KwaZulu-Natal 2015 THE ROLE AND IMPACT 1 of the … · 2017-09-18 · Cato Ridge Inchanga...

THE ECONOMIC VALUE of the COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY SECTOR

MARCH 2015 SAPOA - South African Property Owners Association

1THE ROLE AND IMPACT of the

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SECTORTHE ECONOMIC VALUE

of the COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY SECTOR

APPLICATION PROCESSING REPORT

KwaZulu-Natal

2015

BallitoTongaat

Verulam

Ndwedwe

Mount EdgecombeUmhlanga

Durban NorthBerea

DurbanChatsworthUmlazi

IsipingoUmbogintwiniAdams Mission

Amanzimtoti

Winklespruit

Umgababa

Umkomaas

Scottsburgh

Umbumbulu

QueensburghWestville

PinetownMariannhill

New GermanyKloof

PinetownPinetown

New GermanyNew GermanyNew GermanyHillcrest Gillitts

AssagayDrummond

Cato RidgeInchanga

Hammarsdale

ScottsburghPark Rynie

Pennington

Umzinto


SAPOA - South African Property Owners Association MARCH 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study Area

1.2 General Research Approach

1.3 Purpose of Report

1.4 Limitations

1.5 Report Outline

SECTION TWO: DEFINITION OF THE COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY SECTOR

2.1 Property Components as Elements of a Larger Economy

2.2 Components of the Commercial Private Property Sector

2.3 The Commercial Private Property Sector in Terms of the Relevant Economic Sectors

2.4 Relationship Between the Private and Public Property Sectors

SECTION THREE: CURRENT ECONOMIC VALUE

3.1 Economic Quantifi cation: Approach

3.1.1 Economic Performance Projections

3.1.2 Identifi cation of Main Role-Playing Economic Sectors

3.1.3 Economic Quantifi cation of the Commercial Private Property Sector

3.2 Economic Performance and Main Representative Sectors

3.2.1 Overall Economic Performance

3.2.2 Sectorial Composition in Context to Property Representative Sectors

3.2.3 The Construction Sector

3.2.4 The Business and Finance Sector

3.3 Value in Terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

3.4 Value in Terms of Sustained Jobs

3.5 Value in Terms of Tax Revenue Generated

SECTION FOUR: ECONOMIC VALUE OF COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY IN BRIEF

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Cyclical Economic Performance, 2008-2014

Figure 3.2 Sectoral Composition of the Relevant Economies, 2014

Figure 3.3 Sectorial Growth of the Construction Sector, 2008-2014

Figure 3.4 Composition of the National Construction Sector, 2011

Figure 3.5 Sectorial Growth of the Business and Finance Sector, 2008-2014

Figure 3.6 Composition of the National Business and Finance Sector, 2010

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 GDP Values, 2014

Table 3.2 Construction Sector GDP Values, 2014

Table 3.3 Business and Finance Sector GDP Values, 2014

Table 3.4 Gross Domestic Product of the Commercial Private Property Sector, 2014

Table 3.5 Employment of the Commercial Private Property Sector, 2014

Table 3.6 Tax Revenue generated by the Commercial Private Property Sector, 2014

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LIST OF MAPS

Map 1.1 District Municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal

Map 1.2 Study Area

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

Diagram 2.1 Property Components defi ned according to Private and Public Sectors

Diagram 2.2 Components of the Commercial Private Property Sector

Diagram 2.3 Commercial Private Property Sector in terms of the Relevant Economic Sectors

Diagram 2.4 Hypothetical Situations of State and Private Sector Responsibilities

LIST OF ACRONYMS

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

KZN – KwaZulu-Natal

MM – Metropolitan Municipality

SAPOA – South African Property Owners Association

SIC – Standard Industrial Classifi cation

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SAPOA publications are intended to provide current and accurate information, and are designed to assist readers in becoming

more familiar with the subject matter covered. SAPOA published this document for a general audience in accordance with all

applicable laws. Such publications are distributed with the understanding that SAPOA does not render any legal, accounting,

or professional advice. Use of this publication is voluntary and reliance on this document should be undertaken based on an

independent review by the user.

Information provided in this document is "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not

limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, � tness for a particular purpose, or freedom from infringement. SAPOA hereby

disclaims all liability for any claims, losses, or damages in connection with use or application of this document.

This document is the sole and exclusive property of SAPOA. Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part without the

express written consent of SAPOA is prohibited.

Published by SAPOA, Paddock View, Hunt’s End O� ce Park, 36 Wierda Road West, Wierda Valley, SandtonPO Box 78544, Sandton 2146

t: +27 (0)11 883 0679 f: +27 (0)11 883 0684

Compiled by:

Urban-Econ

Development Economists

www.urban-econ.com

[email protected]



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TABLE OF CONTENTS


1.1 Study Area



1.4 Limitations

1.5 Report Outline

SECTION TWO: ETHEKWINI MM REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

2.1 National Level

2.1.1 Environment Related Legislation

2.2 Provincial Level

2.3 Metropolitan Level

2.3.1 eThekwini Spatial Development Plans

2.3.2 Durban Scheme, Inner West Scheme, North Scheme, South Scheme, Outer West

Scheme

2.3.3 Other Local Policies

2.4 Conclusion

SECTION THREE: REGULATORY ENTITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT

APPLICATIONS

3.1 Regulatory Entity Responsibilities

3.2 Types of Development Applications

3.2.1 Building Plan Applications

3.2.2 Land Use Management Applications

3.3 Conclusion

SECTION FOUR: RECENT AND PLANNED TRANSFORMATIONS IN REGULATIONS AND

REGULATORY ENTITY RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No 16 of 2013

4.2 KZN Planning and Development Act No 6 of 2008

4.3 KZN Planning and Development Amendment Bill, 2012

4.4 KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2013


4.6 Draft eThekwini Municipality Planning and Land Use Management By-Law, 2015:

Forth Coming

4.7 Changes in the Interaction between eThekwini Municipality and KZN Provincial

Government

4.8 Conclusion

SECTION FIVE: DEVELOPMENT PLANNING APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION PROCESS35

5.1 Land Use Management Application Procedure - PDA Process

5.1.1 LUM Application Timeframes

5.1.2 LUM Application Procedure and Timeframe if Additional Information or Hearing is

Required

5.1.3 Spatial Planning in eThekwini MM

5.1.4 Institutional Structure of the eThekwini Municipality Development Planning, Environment

and Management Unit

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5.1.5 Land Use Management Application Appeals Process

5.1.6 Generic eThekwini LUM Application Process

5.2 Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public Spaces Application Process

5.3 Building Plan Application Process

5.3.1 Building Plan Application Timeframes

5.3.2 Building Plan Application Procedures

5.3.3 Building Plan Applications Appeal Process

5.4 Conclusion

SECTION SIX: APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION BENCHMARKS AND TRACKING

6.1 Municipal Application Benchmark Statistics

6.1.1 Building Plan Application Benchmarks

6.1.2 Land Use Management Application Benchmark

6.1.3 Conclusion

6.2 Municipal Application Tracking Case Study

6.2.1 Purpose and Approach

6.2.2 Case Study Summary

6.2.3 Key limitations

6.2.4 Building Plan Application Case Studies

6.2.5 Land Use Management Application Case Studies

6.2.6 Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public Open Space

(Deproclamation and Sale of land)

6.2.7 Comparison of Timeframes per LUM Application Type

6.3 Private Sector Application Tracking Case Study

6.3.1 Land Use Management Application Analysis

6.3.2 Conclusion

SECTION SEVEN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Summary of the Main Reasons for Delays

7.2 Recommendations to Address Administration Blockages

7.3 Responsibilities of the Private Sector

7.4 Conclusion

REFERENCES

ANNEXURE 1: LIST OF INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS FOR LUM APPLICATION CIRCULATION

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 6-1 Building Plan Finalisation Effi ciency

Figure 6-2 Total Building Plan Submission versus Finalisation 2012-2015

Figure 6-3 Land Use Management Applications Received and Processed, 2012-2015

Figure 6-4 Total Land Use Management Application Submissions versus Finalisation, 2012-2015

Figure 6-5 Building Plan Processing Timeframes

Figure 6-6 Building Plan Final Resubmission Processing Timeframe

Figure 6-7 Reasons for Delays and Refusals within the Building Plan Application Process

Figure 6-8 Land Use Management Planning Application Processing Timeframes

Figure 6-9 Land Use Management Planning Application Processing Timeframes from Date of

Advertisement

Figure 6-10 Comparison of the Processing Timeframes from Submission and Advertisement to

Date of Final Approval

Figure 6-11 Land Use Management Applications Affected by Delay Factors

Figure 6-12 Processing Time frames

Figure 6-13 Respondent Sample Application Type Breakdown

Figure 6-14 Private Sector Application Processing Timeframes

Figure 6-15 Private Sector Application Processing Timeframes from Date of Advertisement

Figure 6-16 Comparison of the Processing Timeframes from Submission and Advertisement to Date

of Final Approval for Private Sector Application Sample

Figure 6-17 Private Sector LUM Application Delay Factors

Figure 6-18 Timeous Processing - Scheme Adoption, Replacement or Amendment: Rezoning

Figure 6-19 Timeous Processing Post Advertising - Scheme Adoption, Replacement or Amendment:

Rezoning

Figure 6-20 Timeous Processing - Townships, Subdivision and Consolidation of Land

Figure 6-21 Timeous Processing Post Advertisement - Townships, Subdivision and Consolidation

of Land

Figure 6-22 Timeous Processing - Special and Written Consent Applications

Figure 6-23 Timeous Processing Post Advertisement - Special and Written Consent Applications

Figure 6-24 Timeous Processing Post Advertisement - Alterations, Suspension and Deletion of

Restrictions Related to Land Applications

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Regulatory Entity Responsibilities

Table 5.1 Legislated Timeframe as per PDA Process

Table 5.2 Legislated Timeframe as per PDA Process

Table 6.1 Comparison of Timeframes per LUM Application Type

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LIST OF MAPS

Map 1.1 Districts of the Western Cape

Map 1.2 Study Area

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

Diagram 3.1 Current interaction between the city of eThekwini and KZN Provincial

Government

Diagram 4.1 Future Change in Interaction between the City of eThekwini and KwaZulu-Natal

Provincial Government

Diagram 5.1 Generic Development Cycle

Diagram 5.2 KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Act Application Procedure for

Applicants

Diagram 5.3 Schematic Hierarchy of Plans in eThekwini

Diagram 5.4 Generic PDA Appeals Process

Diagram 5.5 Generic eThekwini Application Process

Diagram 5.6 Generic Land Use Management Application Procedure

Diagram 5.7 Generic Deproclamation Process

Diagram 5.8 eThekwini Municipality’s two phased approach to development applications

Diagram 5.9 Generic Building Plan Application and Approval Process

Diagram 7.1 Main Reasons for Application Delays

Diagram 7.2 Five Key Intervention Areas

Diagram 7.3 Responsibilities of the Private Sector

LIST OF ACRONYMS

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

KZN – KwaZulu-Natal

MM – Metropolitan Municipality

SAPOA – South African Property Owners Association

SIC – Standard Industrial Classifi cation

NEMA – National Environmental Management Act

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Urban-Econ Development Economists were commissioned by the South African Property

Owners Association (SAPOA) to undertake a detailed investigation of the private property

industry in the KwaZulu-Natal province, with special reference being made to the eThekwini

Metropolitan Municipal area.

This report investigates the fi rst component of the “The Role and Impact of the Commercial Property

Sector in the KwaZulu-Natal Province” study. The objective of this report is to contextualise the size

and overall economic contribution of the private property sector in the KwaZulu-Natal province to

provide a foundation for cost calculations related to application and other administrative processing

timeframes. The second report supplements the fi rst by analysing development application case

studies in order to link processing timeframes to economic performance.

