Planners acting on behalf of Northridge Country Club, called a meeting of the owners of abutting properties to Erf 15300, Capri (the large open piece of ground in Capri Drive), to inform them of the owners' intention to have this piece of ground rezoned from Amenities/Private Open Space to single residential. No minutes of this meeting were kept, yet the planners have referred to this meeting in their application to re-zone and made certain claims as fact, while many of the objectors have an entirely different idea of what transpired at that meeting. On Friday the 24th August, 2003 a document containing the signatures of ten (10) abutting owners in Tahiti Close was emailed to MLH Planners, bringing to their attention some of the historical elements surrounding this piece of ground of which they seemed entirely unaware at the meeting, as well as setting out the basis upon which future objections would be presented.

Despite being in possession of this document, they at no stage ever consulted with a single one of the affected parties and simply went ahead with their application to rezone.

The South Peninsula subcouncil then proceeded to notify 27 owners surrounding Erf 15300 that this application had been lodged, and placed the required advertisements in various newspapers.

They subsequently received 28 objections, including one from the Sunnydale Ratepayers Association .......... yet on the 22nd October 2004 an Executive summary prepared by M.Walker of the Planning & Environment Land Use Management division of the SPA was submitted to the Spatial Planning, Environment & Land Use Management Executive Committee recommending the re-zoning of Erf 15300. So much for democracy!

On the 22nd February 2005 both the Developers and Objectors to this rezoning were given the opportunity to present their case to the SPELUM Executive Committee. Based on the following REPRESENTATION submitted on behalf of the directly affected residents in Tahiti Close the Executive deferred the taking of a decision until the 6th of April, instructing the Developer to come up with a solution that will be acceptable to the Objectors, and to discuss these proposals with the Objectors in an effort to reach a compromise. The Developers put forward an alternative proposal on the 8th March which was presented to the affected Tahiti Close Objectors and found to be unacceptable in as far as it did not in any way address any of the issues presented in their interview with the SPELUM Executive on the 22nd February. At a meeting scheduled for the 15th March 2005 the Tahiti Close residents were once again represented by N.Lance who relayed the non-acceptance of the new proposals to the Developers and to Messrs Visagie and Walker who represented the SPM at that meeting.

Despite strenuous objections from N.Lance that the Objectors would neither have time to view any further submissions by the Developers, or to comment on them prior to a report being submitted, Mr. Visagie of the SPM urged the Developers to submit yet another proposal so that he could include this in his report to the SPELUM Executive meeting on the 6th April - a report which he said he needs to complete no later than Friday 18th March.......this move clearly interpreted by the Objectors as one designed to force the SPELUM Executive's vote in favour of the Developer. As a result, the one other Objector not from Tahiti Close able to attend the meeting on the 15th March due to the very short notice of the meeting given by the SPM to the other Objectors has also decided to enter the fray and his comments can be found HERE.

This issue is one which affects EVERY RESIDENT OF CAPRI - as a resident of Capri you have, in one form or another, already paid for the Country Club Development promised on this site by the Developer in 1983/84 when Capri was first marketed as "The Capri Country Club Village". The cost of the Country Club was included by the Developer in the cost of each and every Erf which was sold - in addition to which the 10% Cash Endowment owed by the developer to the Local Authority was waived because of the cost of the civic amenities (Country Club) promised by the developer.

Many of the directly affected owners, supported by other objectors who feel strongly about this matter have already indicated that if this rezoning is approved, they will institute a Class Action against the Southern Peninsula Municipality. But before you have your say please click on the links below for a clearer picture of their objections.