Oakdale residents are concerned about the ongoing development on erf 25689 in Stanford Street, which commenced without approval from City of Cape Town, according to Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment.
“The City received a building plan application for the proposed construction of a dwelling consisting of a main house, as well as a second dwelling on the same premises,” Andrews explains.
“The City’s development management department has received a building plan application which is still under review,” Andrews says, signifying that ongoing construction on erf 25689 is illegal.
Not aware
According to Andrews, the City was not aware that construction on the premises had already begun, despite a visit to the site on 7 September, the same day TygerBurger lodged additional queries to Andrews asking if the City is aware that construction on this land parcel is already underway.
“A site inspection was conducted on 7 September and it was confirmed that the owner has started with the foundation works.
“A notice in terms of the National Building Regulations will be served on the owner in due course,” Andrews says.
Louis Voges, the City’s building inspector, deferred TygerBurger to the City’s media office.
Community’s concerns
One concerned resident in Stanford Street protests the overall legality surrounding the development of erf 25689.
“The whole of Stanford Street is against the development – it is not just me,” the resident said.
Several residents of Stanford Street have stated that they have been kept in the dark about the construction plans for erf 25689.
“No one has received any communication, or consent on the building plans – we had to find out for ourselves what is going to happen through the building inspector,” the community member explains.
This resident explains that although the purpose of this development has yet to be publicly disclosed, Stanford Street residents anticipate it to be student accommodation.
Speaking on behalf of the community, this resident believes that such a development will undermine the suburban tranquillity of Oakdale, raising concerns over noise and traffic congestion to further justify their reservations.
“Where is everybody going to park?’’ the community member asked, highlighting that no parking provisions have been announced, and so incoming vehicles might be relegated to roadside parking.
This will not only congest Stanford Street and obstruct parking for current residents, but may also prompt increased crime throughout the neighbourhood.
The way forward
The Oakdale resident interviewed seeks to know how the legitimacy of this development can be ascertained, as well as how the owner of erf 25689, Osman Narker, bypassed local by-laws.
Most importantly, however, this resident wants to determine the procedures by which current construction can be halted until the building plans are approved, and consent from affected neighbours has been given.
To this end, local ward councillor Annelize van Zyl commented that there are certain procedures that can be followed to stop the building in its tracks.
“Firstly, a complaint about the development should be lodged by emailing tygerberg.hub@capetown.gov.za. The hub will then send out a building inspector who will examine whether the development is legal or not.”
The local resident interviewed explained that they already completed this step, and that they received an email response from Voges stating that the building plans were approved in September 2021 — contradicting the response from Andrews.
The second step, should the first fail, is to contact the local ward councillor at annelize.vanZyl@capetown.gov.za or on 083 229 3831 who will then take the case to a senior City official to investigate.
The third option is to open a case and get an interdict from the local magistrate’s court, according to Van Zyl.
“It is important that the correct steps are followed. I cannot assist the public if they do not contact me first,” Van Zyl says, who also explains that illegal development is a big problem in the Oakdale area.
Narker had not responded to TygerBurger’s email enquiries at the time of publication.