Map 1.1

District Municipalities of

KwaZulu Natal

Source: ArcGIS Explorer, 2015.


1.1. Study Area

KwaZulu-Natal is the most eastern province

of the nine offi cial South Africa provinces. It is

situated in the north-eastern part of the country

and comprises of one metropolitan area, along

with ten district municipalities. The metropolitan

area is known as the eThekwini Metropolitan

Municipality (MM), which along with the ten

district municipalities are illustrated in Map

1.1. The district municipalities are furthermore

divided into 50 individual local municipalities.

The eThekwini MM is home to one of South

Africa’s most prominent cities, namely Durban

and encompasses the majority of economic and

commercial activities within the province. The

eThekwini MM is analysed as a representative case

study in combination with the province, owing to

the fact that a signifi cant portion of the private

Umkhanyakude DMZululand DM

Uthungulu DM

iLembe DM

eThekwini MM

Sisonke DM

Ugu DM

Umgungundlovu DM

Amajuba DM

Uthukela DM Umzinyathi DM



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Map 1.2

Study Area


The study area comprises of the

KwaZulu-Natal province in its

entirety. The eThekwini MM is

regarded as the most prominent

economic role-player within the

province and is highlighted as

the main region for property

development. The eThekwini

MM is therefore analysed as

a representative case study in

combination with the province.

*Please note: Tax refers

to the level of tax revenue

generated by the South

African Revenue Service

(SARS). The tax calculations

present tax income of SARS

and not the local municipal

tax revenue.

commercial developments that are conducted in

KwaZulu-Natal take place within the metro.

Map 1.2 illustrates the metropolitan focus area.

The study is envisioned to analyse the

commercial private property sector within the

KwaZulu-Natal province. Due to the fact that

the bulk of the commercial property market and

the most prominent economy is centred within

the eThekwini MM, it forms the hub of major

economic growth and expansion within the

province. The study will therefore also analyse

the economic value of commercial private

property sector within the eThekwini MM.


The general research approach describes the

basic methodology implemented to measure

the economic value of the private commercial

property sector of the KwaZulu-Natal province,

as well as the eThekwini MM area.

In essence all economic activities have to take

place in a specifi c space, thus all economic

activities are related to property either directly

EconomicImpact

Gross DomesticProduct

Direct Employment

Tax*

BallitoTongaat

Verulam

Ndwedwe

Mount Edgecombe

Durban North

Berea

Durban

Chatsworth

UmlaziIsipingo

Umbogintwini

KwaZulu-Natal

Adams MissionAmanzimtoti

Winklespruit

Umgababa

Umkomaas


Umbumbulu

Umhlanga

QueensburghWestvillePinetown

Mariannhill

New GermanyKloof

Hillcrest Gillitts

DrummondAssagay

Cato Ridge

Inchanga

Hammarsdale

Umzinto

Pennington



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terms of timeframes. Through quantifying the

economic value of the sector and applying the

fi ndings to estimated application processing

timeframes, one can determine whether the

effect of possible processing delays by the

public sector has any impact on the general

provincial economy.

1.4 Limitations

Due to the qualitative and quantitative

investigation methodology a few limitations

were noted during the research process. It

is vital that the limitations are stated and

recognised in order to have a contextual

understanding of the results.

The basic limitations to the economic

quantifi cation process are:

[ Data sourced for the economic analysis

is reliant on statistical data publications

from reliable sources. The most recent

available detailed information pertaining

to the national business and fi nance sector

is representative of 2010 fi gures. Whereas

the local (eThekwini MM) GDP and national

construction industry fi gures represents

2013 and 2011 statistics respectively.

[ Projections for 2014 were therefore

required. Please refer to Section 3.1 of this

report for an explanation regarding the

methodology and assumptions that were

utilised for projections.

[ Data sourced for the economic analysis

is reliant on statistical data publications from

reliable sources. These statistical publications

present economic data on various geographic

levels for different time periods.

Please note that the limitations are addressed

within a detailed quantifi cation process and

thus mitigated to not affect the results of the

report in any negative manner.

1.5 Report Outline

Apart from the introduction, the remainder

of the report will be structured as follows:

or indirectly. In order to measure the economic

value of the private commercial property

industry the relevant activities within specifi c

economic sectors need to be identifi ed and

evaluated according to specifi c analysis factors

which complies with standard case practise for

economic impact calculations. For the purpose

of this report only property-centred economic

activities with a direct link to the private

commercial property industry are evaluated, in

line with generic economic impact practises.

The directly impacting factors analysed

are Gross Domestic Product (GDP), direct

employment and tax revenue generated by

the private commercial property sector in the

KwaZulu-Natal province.

The above mentioned factors are considered

to be prominent measurements that can be

utilised to assess the economic infl uence of a

specifi c economic sector within a geographic

scale. The exact approach utilised to quantify

the economic impact of the private commercial

property sector is explained in the subsequent

sections of the report.


The purpose of this specifi c research component

is to quantify the commercial private property

industry in terms of its value to the entire

provincial economy. This will assist in developing

an understanding of the role that the private

property sector plays in economic development

within the jurisdiction area of the governing

entities (public sector). It is important to take

cognisance of the fact that the report does

not present an asset audit of the commercial

private property industry, but rather a statistical

evaluation of the total contribution that the

private commercial property sector makes to the

provincial economy.

Additionally, it is understood that the study

will be utilised to obtain valuable information

regarding the civic administration of property

development within the study area in order to

quantify the distinct role that the public sector

plays in property development, especially in

The main objective of the report is

to quantify the size and scope of

the commercial private property

sector’s impact on the economy,

measured in terms of GDP,

employment and tax revenue

generated.



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Section Two: Defi nition of the Commercial Private Property Sector● Private property is defi ned as part of the property components of a larger economy in order to identify the relevant economic sectors representing the private property sector.

Section Three: Current Economic Value● Analysis of the present value of the private property sector in terms of economic production, job creation and tax revenue generated.

Section Four: Economic Value of Private Property in Brief

● Summary of the fi ndings of the afore-mentioned analysis presenting the value of the private property industry for the KwaZulu-Natal economy.

The report will conclude by

presenting the value of the

commercial private property sector

in terms of economic performance,

employment and public sector

revenue (tax) catalyst.

SECTION TWO: DEFINITION OF THE COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY SECTORSECTION TWO: DEFINITION OF THE COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY SECTOR

2.1 Property Components as Elements of a Larger Economy

In terms of property construction and

administrator in property management, the

public sector primarily takes on the role of

fi nancier. The construction responsibilities of

the public sector mainly pertain to fi nancing the

construction of roads and service infrastructure,

as well as supporting infrastructure such as

libraries, administration offi ces and other social

amenities. The public sector therefore employs

contractors and professionals from the private

sector to undertake the construction of the

aforementioned buildings and infrastructure. It

should however be noted that the private sector

is increasingly required to invest in infrastructure

as part of large scale developments.

The public sector does not have any state

owned construction implementing bodies,

and the private sector therefore fulfi ls a dual

purpose in terms of property construction.

Private contractors are responsible for

both private and public driven property

construction activities. The responsibilities

of the private sector, in terms of property

management, mainly relates to activities

such as sales and operation of privately

2 Derived from http://www.

dictionary.cambridge.org,

http://www.dictionary.

com and http://www.

thefreedictionary.com/3 Derived from http://www.

dictionary.cambridge.org and

http://www.dictionary.com

Prior to the analysis of the economic value of the commercial private property sector, it is

imperative that its role is defi ned as part of the relevant property components of a larger

economy in order to identify the relevant economic sectors that effectively represents the

private property sector. Activities within the commercial private property sector can be grouped

into two main categories, namely construction and management activities. These activities have

been critically analysed to identify the economic sub and main sectors in which they operate.

As with any economy the two main role-players are the state and private sectors. This applies to

the property industry in the following way:

Public property (also known as government property) can be commonly defi ned as the

land and improvements owned by the South African government or one of its agencies,

divisions, or entities. It is commonly a reference to property regularly used by the general

public including basic and social infrastructure.

Commercial private property is basically defi ned as land or buildings belonging to a private

individual or company/group of individuals, rather than the government. In other words, the

property owned by non-governmental entities. Private commercial property for the purpose

of this report, will specifi cally include retail, offi ce and industrial buildings as well as large-

scale residential property developments and not refer to individual private residences.



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owned land. Recent trends indicate that

government departments are inclined to

lease private buildings rather than occupying

their own, in which case the private sector

acts as the property manager/landlord.

Diagram 2.1 classifi es all components of

property according to its relevance to public

and private sectors.

The role of the commercial private property

sector is discussed in more detail in the

subsequent sub-section.

2.2 Components of the Commercial Private Property Sector

Diagram 2.2 summarises the property

construction and management components

associated with the private property sector.

As previously mentioned, the private sector

is responsible for the physical construction

activities that take place on both private

and government-owned land. In addition to

the construction requirements of privately

owned property entities, private contractors

ICON LEGEND

Role-Player/ Examples

Real Estate Agents

Real Estate Agents

Asset Holder

Cleaners

Public Works

Public Works

Planning and building

control

Planning and building

control

Engineers

Building

TOTAL PRIVATEPROPERTY

TOTAL PUBLICPROPERTY

TOTAL PROPERTYPROPERTY

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION

TOTAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Private Sector Public Sector

Construction of privately owned, income generating

property entitiesFinancing of primary

infrastructure

Financing of supporting infrastructure

Regulation

Administration

Private contractors (for private & public sector)

Professional services (for private & public sector)

Operation

Sales

Leasing

CONSTRUCTION

Private Property Sector

MANAGEMENT


property entities

Private contractors

Professional services Leasing

Sales

Operation

Diagram 2.1: Property

Components defi ned

according to Private and

Public Sectors.

Diagram 2.2: Components

of the Commercial Private

Property Sector.



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and professionals are also employed

by the public sector to construct public

infrastructure and buildings.

In terms of property management, the private

sector is primarily responsible for the exchange

of private land by controlling the sales and

leasing of property entities. Additionally the

operational requirements of property, which

include building maintenance, cleaning and

security, generally are also the responsibilities

of the private property sector.

2.3 The Commercial Private Property Sector in terms of the Relevant Economic Sectors

Commercial activities associated with the private

property sector are related to the applicable

economic sectors as per the Standard Industrial

Classifi cation (SIC) as utilised by Statistics South

Africa. This is done in order to identify relevant

sectors that make up the industry and ultimately

contribute to its value.

The major components within the commercial

private property construction sector mainly relate

to the ‘construction activities’ sub-sector, as

defi ned by the SIC, comprising of major activities

such as site preparation, building construction,

building installation, building completion and

renting of building equipment. Hence, the

economic construction sector presents the main

indicator for performance measurement of

the relevant activities. However, there is also a

professional services component that includes

architectural, engineering and other technical

activities, which are categorised within the

business and fi nance sector of the SIC.

Commercial private property management

pertains to all ‘real estate activities’ with

respect to owned or leased properties, as well

as per fee or contract basis.

Real estate activities also form part of the

wsiness and fi nance sector as classifi ed within

the SIC. Diagram 2.3 presents the relevant

sectors and activities.

PropertyComponents

Major Activities(SIC)

Private Property Construction

Private Property Management

Sub and MainEconomic Sectors (SIC)


property entities

Private contractors

Professional services

Operation

Sales

LeasingReal estate activities on a

fee or contract basis

Real estate activities with own or leased property

Architectural, engineering and other technical

activities

Renting of construction or demolition equipment

with operators

Building of complete construction or parts

thereof; civil engineering

Building completion

Building installation

Site preparation

Constructionactivities

Other businessactivities

Real estateactivities

The strongest component of

the commercial private property

sector is the construction activities

sub-sector, which forms part of the

construction main sector, with the

business and fi nance main sector

also represented in the form of

specialised services.

The real estate activities of private

property management highlight

the business and fi nance sector as

its main representative economic

sector.

Diagram 2.3: Commercial

Private Property Sector

in terms of the Relevant

Economic Sectors.



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The identifi ed economic components are

analysed in the subsequent sections in

order to quantify the monetary value of the

commercial private property sector. However,

hypothetical scenarios are used to indicate

how the process of relating the economic

value of the private property sector is done

with the use of realistic examples.

2.4 Relationship between the Private and Public Property Sectors

Diagram 2.4 provides hypothetical scenarios

in order to show an example of the

responsibilities of the public and private sector

in a real-world situation.

[ The fi rst hypothetical situation

plots the development of a privately

owned mixed-use development in which

private contractors and professionals

are responsible for the construction and

preparation of specialised applications to

submit to local authorities for approval,

after which property management is totally

within the competence of the private sector.

This scenario highlights the important

regulatory and administrative role that the

public sector plays in private development.

[ The second hypothetical situation

plots the development of governmental

administration offi ces in addition to

supposed upgrades to the surrounding

road infrastructure. It emphasises the

public sector’s role in terms fi nancial

provision for construction with all

construction activities and construction of

major bulk services that are outsourced to

the private sector.

The economic value of the private property

sector is investigated in the following section.

Please note that in Section Three

the economic value calculations

relating to the private sector

construction industry will only

be based on the construction of

properties/buildings and not the

provision of infrastructure and

bulk services. The economic value

of private sector management

will pertain to all operational

sales and leasing activities of

private properties.

Construction and operation of a mixed-

use development compromising of

residential, commercial and

retail components

Public Sector(State)

ConstructionResponsibilities

*None


ManagementResponsibilities*Approval of building

plans and land use management applications

Private SectorConstruction

Responsibilities*Physical construction

*Preparations of building plans and

land use management applications for approval

Private SectorManagement

Responsibilities*Sales and leasing of

residential, commercial and retail space

*Building maintenance/cleaning/security


ConstructionResponsibilities

*Financing of construction

(outsourced to private sector by public works)


ManagementResponsibilities*Approval of building

plans and land use management applications

Private SectorConstruction

Responsibilities*Physical construction

*Preparations of building plans and

land use management applications for approval

Private SectorManagement

Responsibilities*Maintenance of

development

Construction and operation of government

administration o�ces with surrounding

road infrastructure upgrades

The hypothetical situations help

explain the value of the private

sector in terms of the construction

of public sector developments. To

another extent it also illustrates the

importance of the public sector’s

administration and regulation

of private commercial property

developments.

Diagram 2.4: Hypothetical

Situations of State and Private

Sector Responsibilities.



13

SECTION THREE: CURRENT ECONOMIC VALUE

The economic value of the commercial private property sector refers to its contribution

towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial and eThekwini

MM economies.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can be defi ned as the monetary value of all fi nished goods

and services produced during a specifi c time period, within the borders of a specifi c geographic area.

The value of the commercial private property sector is measured by analysing the economic

contribution made by the relevant economic sub-sectors and relating the fi ndings to the total

GDP output of the respective focus regions. Additional captured fi ndings include information

regarding jobs sustained and tax generated by the private property sector.

3.1 Economic Quantifi cation: Approach

The quantifi cation approach illustrates the

methodology utilised to determine the current

economic value of the commercial private

property sector in terms of construction and

management of commercial buildings. Please

note that the approach was adapted according

to the following limitations:

[ Availability of recent statistical

releases: The most recent annually

published economic fi gures for all

geographic levels are only available up

to 2013. Projections, based on historic

statistical trends therefore had to be made

in order to acquire 2014 fi gures.

[ Availability of detailed economic

statistics: Comprehensive composition break-

downs are only available on national level.

[ All economic values provided are

based on constant prices, with 2005 being

the basis year.

The methodology was developed based on

a uniform distribution analysis technique,

which collate projections regarding the 2013

economic performance with the composition of

relevant national economic sectors in order to

present up-to-date statistics for the KwaZulu-

Natal province and the eThekwini MM. A

fi ve year average annual growth rate was

calculated and utilised to acquire the estimated

2014 economic performance fi gures.

The approach comprise of the following

components:

[ Economic performance projections

and cyclical analysis

[ Identifi cation of the main economic

role-playing sectors in the commercial

private property sector

[ Quantifi cation of the economic

value of the commercial private property

sector as derived from the main role-

playing economic sectors.

3.1.1 Economic Performance

Projections

The cyclical performance of the overall

economy is analysed. The following

projections were made for GDP fi gures:

Economic IndicatorProjection

PeriodReason for Projection Assumption

National GDP 2014

National GDP is presented in a quarterly bulletin released by Statistics South Africa; therefore the latest release only indicates GDP up to the third quarter of 2014. In order to present the annual GDP for 2014 a fi ve year average growth rate was derived and applied to 2013 fi gures.

Economic performance in 2014 will be on par with the trends observed for the previous fi ve years (2009-2013).

Provincial GDP 2014

Provincial GDP is presented in an annual bulletin released by Statistics South Africa, therefore the latest release indicates the GDP up to 2013. In order to present the annual GDP for 2014 a fi ve year average growth rate was derived and applied to 2013 fi gures.

Provincial economic performance in 2014 remained in line with the performance achieved over the past fi ve years (2009-2013).

Metropolitan GDP 2014

Latest Metropolitan GDP fi gures are available for 2013, as presented by Quantec EasyData’s Standardised Regional dataset, which is derived from employment and economic performance variables as published by Statistics South Africa. In order to present the annual GDP for 2014 a fi ve year average growth rate was derived and applied to 2013 fi gures.

Metropolitan economic performance in 2014 remained in line with the performance achieved over the past fi ve years (2009-2013).



14

3.1.3 Economic Quantifi cation of the

Commercial Private Property Sector

The contribution of the private property

sector to the provincial and local economy is

quantifi ed by analysing the composition of

the aforementioned economic main sectors,

namely the construction, business and fi nance

sectors.

Economic quantifi cation of the commercial

private property sector is given in terms of the

value of the following:

[ GDP generated

[ Jobs sustained

[ Tax revenue generated

The detailed composition of the representative

sectors are only available on national level.

Projections regarding the provincial and local

contribution to GDP, jobs and tax are calculated

by applying a fi ve growth average to the

relevant values of economies in 2013 for the

construction as well as business and fi nance

sectors. It is consequently assumed that the

contribution of the sub-sectors are in line with

Economic IndicatorProjection

PeriodReason for Projection Assumption

Provincial and Metropolitan

Employment Value2014

Provincial employment is presented in the quarterly bulletin released by Statistics South Africa, therefore the latest release indicates the total employment per sector for the third quarter of 2014. Latest Metropolitan employment fi gures are only available for 2013, as presented by Quantec EasyData’s Standardised Regional dataset.

In order to present the employment fi gures for 2014, both provincially and on metropolitan level, a fi ve year average growth rate was derived for both administrative regions and applied to 2013 fi gures.

The 2014 employment per industry fi gures within both the province and the metropolitan area are in line with historic growth trends.

Provincial and Metropolitan Tax Revenue Generated

2014

The latest annual tax revenue fi gures for both the provincial and metropolitan areas are only available for 2013, as presented by Quantec EasyData’s Standardised Regional dataset. In order to present the employment fi gures for 2014, both provincially and on metropolitan level, a fi ve year average growth rate was derived for both administrative regions and applied to 2013 fi gures.

The average tax revenue within both the province and the metropolitan area are in line with historic growth trends.

historic trends and therefore represent current

values (2014).

The following projections were made for

employment and tax data gaps in addition to

the above stipulated GDP projections:

3.2 Economic Performance and Main Representative Sectors

Direct and indirect infl uences were taken into

account in order to determine the overall value

of the private commercial property sector.

3.2.1 Overall Economic Performance

The overall performance of the relevant

economies serves as a proxy for the subsequent

performance of the applicable property market

and is illustrated in Figure 3.1.

All economies record stable average growth

rates for the analysis period, with a slight

decrease in the past three years. It is also

evident that the provincial and local economies

generally follow the same growth trends as

the national economy. The national economy

experienced an average growth rate of

2% with the provincial and eThekwini MM

economies experiencing average growth rates

of 2.1% and 1.8% respectively during this

period. Table 3.1 presents the projected value

of the relevant economies for 2013.

According to statistical projections, the

KwaZulu-Natal province economy constitutes

approximately 16.46% of the 2014 national

economy, with a GDP contribution of

approximately R303.2 billion. The value of the

eThekwini MM economy was projected to be

roughly R159.8 billion in 2014, which is more

than half of the KZN provincial GDP.

3.2.2 Sectorial Composition in context

to Property Representative Sectors

In essence any economic activity has to take

place in a specifi c space, thus all economic

activities are related to property either directly

or indirectly. However, for the purpose of this

assessment only property-centred economic



15

-1,3%

3,1% 3,7% 2,3% 2,1% 2,0%

-1,4%

3,6%

3,9%

2,4% 2,0% 2,1%

-1,7%

2,7%

3,7%

2,2% 1,8%

1,8%

-2,0%

-1,0%

0,0%

1,0%

2,0%

3,0%

4,0%

5,0%

2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

South Africa Kwazulu-Natal eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Economy2014 GDP (Rand Millions,

Constant 2005 Prices)Share of National Economy

South Africa 1 842 453 100%

KwaZulu-Natal 303 199 16.46%

eThekwini MM 159 777 8.67%

activities with a more direct impact are

evaluated. Figure 3.2 presents the sectoral

composition of KwaZulu-Natal and the

eThekwini MM economies in terms of GDP

contribution. Special attention should be

granted to the contribution of the construction,

and business and fi nance sectors, considering

that these are the sectors which encompass

the main role-playing activities in the private

property sector (refer to Section 2.3). These

sectors are therefore used as proxy for the

commercial private property sector.

From Figure 3.2 it is evident that the

construction sector constitutes 3.1% to the

economic activity in the both KwaZulu-Natal

and the eThekwini MM economies. The

supplementary business and fi nance sector

drives approximately 21.2% of the provincial

economy and 24.5% of the MM economy.

It should be noted that only a portion of the

business and fi nance sector forms part of the

commercial private property sector, whereas

the entire construction sector contributes to

its performance in a more direct way. An in-

3,1%

21,2%

3,1%

24,5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Kwazulu-Natal eThekwini MM National Distribution

21,2%

Main role -players of the

private property sector

Figure 3.1: Cyclical Economic

Performance, 2008-2014.

Source: Quantec EasyData:

Standardised Regional and

Statistics South Africa data,

2014.

Figure 3.2: Sectoral

Composition of the Relevant

Economies, 2014.




2014.

Table 3.1: GDP Values, 2014




2014.



16

depth analysis of the main economic sub-

sectors is required in order to acquire a better

understanding of the economic value of the

private property sector.

Figure 3.4 and Figure 3.6 offer this detailed

inspection of the composition of each of the

main role-playing economic sectors in the

national economy as provided in most recent

statistical publications of Statistics South Africa.

As previously stated, data limitations necessitate

the assumption that the composition within

the main sectors are uniform for the national,

provincial and metropolitan economies,

considering that similar activities within the

sectors relates to similar contributing sub-

sectors. This assumption is made due to the

fact that data pertaining to economic sectoral

composition is only provided on a national level.

3.2.3 The Construction Sector

Figure 3.3 presents the comparative cyclical

performance of the construction sectors in South

Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini MM.

From Figure 3.3 it is clear that the metropolitan

construction sector growth has maintained a

similar trend as its provincial counterpart in

recent times. Nonetheless, the KwaZulu-Natal

economy recorded stronger growth during

the 2013/2014 period, which even exceeded

national growth. Table 3.2 presents the

projected values of the construction sector for

the relevant study areas in 2013.

Projections indicate that the KwaZulu-

Natal provincial construction sector forms

approximately 14.67% of the 2014 national

construction sector’s value, with a GDP

contribution of approximately R9.28 billion.

The local construction sector is valued at

roughly R5 billion in 2014, which constitutes

approximately 7.95% of the national

construction sector.

The composition of the national construction

sector is presented below, which will be applied

to the respective local economies to inform

calculations regarding the value of specifi cally

the private commercial property sector.

The building of civil engineering structures

(infrastructure) accounts for more than a

third (39%) of the economic activity recorded

within the national construction sector.

This is however not a representation of the

commercial private property sector as it is

fi nanced by the public sector (please refer to

7,7% 0,8% 2,4% 2,9% 2,8%

8,3%

1,7%

0,5%

2,6% 2,6% 3,1%

7,5%

1,4%

0,3%

2,2% 2,2% 2,7%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014


Economy Constant 2005 Prices) Construction Sector

South Africa 63 233 100%



Approximately 61% of the national

construction sector comprise of

private construction activities.

Figure 3.3: Sectorial Growth of

the Construction Sector,

2008-2014.



Statistics South Africa data, 2014.

Table 3.2: Construction Sector

GDP Values, 2014



Statistics South Africa data, 2014.



17

3,3%

32,1%

39,0%

15,2%

6,6% 3,8% Site preparation

Building of complete constructions or parts thereof

Building of civil engineering structures

Building installation

Building completion

Renting of construction or demolition equipment with operators

18,8%

2,6%

9,9%

2,2%

16,7%

8,9%

2,4%

38,6%

Real estate activities

Renting of machinery/equipment as well as personal and household goods

Computer and related activities

Research and development

Legal, bookkeeping and business management activities

Architectural, engineering and other technical activities

Advertising

Other business activities

Economy2014 GDP Value (Rand Millions,

Constant 2005 Prices)Share of National Business and

Finance Sector




Figure 3.4: Composition of

the National Construction

Sector, 2011.

Source: Statistics South Africa

Publication: The Construction

Industry, 2011.

Table 3.3: Business and

Finance Sector GDP Values,

2014.




2014.

Figure 3.6: Composition of

the National Business and

Finance Sector, 2010.

Source: Statistics South Africa

Publication: Real estate,

activities auxiliary to fi nancial

intermediation and business

services industry, 2010.



18

Diagram 2.1 and Diagram 2.4). The private

sector is represented by the remaining 61%

of the construction sector with the ‘building

of complete constructions or parts thereof’

being the major contributor (32.1%) of the

construction sector overall.

3.2.4 The Business and Finance Sector

Figure 3.5 illustrates the cyclical growth

performance of the relevant business and

fi nance sectors.

Figure 3.5 indicates that the provincial business

and fi nance sector performed slightly stronger

than the metropolitan business and fi nance

sector over the analysis period, both of which

were in line with national growth trends. Table

3.3 presents the projected value of the business

and fi nance sector for the relevant study areas

in 2014.

According to estimates, the KwaZulu-Natal

business and fi nance sector is valued at

approximately R64.2 billion, which accounts for

roughly 13.88% of the national business and

fi nance sector. The local business and fi nance

sector also presents a prominent share of

8.45% of the national sector with a projected

value of approximately R 39.08 billion.

The composition of the national business and

fi nance sector is presented below, which will

be applied to the respective local economies

to enable estimates regarding the value of the

particular private property sectors.

From Figure 3.6 it is evident that the professional

services component of commercial private

property construction namely architectural,

engineering and other technical activities

encompass approximately 8.9% of the national

business and fi nance sector.

In addition, roughly 18.8% of the business

and fi nance sector consist of the relevant real

estate activities identifi ed in Diagram 2.3 that

is applicable to commercial private property

management industries.

.

Economy2014 GDP Value (Rand Millions,

Constant 2005 Prices)Share of National Business and

Finance Sector




Private property construction

related activities constitutes

approximately 8.9% of the South

African business and fi nance sector

and a further 18.8% related to

private property management (real

estate) activities.

1,2% 2,1% 4,9% 3,8% 2,7% 3,0%

1,8%

2,4%

5,0%

3,5%

2,4% 3,0%

1,0%

2,4%

4,8%

3,1%

2,2%

2,7%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014


Figure 3.5: Sectorial Growth

of the Business and Finance

Sector, 2008-2014.




2014.

Table 3.3: Business and

Finance Sector GDP Values,

2014.




2014.



19

3.3 Value in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The value of the commercial private property

sector, in terms of GDP output, is measured

by applying the above-referenced national

GDP distribution to the KwaZulu-Natal and

eThekwini GDP outputs of 2014. It is assumed

that the composition of the relevant sectors

within the provincial and local economies are

in accordance with the national economy. Table

3.4 provides the resultant calculated GDP output

of the commercial private property sector.

In 2014 the private property sector contributed

roughly R18.09 billion and R10.61 billion to

the GDP on provincial and municipal level

respectively.

Main Sector Sub-Sector Major Activities2014 GDP Value (Rand Millions, Constant 2005 Prices)

KwaZulu-Natal eThekwini MM

Construction Construction activities Site preparation 309.43 167.56

Construction Construction activities

Building of complete constructions or parts thereof (excluding civil engineering)

2 961.78 1 603.83

Construction Construction activities Building installation 1 416.26 766.92

Construction Construction activities Building completion 597.28 323.43

Construction Construction activitiesRenting of construction or demolition equipment with operators

357.64 193.66

Business & fi nanceOther business

activities


4 001.71 2 428.65

Business & fi nance Real estate activities

Real estate activities with owned or leased properties and on a fee or contract basis

8 441.67 5 123.28

Total commercial private property construction 9 644.08 5 484.04

Total commercial private property management 8 441.67 5 123.28

Total commercial private property sector 18 085.76 10 607.32

Share of own total economy (provincial or MM) 5.96% 6.64%

Share of total national economy 0.98% 0.58%

MAN

AGEM

ENT

CON

STRU

CTIO

N

The private property sector

contributes approximately

R18.09 billion to the provincial

economy (6.0%), with construction

encompassing R9.64 billion

and property management

R8.84 billion.

3.4 Value in terms of Sustained Jobs

The number of jobs sustained by the

construction and management of commercial

private property is derived from the national

employment distribution per major activity,

which is applied to the total employment of

the relevant regions. It is therefore assumed

that the distribution of employment in the

relevant sectors within the provincial and

local economies are in accordance with the

composition of the national employment

market. This is due to the fact that data

pertaining to the detailed distribution of

employment per major economic activity is

only available on national level. Table 3.5

presents the value in terms of jobs sustained

by the private property sector within KwaZulu-

Natal and the eThekwini MM.

The commercial private property sector employs

approximately 240 113 people within KwaZulu-

Natal, accounting for 8.86% of all jobs within the

province. In the eThekwini MM approximately

116 283 people are employed within the

commercial private property sector. In eThekwini

and the KwaZulu-Natal province the commercial

private property sector employs roughly 0.78%

and 1.61% of the national labour force.

Private property management

sustains 17 119 jobs within the

KwaZulu-Natal province in addition

to the 222 994 employment

opportunities sustained by property

construction activities.

Table 3.4: Gross Domestic

Product of the Commercial

Private Property Sector, 2014.

Source: Calculations based

on Quantec EasyData:



2010/2011/2014.



20

Main Sector Sub-Sector Major Activities2014 Employment (Persons)


Construction Construction activities Site preparation 7 851 3 850



132 200 32 119

Construction Construction activities Building installation 37 743 32 710

Construction Construction activities Building completion 20 325 18 509


9 632 9 967


activities


15 243 9 009



17 119 10 118

Total commercial private property construction 222 994 106 164

Total commercial private property management 17 119 10 118

Total commercial private property sector 240 113 116 283



MAN

AGEM

ENT

CON

STRU

CTIO

N


sustains 17 119 jobs within

the KwaZulu-Natal province

in addition to the 222 994

employment opportunities

sustained by property


Main Sector Sub-Sector Major Activities2014 Tax Value (Rand Millions, Constant 2005 Prices)


Construction Construction activities Site preparation 3.18 1.72



31.00 16.79

Construction Construction activities Building installation 14.65 7.93

Construction Construction activities Building completion 6.41 3.47


3.69 2.00


activities


214.31 134.55



452.08 283.83

Total commercial private property construction 273.23 166.46

Total commercial private property management 452.08 283.83

Total commercial private property sector 725.32 450.29



MAN

AGEM

ENT

CON

STRU

CTIO

N


generated R452 million in

2014, which is considerably

higher than the R273 million

tax generated by private


Table 3.5: Employment of the

Commercial Private Property

Sector, 2014.





2010/2011/2014.

Table 3.6: Tax Revenue

generated by the Commercial

Private Property Sector, 2014.





2010/2011/2014.



21

3.5 Value in terms of Tax Revenue Generated

Tax revenue generated on production activities

that are related to the commercial private

property sector indicates the contribution

made to state revenue by this sector.

Tax revenue is a function of income generated

and is therefore estimated by calculating the

national proportion of production for each

relevant activity and equating it to total tax

received by the construction, and business

and fi nance sectors of KwaZulu-Natal and

the eThekwini MM economies in 2014. This

calculation is based on the assumption that

the GDP composition of the relevant sectors

within the provincial and local economies are

in accordance with the national economy,

which in turn presents the level of tax revenue

generated by the South African Revenue

Service (SARS). Please note that the tax

calculations present tax income of SARS and

not the local municipal tax revenue.

Table 3.6 presents the tax revenue calculations

for the KwaZulu-Natal province and the

eThekwini MM.

The private property sector contributes

approximately 18.26% of tax revenue

generated within the provincial economy

(R725.3 million). The local private property

sector contributes 11.36% of all tax revenue

generated within the MM, equating to

R450.3 million generated in 2014. It is clear

from Table 3.6 that the activities related to

private property management exhibit a higher

contribution to state revenue than private

property construction.

SECTION FOUR: ECONOMIC VALUE OF COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY IN BRIEFSECTION FOUR: ECONOMIC VALUE OF COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PROPERTY IN BRIEF

Commercial private property construction performance is mainly derived from the

construction activities sub-sector comprising of 61% of the construction main sector, with

8.9% of the business and fi nance main sector also represented in the form of specialised

services. The real estate activities of commercial private property management highlights the

business and fi nance sector as its main economic role-player, with 18.8% of the main sector

comprising of commercial private property management related activities.

Accordingly, the estimated economic value of the private property sector can be summarised as follow:

[ GDP - The private property sector

contributes approximately R18.08 billion

to the provincial economy (5.96%), with

construction encompassing R9.64 billion

and property management R8.44 billion.

Approximately 6.64% (R10.61 billion) of

the eThekwini MM GDP is contributed

by the private property sector activities,

of which R5.48 billion is attributed to

property construction and R5.12 billion to

property management activities.

[ Jobs sustained - The private

property management sustains nearly

17 120 jobs within the KwaZulu-Natal

province, in addition to the 222 994

employment opportunities maintained

by property construction activities. In the

metropolitan economy approximately 106

164 jobs are sustained by private property

construction and 10 118 by private

property management.

[ Tax generated - Private property

management generated R452 million in

2014, which is considerably higher than

the R273.2 million tax generated by private

construction activities. This is also seen in

the MM economy, where private property

management contributed approximately

R283.8 million in tax revenue in relation

to R166.46 million generated by private

property construction.



22

It is clear from this analysis that the commercial

private property sector currently contributes

signifi cantly to the economy of the KwaZulu-

Natal province. The metropolitan and provincial

private property contributions in terms of GDP,

employment and tax are signifi cant if it is

considered that it surpasses the contributions

made by other major economic sectors, such

as the mining, agricultural and utilities sectors

in their entirety on a provincial level. The

‘lost’ economic value/benefi ts of the property

sector due to delayed application processes are

measured via an application tracking process,

which highlights the performance of the

entities handling applications.

Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2014, http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org.Dictionary.com, 2014, http://www.dictionary.com.Quantec Easydata, 2014, Standardised Regional statistical database.Statistics South Africa Publication, 2011, The Construction Industry.Statistics South Africa, 2010, Real estate, activities auxiliary to � nancial intermediation and business services industry.Statistics South Africa, 2012, Standard Industrial Classi� cation of All Economic Activities (Seventh Edition).The Free Dictionary, 2014, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/.

REFERENCESREFERENCESREFERENCESREFERENCES



23

APPLICATION PROCESSING REPORT

THE ROLE AND IMPACT of the

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SECTOR

KwaZulu-Natal

2015

BallitoTongaat

Verulam

Ndwedwe

Mount EdgecombeUmhlanga

Durban NorthBerea

DurbanChatsworthUmlazi

IsipingoUmbogintwiniAdams Mission

Amanzimtoti

Winklespruit

Umgababa

Umkomaas

Scottsburgh

Umbumbulu

QueensburghWestville

PinetownMariannhill

New GermanyKloof

PinetownPinetown

New GermanyNew GermanyNew GermanyHillcrest Gillitts

AssagayDrummond

Cato RidgeInchanga

Hammarsdale

Umzinto




Urban-Econ Development Economists were commissioned by the South African Property

Owners Association (SAPOA) to undertake a detailed investigation of the private property

industry in the KwaZulu-Natal province, with special reference being made to the eThekwini

Metropolitan Municipal area.

This report investigates the fi rst component of the “The Role and Impact of the Commercial Property

Sector in the KwaZulu-Natal Province” study. The objective of this report is to contextualise the size

and overall economic contribution of the private property sector in the KwaZulu-Natal province to

provide a foundation for cost calculations related to application and other administrative processing

timeframes. The second report supplements the fi rst by analysing development application case

studies in order to link processing timeframes to economic performance.

Map 1.1

District Municipalities of

KwaZulu Natal


1.1 Study Area

KwaZulu-Natal is the most eastern province

of the nine offi cial South Africa provinces. It is

situated in the north-eastern part of the country

and comprises of one metropolitan area, along

with ten district municipalities. The metropolitan

area is known as the eThekwini Metropolitan

Municipality (MM), which along with the ten

district municipalities are illustrated in Map

1.1. The district municipalities are furthermore

divided into 50 individual local municipalities.

The eThekwini Metropolitan area is the economic

hub of the province, since the majority of economic

and commercial activities, along with the highest

population concentrations are located within

its borders. The eThekwini MM is analysed as a

representative case study in combination with the

province owing to the fact that a large portion of

Umkhanyakude DMZululand DM

Uthungulu DM

iLembe DM

eThekwini MM

Sisonke DM

Ugu DM

Umgungundlovu DM

Amajuba DM

Uthukela DM Umzinyathi DM



Map 1.2

Study Area


1 Administration tempo

refers to the speed in which

development applications

are fi nalised by the relevant

governing entity. This tempo

is measured by determining

the duration of administrative

processes of typical

development applications.

the private commercial developments are centred

in the metropolitan area.

Map 1.2 illustrates the metropolitan focus area.

The study is envisioned to analyse the

commercial private property sector in the

KwaZulu-Natal province, of which the

eThekwini MM is the most prominent urban

area. It subsequently also houses the most active

commercial property market in the province.

As a result some of the most noteworthy

economic contributors operate and are located

within the eThekwini Metropolitan region.

It is therefore considered to be the centre

of major economic growth and expansion

within the province and therefore an important

analysis area.


The general research approach describes the

basic methodology implemented to measure

the application administration tempo1 of the

relevant departments within the eThekwini MM.

The private commercial property sector

comprises of various construction and

property management activities identifi ed in

the Economic Value Report (component 1 of

the study). Various administration processes

are involved within the value chain of these

identifi ed activities. It is impracticable to

measure administration effi ciency within the

entire development cycle. This report identifi es

the administration of development applications,

such as building plans and Land Use

BallitoTongaat

Verulam

Ndwedwe

Mount Edgecombe

Durban North

Berea

Durban

Chatsworth

UmlaziIsipingo

Umbogintwini

KwaZulu-Natal

Adams MissionAmanzimtoti

Winklespruit

Umgababa

Umkomaas


Umbumbulu

Umhlanga

QueensburghWestvillePinetown

Mariannhill

New GermanyKloof

Hillcrest Gillitts

DrummondAssagay

Cato Ridge

Inchanga

Hammarsdale

Umzinto

Pennington



Management (LUM) applications as the most

important phase in the cycle in the requirement

for timeous management. Administration of the

relevant development applications are handled

in this report considering that it is a municipal

function within the development cycle, which

infl uences the private commercial property

market in the province.

Application processing profi ciency is measured

by utilising two application tracking case

studies provided by the private and public

sector respectively, in addition to an overall

assessment of the municipal development

application database.

However, in order to provide context, a brief

overview of the regulatory environment

and administration processes are given in

order to present the relevant governing

entity responsibilities, along with the general

timeframes prescribed for administration.

After a fi rm understanding of the regulations

and processes involved in building plan and

LUM application administration is formed,

the municipal benchmark for development

application over the past three years is analysed

to provide background in terms of the total

number of plans and applications processed by

the municipality. The subsequent application

tracking analyses of sample applications

provided by the public and private sector

are then employed to identify delay factors

as per the experience of the private sector

respondents on the one side and the municipal

respondents on the other.

The eThekwini MM is responsible for the

administration of the majority of the most

prominent and economically signifi cant

developments in the commercial private

property sector. Please note that the analysis

is mainly aimed at the eThekwini MM to offer

a basic representation of the KwaZulu-Natal

province, considering that regulatory entity

responsibilities differ and the prominence of

development applications handled by this

governing entity.


The application processing report utilises

application tracking scenarios as instruments to

measure the turnaround times of development

applications in terms of timeframes prescribed

by the relevant regulatory entity.

It is important to take cognisance of the fact

that the report does not represent an audit of

all applications administered by the eThekwini

MM. It presents an evaluation of application

tracking case studies provided by both the

public and private sectors in order to identify

and highlight the most frequent delay factors

and administrative blockages. The report was

compiled at a time of fundamental change in

national and provincial planning legislation.

It therefore seeks to identify factors currently

infl uencing the tempo of development

application administration, as well as recognising

its relevance for the transformed legislation.

Additionally, it is understood that “The Role

and Impact of the Commercial Property Sector

in KwaZulu-Natal” study will be utilised to

obtain valuable information regarding the civic

administration of property development within

the study area in order to quantify the distinct

role that the public sector plays in property

development, especially in terms of timeframes.

Through quantifying the economic value of the

sector and determining estimated application

processing timeframes, the study provides the

reader with insight and an understanding on the

level of impact that the tempo of development

application administration has on the provincial

economy according to his/her own deductions.

1.4 Limitations

Due to the qualitative and quantitative

investigation methodology a few limitations

were noted during the research process. It

is vital that the limitations are stated and

recognised in order to have a contextual

understanding of the results.

The basic limitations to the economic

quantifi cation process are:

For the purpose of this

report only the timeframes relevant

to the processing of development

applications are analysed.

Development applications

consists of building plans and

LUM applications.

The objective of the report is

to measure civic administration

timeframes in order to identify

factors infl uencing the processing

duration of development

applications.



[ Primary data sourced is typically

reliant on verbal explanations by different

government offi cials and private property

professionals. For the sake of fairness

in analysis, all detrimental remarks

were excluded from the research. The

information captured provides a multi-

sided perspective with the respondents

widely consulted to provide the most

reliable representation possible.

[ Primary data is also reliant on

information provided by representatives

of the private and public sector. Limited

response among local private property

professionals were noted mainly owing to

capacity pressures.

[ Due to the limited and unrepresentative

information, building plan fi nalisation

was omitted from the private sector case

study analysis.

[ Additionally it should be acknowledged

that the public sector was more willing

to assist and provided the required

information promptly. It is clear that the

governing entities exhibit dedication from

their side to promote transparency and

access to information, especially during

this research campaign.

[ Applications are not all identically

comparable and each application has a

unique spatial component, timeframe,

activity, and process. Informed generalisations

were used to make applications more

comparable by sorting them according to

basic representative features.

[ The negative cases are anticipated to

be the main submission of the private

sector. Therefore, the private sector

survey sample may illustrate a worst-

case scenario in terms of time taken to

fi nalise applications.

[ The manner and format in which the

municipal LUM statistics are captured

does not allow the tracking of the exact

processing time per application for the

entire database; therefore specifi c high

value development projects of R5 million

or more were identifi ed and traced in

detail to act as a representative sample.

[ The report was compiled at a time

of fundamental change in national

and provincial planning legislation with

the recent introduction of the Spatial

Planning and Land Use Act and ongoing

formulation of the Western Cape Land Use

Planning Act. All applications tracked were

historically submitted under the current,

soon to be replaced, legislation. However,

the application tracking campaign still

has research value considering that the

fi ndings will be presented according to its

relevance for future legislation.

Please note that the limitations are addressed

via the provision of a wide variety of case

studies and ground level audits. The limitations

are thus mitigated to not affect the results of

the report in any negative manner.

1.5 Report Outline

The report outlines a development application

processing tempo as identifi ed in various

benchmark and application tracking analyses.

It illustrates the administration effi ciency on

the basis of the general guidelines provided in

national and provincial legislation to ultimately

identify factors infl uencing the processing tempo.

The remainder of the report will be structured

under the following sections:

Section Two: The eThekwini MM Regulatory Environment● The regulatory environment in which development application operates is defi ned and planned future transformations in legislation are discussed in order to provide background to the type of development applications and its relevant administration processes.

Section Three: Regulatory Entity Responsibilities and Types of Development Applications● Breakdown of the development application administration responsibilities, as well as identifi cation of various types of development applications.



Section Four: Recent and Planned Transformations in Regulations and Regulatory Entity Responsibilities ● Recent and planned transformations in legislation within the national and local planning environment, which affects the way in which property development is governed, as well as the responsibilities allocated to the governing body.

Section Five: Development Planning Application Administration Process ● Breakdown and explanation of the applicable development application administration processes and the associated timeframes.

Section Six: Application Administration Benchmark and Tracking● Primary analysis of development applications submitted to the relevant governing entities by the private sector, provided by both the private sector and the public sector as separate case studies.

Section Seven: Conclusions and Recommendations● Summary of the fi ndings of the afore-mentioned analyses in order to assist in the formulation of recommendations regarding ways to improve application management profi ciency of the public sector.

SECTION TWO: ETHEKWINI MM REGULATORY FRAMEWORKSECTION TWO: ETHEKWINI MM REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

In order to be able to analyse the tempo and profi ciency of the application administration

processes within the eThekwini MM, it is important to gain an understanding of the legislation

that infl uence the aforementioned processes. This section of the report therefore provides a

perspective on the relevant national, provincial and local legislation and policies in order to gain

context and background, as well as a basis from which application processes can be examined

and gauged.

2 Source: Department of Rural

Development and Land Reform,

Overview of Legislation and

Existing Classifi cation Effort, 2012.

2.1 National Level

The National Department of Rural Development

and Land Reform2 identifi es the following key

regulatory documents that govern municipal

decision-making in terms of building standards

and land use planning in South Africa on a

national level:

[ Constitution of RSA No 108 of 1996:

primary role being the assigning of municipal

planning responsibility to municipalities.

[ Municipal Systems Act No. 32 of 2000:

requires that local government structures

prepare Integrated Development Plans

(IDP). The IDP is required to include a

Spatial Development Framework which

includes the basic guidelines for a land use

system in the municipality and feeds into

more detailed planning phases.

[ Spatial Planning and Land Use

Management Act No 16 of 2013:

See section 4.

[ Less Formal Townships

Establishment Act No 113 of 1991:

This Act, also referred to as LFTEA

provides for shortened procedures for

establishment of townships for less formal

residential settlement and regulates

use of land by tribal communities for

communal forms of settlement. The LFTEA

procedures have been used primarily by

municipalities when developing low cost

housing schemes. While the KwaZulu-

Natal Planning and Development Act, No

6 of 2008 sees a far more limited role for

use of this Act, applications lodged before

2010 are still being dealt with.

[ Development Facilitations

Act No 67 of 1995:

The Development Facilitation Act (DFA)

aimed to facilitate and speed up the

implementation of reconstruction and

development programmes and projects in

relation to land; and to lay down general

principles governing land development



3 Source: KwaZulu-Natal

Cooperative Governance and

Traditional Affairs. Draft User’s

Manual on the KwaZulu-Natal

Planning and Development

Act, 2008.

throughout the Republic. It expedited

planning development by providing an

alternative to provincial legislation3. The PDA

repealed this Act and applications are only

made in terms of the PDA as of 2010.

[ National Building Regulations and

Building Standards Act No 103 of 1977:

solely implemented for the purpose of

building control, prescribing building

standards and other related matters. All

proposed building plans are submitted in

line with this Act.

[ National economic policies:

New Growth Path and National Development

Plan advocating the creation of jobs mainly

in the private sector and the need to address

unemployment, poverty and inequality. The

New Growth Path sets a target of creating fi ve

million jobs by 2020. This target is projected

to reduce unemployment from 25% to 15%.

[ Other Acts that are of importance include:

• South African National Road Agency

Limited and National Roads Act No 7

of 1998.

• Restitution of Land Rights Act No 22 of

1994.

• Restitution of Land Rights Amendment

Act 48 of 2003.

• Restitution of Land Rights Amendment

Act 15 of 2014.

• Housing Act No 107 of 1997.

• Land Survey Act No 8 of 1997.

• Local Government Municipal Property

Rates Act No 6 of 2004.

• Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No

70 of 1970.

2.1.1 Environment Related Legislation

On a national level there are also a number of

environmental related policies and legislation

that infl uence LUM and building plan

applications, which can be listed as follows:

[ National Environmental Management Act

107 of 1998 and Associated Acts:

The National Environmental Management

Act, commonly known as NEMA, while

primarily relating to matters of the

environment also contains certain principles

relating directly to planning where the

environment may be affected. The Act

requires sustainable development, i.e.

where the integration of social, economic

and environmental factors in the planning,

implementation and evaluation of decisions,

so as to ensure that development serves

both present and future generations.

The Act, amongst other, provides for

the establishment of regulations listing

activities that require an appropriate level of

environmental assessment and the extent

of such assessment and to ensure that an

integrated environmental management

approach is followed. This then is to take the

form of a basic assessment, a scoping report

or a full environmental impact assessment

report with specialist inputs. Other specifi c

environmental management Acts were

promulgated to deal with specifi c mediums

of the environment as listed below:

• NEMA: Protected Areas Act No 57

of 2003.

• NEMA: Biodiversity Act No 10

of 2004.

• NEMA: Air Quality Act No 39 of 2004.

• NEMA: Integrated Coastal Management

Act No 24 of 2008.

• NEMA: Waste Act No 59 of 2008.

[ Other environment related Acts that are of

importance include:

• Environmental Conservation

Act No 73 of 1989:

The objective of this Act is to provide for

the effective protection and controlled

utilization of the environment and for

matters incidental thereto. Many portions

of the Environmental Conservation

Act (ECA) have been repealed since its

original enactment and replaced by the

National Environmental Management

Act (NEMA), its regulations and the suite

of NEM: Acts contained under it. Section

21 of the ECA however remains very

relevant to municipalities as it gives them

powers to intervene in matters where no



environmental authorisation has been

obtained and where no action has been

initiated at the provincial or national

level. The Environment Conservation

Act has largely been replaced by NEMA

and only a few relevant sections still

remain. These sections relate to limited

development areas; and regulations

regarding noise, vibration and shock.

• National Heritage Resources

Act No 25 of 1999:

To introduce an integrated and

interactive system for the management

of the national heritage resources; to

promote good government at all levels,

and empower civil society to nurture

and conserve their heritage resources

so that they may be bequeathed to

future generations; to lay down general

principles for governing heritage

resources management throughout the

Republic; to introduce an integrated

system for the identifi cation, assessment

and management of the heritage

resources of South Africa; to establish

the South African Heritage Resources

Agency together with its Council to co-

ordinate and promote the management

of heritage resources at national level;

to set norms and maintain essential

national standards for the management

of heritage resources in the Republic

and to protect heritage resources of

national signifi cance; to control the

export of nationally signifi cant heritage

objects and the import into the Republic

of cultural property illegally exported

from foreign countries; to enable

the provinces to establish heritage

authorities which must adopt powers to

protect and manage certain categories

of heritage resources; to provide for

the protection and management of

conservation-worthy places and areas

by local authorities; and to provide for

matters connected therewith.

• National Forestry Act No 84 of 1998:

The National Forests Act provides the

mandate for the protection of all natural

forests in South Africa. The principles of

the Act in Section 3 states clearly that

“… natural forests may not be destroyed

save in exceptional circumstances

where, in the opinion of the Minister,

a proposed new land use is preferable

in terms of its economic, social or

environmental benefi ts”. This prescribes

that no development affecting forests

may be allowed unless “exceptional

circumstances” can be proven. Section

7 of the Act prohibits the cutting,

disturbance, destruction or removal of

any indigenous living or dead tree in a

forest without a licence, while Section 15

places a similar prohibition on protected

tree species listed under the Act, some of

which are also forest species.

• National Water Act No 36 of 1998:

The National Water Act deals

comprehensively with all matters

relating to water and its sustainable and

equitable usage in South Africa. It adopts

a catchment management approach

and seeks to avoid pollution of the

water resource. The Act sets out certain

activities as controlled activities (including

irrigation, modifi cation of precipitation,

hydroelectric power generation and

recharging an aquifer with waste or

water containing waste), provides for

the obtaining of general authorisation

for the use of water and for obtaining

licences.It should be noted that water

may only be used without a licence if the

use is exempted (reasonable domestic

usage, non-commercial gardening and

the watering of fl anking grazing animals

excluding feedlots), is a preauthorised

use or a general authorisation has been

obtained. It should be further noted

that a waste water licence is required

for operation of a sewage works for any

development. This essentially involves

an environmental impact assessment

process that has to be followed. The

Act sets out the process to determine of

the reserve of a river, consisting of both

human and ecological parts, regarding



what water may be extracted from a

river or what may be added to it without

causing harm. In terms section 144 of

the Act, for the purposes of ensuring

that all persons who might be affected

have access to the information regarding

potential fl ood levels, a township may

not be established unless the 100 year

fl ood level is shown on the layout plan

in a form acceptable to the municipality.

• Mineral and Petroleum Resources

Development Act No 28 of 2002, Mineral

and Energy Affairs Act (28 of 2002), the

Seashore Act (21 of 1935).

The overall purpose of the presented Acts is to

ensure that municipalities develop their land

use planning processes, and approval of such

applications in line with the national development

goals and strategies. It is therefore important to

note that all development applications submitted

to the local governing entities should be aligned

with the national policies (some of which might

not be mentioned above).

2.2 Provincial Level

On a provincial level the regulatory and legislative

frameworks are directly related to the eThekwini

MM, and therefore have a more signifi cant

infl uence on the application administration

processes. For this purposes some of the

applicable legislative frameworks are only listed

below, as they are discussed in more depth in

subsequent sections of the report.

[ KZN Planning and Development

Act No 6 of 2008:

See section 4.

[ KZN Planning and Development

Act Amendment Bill, 2012:

See section 4.

[ KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2012:

See section 4.

[ Natal Town Planning

Ordinance No 27 of 1949:

Planning and development in KwaZulu-

Natal has been controlled since 1949 by the

Natal Town Planning Ordinance No 27 of

1949, which has undergone considerable

amendment over the last 60 odd years. It

has for all intents and purposes now ceased

to exist other than for Special Consents

which are still required to follow section

67bis read with section 74ter in respect

of giving public notice. This includes the

hearing of special consent appeals in terms

of section 67ter by the Town Planning

Appeals Board.

[ KwaZulu-Natal Land Affairs Act

No 11 of 1992 and its regulations:

The KwaZulu Land Affairs Act and

its companion regulations governed

development in the former KwaZulu areas.

The KZN Rationalisation of Planning and

Development Laws Act No 2 of 2008 repealed

much of the KwaZulu Land Affairs Act 11 of

1992. It repealed GN 29 of 1994 (Township

Establishment) and GN 30 of 1994 (town

planning) but did not however repeal GN

32 of 1994 which deals with the permission

to occupy arrangements (PTO’s) over land

in the ownership of the Ingonyama Trust.

The Ingonyama Trust Board are however in

recent time moving more towards granting

leases rather than PTO’s, so it now has less

signifi cance than before.

[ Local Authorities Ordinance No 25 of

1974 (for road and pubic place closures):

To consolidate and amend the law relating

to the establishment of private township,

the sub-division and lay-out of land for

building purposes or urban settlement

and preparation and carrying out of town

planning schemes; and to provide for

other incidental matters. According to

the eThekwini publication, A Developer’s

Guidebook, while Chapter 7 of the Planning

and Development Act (PDA) provides

for the permanent closure of municipal

roads and public places, it was designed

as an outline for by-laws dealing with the

permanent closure of municipal roads and

public places.

• Chapter 7 of the PDA therefore presently

contains only the principles, not the

rules for the permanent closure of

municipal roads and public places. The



provincial position on this has however

since changed with respect to the need

for individual by-laws to be prepared by

municipalities, and it is now intended

that the PDA be amended accordingly.

This amendment should be contained

in the KZN Planning and Development

Bill. The provisions of sections 211 and

212 of the Local Authorities Ordinance

No. 25 of 1974 must therefore be

used in the interim for the permanent

closure of municipal roads and public

places respectively until such time as

the PDA has been amended or replaced

to facilitate this procedure, at which

stage the PDA will repeal these sections

of the Local Authorities Ordinance (A

Developer’s Handbook, 2013).

[ Subdivision of Agricultural

Land Act No 70 of 1970:

In terms of Section 3 of the Subdivision

of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970, the

following activities, amongst others, are

prohibited without the prior consent of the

Minister of Agriculture:

• The subdivision of agricultural land.

• The selling or advertising for sale of any

portion of agricultural land, whether

surveyed or otherwise and with buildings

or otherwise, except for the purposes of

a mine.

• The establishment or enlargement

of an area of jurisdiction, local area,

development area, peri-urban area or

other area so as to include any land

which is agricultural land.

• The publishing of a notice to the effect

that a scheme relating to agricultural land

or any portion thereof has been prepared

or submitted under a provincial Ordinance/

Act, i.e. the preparation of a new or the

extension of an existing scheme.

Section 4 of the Act provides for the seeking

of consent from the Minister. The Minister

may either refuse or grant a consent

application with conditions, including

conditions as to the purpose or manner in

which the land in question may be used, i.e.

potentially controlling the future land use,

if he is satisfi ed that the land in question

is not to be used for agricultural purposes.

Furthermore, after consultation with the

MEC of the province, on such conditions

as such MEC may require. The Minister or

the MEC concerned may then enforce, vary

or withdraw any such respective conditions

imposed. If conditions are registered against

the title deed of the land, the Minister may

direct that they be varied or cancelled (A

Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

[ KZN Provincial Roads Act No 4 of 2001:

Several sections of the KZN Provincial Roads

Act (KZN PRA) are particularly relevant to

planning and development. These include

sections 10, 19, 20, 21 and 32. These

sections deal with access to provincial or

district roads, inclusion of transport plans

when preparing a development plan,

timeframes when considering subdivision

and other applications. In addition, section

32 deals with the erection of advertisements

on roads.

[ KwaZulu Ingonyama Trust

Act No 3 of 1994:

This act established the Ingonyama Trust

Board consisting of the King or his nominee,

representatives from the Department of

Rural Development and Land Reform and

House of Traditional Leaders of KwaZulu-

Natal, the Premier of KZN etc. The Board

is required to administer the affairs of

the Trust and Trust land4. This piece of

legislation is important for developers

to consider as it affects land tenure.

Portions of land in eThekwini do fall under

traditional ownership and this land can only

be leased (short and long term) and cannot

be bought.

[ KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Growth

and Development Strategy 2011:

The PGDS provides KZN with a strategic

framework for accelerated and shared

economic growth through catalytic and

developmental interventions

[ KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Spatial

Economic Development Strategy:

4 The Ingonyama Trust Board

administers some 2.79 million

hectares of Ingonyama Trust land

in KwaZulu-Natal.



The PSEDS provides a framework for

development within the province in relation

to the PGDS, with particular applicability to

the main spatially based economic nodes

and corridors that impact on the economic

development potential of the province.

2.3 Metropolitan Level

In order to address certain area specifi c issues and

characteristics of a variety of spatial regions within

the eThekwini MM, the following legislation

is utilised:

[ Natal Local Authorities Ordinance,

No 25 of 1974:

Section 211 of the Natal Local Authorities

Ordinance, No. 25 of 1974, is applied to the

deproclamation process which related to

the closure of road or lane upon application

from the public or recommendation from

Development and Planning.

[ eThekwini Long Term

Development Strategy:

The LTDF maps the strategic vision for

the eThekwini Municipality over the next

twenty years and within this the strategic

priorities over the next fi ve years. This

long-term plan adopts a sustainable

development approach that protects the

environment, drives social equity and

promotes economic prosperity. the long-

term plan is divided into six thematic

areas; creating a safe city, promoting an

accessible city, creating a prosperous city

where all enjoy sustainable livelihoods,

celebrating our cultural diversity, arts and

heritage, ensuring a more environmentally

sustainable city and fostering a caring and

empowering city.

[ eThekwini Integrated

Development Plan 2012 – 2017 (IDP):

The eThekwini IDP is a fi ve year plan

which strategically guides development

and investment in the municipality. In line

with the refi ned long term plan’s vision,

strategies and outcomes, the eThekwini

Municipality’s IDP’s Eight Point Plan outlined

the short term strategies and outcomes

intended at addressing the key challenges

and achieving the long term vision. The

eight plans are:

1. Develop and sustain our spatial, natural

and built environment.

2. Developing a prosperous, diverse

economy and employment creation.

3. Creating a quality living environment.

4. Fostering a socially equitable

environment.

5. creating a platform for growth,

empowerment and skills development

6. Embracing our cultural diversity, arts

and heritage.

7. Good governance and responsive

local government.

8. Financially accountable and

sustainable municipality.

As the IDP is reviewed per annum, there is a

2014/2015 revision available.

[ eThekwini Spatial Development

Framework (SDF) 2014-2015:

The SDF is a spatial representation of the

IDP which is reviewed yearly. The overall

aim of the SDF is to achieve planning

outcomes that redress the imbalances of

the past through the following:

• restructure spatially ineffi cient

settlements;

• promote the sustainable use of the

land resources;

• channel resources to areas of

greatest need and development

potential, thereby redressing the

inequitable historical treatment of

marginalized areas;

• stimulate economic development

opportunities in rural and urban

areas; and

• support an equitable protection of

rights to and in land.

2.3.1 eThekwini Spatial Development Plans

Spatial Development Plans are undertaken for

each spatial planning region identifi ed in the

municipal area, namely the Central, North, South

and Outer West Spatial Planning Regions. These



are informed by the SDF and provide greater

detail about future spatial planning and land

use, environment, transport and infrastructure

interventions required at a regional level and

might be considered equivalent in nature to a

Regional Spatial Development Framework. The

information below has been drawn from the

eThekwini Spatial Development Framework

2014/2015.

[ Central Spatial Development Plan

(CSDP: 2013-2014)

The Central Spatial Development Plan

(CSDP) differs from other SDPs in that it is

more focused as a highly developed and

serviced area that is under constant change.

The focus of this plan is to identify and

propose standards at a broad level that tests

impacts and sustainability. Large parts of the

Central Spatial Region are already engaged

in further detailed levels of planning that is

(Local Area Plans (LAPs) and Precinct Plans

that give more city-wide direction in terms

of the needs, opportunities and challenges

of an area such as the Back Of Port (BOP)

Local Area Plan(LAP).

This region is essentially the Urban Core

of the eThekwini Metropolitan area and is

home to approximately 1.3 million people

accounting for 34% of eThekwini’s total

population of 3.5 million people (Stats

SA). The boundaries of the Central Spatial

Region (CSR) extend from the Umgeni River,

in the North, along the coast through to

the Umlaas Canal in the South and extend

to the escarpment in the west extending

over an area of 677 km2 (67772.33 Ha).

Three Area Based Management (ABM)

areas fall within the CSR namely; Inner

eThekwini Regeneration and Urban

Management Programme (iTrump), Cato

Manor Development Association (CMDA)

and part of the South Durban Basin (SDB).

All of the areas listed below are currently

covered by a range of projects and

initiatives. Realising the opportunities

that these areas present require that they

are accommodated within the Spatial

Development Plan and are linked to other

spatial elements:

• Development of the new dug-out port

and expansions to the existing port and

supporting infrastructure to ensure that

Durban continues to be the hub-port of

Southern Africa.

• Re-investment and new opportunities in

the south durban basin to consolidate

the manufacturing, logistics and industry

will continue. Promoting tourism and

mixed use development in the inner

city, the beach, sports and business and

heritage areas in particular.

• Ensuring that Cato Manor and the

Pinetown CBD still represents an

opportunity for well-located mixed-use

development and the promotion of

higher densities.

• Maximisation of industrial and economic

potential in areas such as Pinetown/New

Germany and Back of Port.

• Promotion of densifi cation within the

central region especially along public

transport nodes and corridors.

• Regeneration of areas within the Inner

City and former R293 townships such as

Cleremont/KwaDabeka, Umlazi, Inanda,

Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (INK).

[ Northern Spatial Development Plan

(NSDP: 2013-2014)

The Northern Municipal Planning Region

(NMPR) boundary extends from Umgeni

River in the south to Tongaat in the north

with the coastline in the east and the ILembe

District Municipality to the west and north.

It has a population of about 1, 15 million

which is 31% of the total population of

3, 5 million (Stats SA Community Survey,

2007). The population is housed in a total

of 201,612 houses. The largest population

concentrations are to be found at Inanda/

KwaMashu (58.6%), Phoenix (17.5%) and

Durban North (7.1%).

In determining a spatial role for the

NMPR it is important to note the area



has environmental, social and economic

linkages to the wider metropolitan area.

These linkages also occur within the broader

region both provincially and nationally.

The following roles of the NMPR have

been determined in accordance with its

inherent character and capacity to support

envisaged growth and development within

the eThekwini Metropolitan area:

• Air and landside component to logistics

hub associated with new international

airport National and international

Gateway to Metropolitan area and

Coastal Destinations.

• Consolidate Provincial Development

Corridor between Durban and Richards

Bay and surrounding municipalities.

• Protection, consolidation and

establishment of new well located serviced

industrial opportunity areas.

• Protect denuded environmental assets to

ensure eco-service delivery and to ensure

tourism and recreation opportunities are

not lost.

[ Southern Spatial Development Plan

(SSDP: 2013-2014)

The South Spatial Development Plan (SSDP)

identifi es the capacity of the existing

natural and built environment to create

sustainable investment and development

opportunities and establishes linkages to

opportunities for the socio-economically

disadvantaged communities of the south.

Within this context, the SSDP identifi es

what development is desirable, where such

development should occur and how such

development should be facilitated.

The main objectives of the SSDP therefore

include:

• To establish an understanding of the

strategic role of the southern area within

the context of the eThekwini Municipality,

• To ensure alignment of the SSDP with

the development plans of the west and

north as well as the South Durban Basin

Framework in progress,

• To inform the broader eThekwini Spatial

Development Framework as well as

providing guidance for subsequent local

area plans and land use schemes.

[ Outer West Spatial Development Plan

(OWSDP 2013-2014)

The fourth OWSDP adopted by Council in

March 2014 builds on the need to address

current challenges and unpack the long

term strategic policy by translating it into

a more detailed framework in terms of

residential, transport, investment and

environmental interventions. The purpose

of the OWSDP is to promote and guide

development in the Outer West to respond

in a sustainable manner to the various

needs and challenges facing the eThekwini

Municipality as a whole. The OWSDP

provides the spatial expression for short,

medium and long term development of the

region, which will be achieved by identifying

spatial structuring elements aimed at:

• Safeguarding the environment.

• Establishing investment points and lines

based on local opportunity.

• Establishing the urban development line

to guide infrastructure provision.

• Consolidating local planning areas

based on inherent characteristics.

2.3.2 Durban Scheme, Inner West Scheme, North Scheme, South Scheme, Outer West Scheme

To date the City’s 30 Planning Schemes have been

consolidated into fi ve (5) Schemes (eThekwini

Spatial Development Framework 2014/2015).

These are the Durban Scheme, Consolidated

Outer West Scheme and North, South and

Inner West replacement schemes. Schemes are

reviewed every year. The Durban scheme has been

amended and released for comment. Important

to note is that the municipal boundaries for

eThekwini are set to be amended to include

some wards of Vulamehlo Local Municipality.

[ Consolidated Outer West Town

Planning Scheme 2013

The Outer West Local Council in 1999

initiated a process to consolidate its then



fourteen separate town planning schemes

into a single scheme. The Consolidated Outer

West Town Planning Scheme (COWTPS) after

following due process was duly adopted

by the Council in September of 2000 and,

following endorsement from the KZN

Planning and Development Commission,

became operational in late 2000. This scheme

was based on the complex provincial model

scheme but with a considerably expanded

suite of zones to accommodate the wide

variety of former, but now rationalised, zones.

This Consolidated Outer West Scheme was

revised during 2012 with a view to bringing

its format into line with replacement or

consolidated schemes then proposed for

the North, South and Inner West. The new

Outer West Scheme (OWS) was advertised

in November of 2012 and came into effect

early 2013.

[ North, South and Inner West

Replacement Schemes 2012

The eThekwini Municipality in late 2011

endorsed the consolidation and replacement

of the multiplicity of schemes respectively for

the North, South and Inner West areas. These

consolidated proposals were advertised for

comment during 2012. The schemes, after

receiving comments, were duly adopted in

September 2012 and became effective on

25 October 2012. It should be noted that

these three schemes have broken with the

past provincial model of their constituent

schemes and have broadly adopted the

LUMS template model of displaying the

majority of the respective zone control data

on a single or at most two pages.

Continuing on from the above process; it

is intended to revisit both the Consolidated

Outer West scheme and the Durban

scheme and transform them both into the

same LUMS template format.

2.3.3 Other Local Policies

In addition to the above, the following policies as

identifi ed in the Developer’s Guidebook will need

to be considered as and when necessary:

[ Advertising Policy.

[ Language Policy for the Municipality.

[ Offi cial Languages and Newspapers

of Record.

[ Sewage Policy.

[ Container Policy.

[ Stormwater Management Policy.

[ Tavern Policy.

[ D’MOSS (Durban Metropolitan Open

Space System)

2.4 Conclusion

In essence, all of the application processes

administrated by the eThekwini MM must

adhere to the prescribed conduct of all of the

aforementioned legislation. Some of the most

prominent objectives that resonate from the said

policies and legislation are:

[ Stainable development of a high quality

spatial environment.

[ The provision of a platform for

economic growth by governing bodies.

[ Good governance and a responsive

local government.

This is why it is necessary to evaluate the

application processes and how they adhere to the

relevant legislation in terms of these objectives.

The purpose of the study as to provide objective

assistance in ensuring application processes are

aligned with these underlined objectives.

It is important to note the prescribed application

timeframes as per the legislation, as well as

the allocation of administrative responsibilities,

which are discussed in the subsequent sections

of this report.



SECTION THREE: REGULATORY ENTITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

3.1 Regulatory Entity Responsibilities

It is important to understand were the responsibility

of application administration lies, as this informs

where applications should be sourced from for the

application administration benchmark analysis.

It furthermore also provides a more holistic

understanding of the regulatory environment.

Development Applications consist of both

Land Use Management (LUM) applications

and Building Plan applications. For Building

Plan applications, there are no provincial role

players. Building Plan decisions can however

be reviewed at a national level. With regard

to LUM applications, the KZN Department

of Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs (COGTA previously Local Government

and Traditional Affairs) previously performed

many planning and development functions. The

KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Act,

Act No. 6 of 2008 devolves these functions to

municipalities. Hence, for land use management

applications, the current function of the province

in terms of Appeals and support will shift to the

local authority. The table below summarises

the roles and functions per institutional body

as per the PDA, National Building Regulations

and current eThekwini practice. The function

for municipalities as planning authorities only

apply to metropolitan and local municipalities

and NOT district municipalities.

Diagram 3.1 illustrates the current interaction

between the eThekwini MM and the KZN

National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act No 103 of 1977

KZN Planning and Development Act 2008

National Municipality Province Municipality

Review board for building plan application appeals

Undertakes all decisions regarding

Building Plan applications

• Appeals to the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Appeal Tribunal

• Provincial planning and development norms and standards

• Adoption, replacement and amendment of schemes

• Consent in terms of schemes • Subdivision and consolidation

of land • Development of land outside

schemes • Phasing or cancellation of

approved layout plans for the subdivision or development of land

• Alteration, suspension and deletion of restrictions relating to land

• Permanent closure of municipal roads or public spaces

• Enforcement measures • Compensation

Current eThekwini Practice

Applicant can appeal a decision at national level

Undertakes all decisions regarding

Building Plan applications

• Municipality circulates development application to COGTA (monitoring body) to oversee if the procedure has been carried out as per requirements 5.

• Appeals lodged with KZN Planning and Development Appeal Tribunal (as per the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Act, Act No. 6 of 2008) and Town Planning Appeals Board (as legislated by the Town Planning Ordinance of 1949).

• Planning authority responsible for the processing and decision making of all development applications (Land Use Management applications, as well as Building Plan Applications under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act).

• Special Consent Appeals lodged as per MSA (optional).

Possible future eThekwini Practice

n/aSPLUMA regulations: New local Planning By-Laws promulgated impacting planning (LUM) application procedures and timeframes. Appeals authority will shift from province to municipal level. The PDA will no longer be in effect.

Table 3.1: Regulatory Entity

Responsibilities.

Source: KZN PDA and

Urban-Econ, 2014.

5eThekwini is exempt from this

process and it is therefore not

compulsory.



provincial government in terms of applications

and the associated responsibilities.

Within eThekwini the following offi cials are

responsible for the development application

procedure:

It is evident from the above that the role of the

provincial government is that of an advisor to the

metropolitan authority, who is the application

administration executive. It must be noted that

with regard to Building Plan Applications, there

is no relationship with provincial government.

All decisions are made at a local level and

appeals addressed at a national level. All things

considered it is clear why the eThekwini MM is

the focus for this purposes of this study.

3.2 Types of Development Applications

There are two distinct types of development

applications that this report addresses. These

are building plan applications and Land Use

Management (LUM) applications. Building plan

applications generally need to adhere to a basic

set of standards, where LUM applications on

the other hand are more complex and are up to

interpretation.

3.2.1 Building Plan ApplicationsThe purpose of these applications is to permit

the new construction of buildings in order to

comply with minimum construction standards

and specifi cations, specifi ed in the National

Processing of LUM Applications

Special and written consent

Scheme Adoption, Recplacementor Amendment: Rezoning

Township, Subdivision andConsolidation of Land

Site Development Plan

Development of LandOutside of Area of Scheme

Cancellation of Approved Layout Planfor Subdivision or Development Land

Alterations, Suspension and Deletionof restrictions Related to Land

Permanent Closure of Municipal Roadsand Public Places

- KZN Planning and Development Appeals Tribunal:

Processing of PDA Appeals

- KZN PlanningAppeals Board:

Processing of Special Consent Applications

KZN COGTA:Advisory Role

Appeals

CITY OF ETHEKWINIMETROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

KWAZULUA-NATAL PROVINCIALGOVERNMENT

Land Use Management Applications Building Plan Applications

Land Use Management Assistant: Responsible for

circulating application to the various departments

and receiving related comments.

Submission and Assessment Assistants: undertake

a pre-scrutiny check on the building plan

application to ensure minimum submission

requirements have been met.

Admin Assistant: acknowledge written comments

in writing

Assessment Offi cer (Building Control Offi cer):

examines the building plan application for

compliance with the Act

Senior Manager Administration: Receives appeal to

KZN PDAT

Team Leader (on behalf of the local authority),

having considered the recommendation makes

the fi nal decision and either refuses to grant, or

grants approval.

Planner: Assesses application

EXCO: decision making body

Town Planning sub-committee: decision making

body

Joint Advisory Committee: decision making body

Diagram 3.1: Current

interaction between the

city of EThekwini and KZN

Provincial Government.



Building Regulations and Building Standards

Act. The act requires that any building plan

application must satisfy both the requirements

of the Act and any other applicable laws,

pertaining to issues relating to the environment,

heritage, planning, etc.

3.2.2 Land Use Management ApplicationsThe types of LUM applications that exist as per

the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development

Act, Act No. 6 of 2008 (KZN PDA) are listed

below. All LUM applications except for special

consents and permanent closure of municipal

roads and public spaces are carried out as per

the KZN PDA. Special Consents are carried

out as per the Natal Town Planning Ordinance

No 27 of 1949 and Permanent Closure of

Municipal Roads and Public Spaces applications

are carried out as per the Natal Local Authorities

Ordinance, No 25 of 1974.

a. Scheme Adoption, Replacement

or Amendment: Rezoning – zoning

assigns certain potential rights to a

property (it normally specifi es what the

free entry, consent and prohibited land

uses are and sets out the limitations and

bulk factors for the zone. The initial

zoning is normally undertaken by the

municipality when a scheme is prepared

and an applicant will then seek to amend

the scheme and/or rezone the land in

question. Cases may however exist where

properties fall outside a scheme and an

initial zoning is sought by an applicant by

the land’s incorporation into a scheme (A

Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

b. Special and written consent: Schemes

within a particular zone generally specify

three categories of land use: free entry

land uses where only a building plan is

required to be submitted and approved

before construction may commence, land

uses which are totally prohibited and

fi nally land uses which are only permitted

with the special or written consent of

the Council and which consent has to be

obtained before a building plan may be

submitted for consideration. The intention

of requiring these processes to be followed

is so that the likely impact of the specifi c

land use as proposed may be assessed

and if necessary suitable conditions put in

place to limit proposed land use’s impact

or to even refuse the application if it seems

that it will be totally incompatible with

the surrounding land uses. The relaxation

of a scheme control, e.g. the reduction of

a building line, a side space, a rear space

or the relaxation of the height restriction

normally also requires the very same

processes to be followed so that the likely

impact on others may be determined

(A Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

c. Townships, Subdivision and

Consolidation of Land: The

establishment of townships is where land

is subdivided down into individual sites

or erven for various land uses including

roads and public places (open space).

Subdivision on the other hand normally

refers to the subdivision of a parent erf

into a limited number of portions of

the original erf and each portion is so

designated. Consolidation occurs/ensues

when a number of erven are consolidated

into one newly designated erf with a new

number (A Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

d. Development of Land Outside Area of

Scheme: Applications for any development

situated outside the area of an existing

scheme (A Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

e. Cancellation of Approved Layout

Plan for Subdivision or Development

of Land: Applications for the phasing or

cancellation of an approved layout plan for

the subdivision or the development of land.

Such applications normally occur when

a developer has had second thoughts

on a particular township development

and now wants to phase or stagger such

development and/or alternatively wishes

modify the layout plan over a portion of

the original township area (A Developer’s

Guidebook, 2013).

f. Alterations, Suspension and

Deletion of restrictions Related

to Land: Applications submitted due

to obligations or restrictions which



are binding on the owner of the land

by virtue of a restrictive condition or

servitude registered against the land,

condition of approval for the amendment

to the municipality’s scheme; a condition

of approval for the subdivision or

consolidation of land; a condition of

approval for the development of land

situated outside the area of a scheme; or

a condition of approval for the phasing or

cancellation of an approved layout plan.

g. Permanent Closure of Municipal

Roads and Public Places: Applications

for the permanent closure of open space

or roads. Closure of such land has been

often, but not necessarily always, closely

associated with the consolidation and re-

subdivision or re-layout of land and where

it is incorporated into the proposed new

township. This type of application is carried

out as per the Natal Local Authorities

Ordinance, No 25 of 1974. Processing of

these applications is carried out by the

eThekwini Real Estate Department and not

the Land Use Management Department.

h. Site Development Plan: a land use

management application submitted to

obtain approval for the proposed form

and layout of envisaged development on

a property in order to accelerate building

plan approvals which follow the land use

management application process.

i. Municipal Systems Act Appeals: Appeals

lodged for special consent applications can

be done through the Municipal Systems

Act at the local level. This does not apply

to PDA application appeals.

j. KwaZulu-Natal Planning and

Development Act Appeals: the event of

either the applicant and/or objectors being

dissatisfi ed with any decision taken by the

municipality in terms of the Planning and

Development Act, 2008, the applicant or

an objector(s) may within 28 days take

the matter on appeal to the Planning and

Development Appeal Tribunal.

3.3 Conclusion

It is clear that, for the purposes of this study,

a general sample of building plan applications

would suffi ce. However, with respect to LUM

a more specifi c sample, that represents a wide

variety of application types would be required.



SECTION 4: RECENT AND PLANNED TRANSFORMATIONS IN REGULATIONS AND REGULATORY ENTITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Cognisance should be taken of the fact that the processes associated with development

applications are subject to change. Recent and planned transformations in legislation within

the national and local planning environment, as discussed below, affects the way in which

property development is governed. It therefore has direct implications on property developers

operating in the private sector.

Key changes include:

[ The amendment of national and

provincial planning legislation with the

enactment of the Spatial Planning and

Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA)

and alignment of the KwaZulu-Natal

Planning and Development Act to

comply with SPLUMA regulations.

[ The transformation of local spatial

planning processes.

It is therefore an optimal time to assess the

current procedures, as it can be used as a

marker of old processes. When the new

aforementioned processes do come into effect

and are fully implemented, it can be utilised

as a basis for comparison and a way in which

progress can be measured.

4.1 Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No 16 of 2013

SPLUMA was introduced in the National

Assembly in June of 2012 and approved in

February 2013. In August 2013, President Jacob

Zuma signed it into law to provide a uniform

and comprehensive system of spatial planning

and land use management in South Africa. The

spatial planning system, as defi ned in the Spatial

Planning Land Use Management Act, should

integrate spatial development frameworks,

development principles, land use facilitation and

processes of land development applications.

The objectives of SPLUMA according to the

proposed Spatial Planning and Land Use

Management Act are defi ned as follows: “1)

To provide a framework for spatial planning

and land use management in the Republic; 2)

to specify the relationship between the spatial

planning and the land use management

system and other kinds of planning; 3) to

provide for the inclusive, developmental,

equitable and effi cient spatial planning at the

different spheres of government; 4) to provide

a framework for the monitoring, coordination

and review of the spatial planning and land

use management system; 5) to provide a

framework for policies, principles, norms and

standards for spatial development planning

and land use management; 6) to address

past spatial and regulatory imbalances; 7) to

promote greater consistency and uniformity in

the application procedures and decision-making

by authorities responsible for land use decisions

and development applications; 8) to provide for

the establishment, functions and operations of

Municipal Planning Tribunals; 9) to provide for

the facilitation and enforcement of land use and

development measures; and 10) to provide for

matters connected therewith6.

The SPLUMA will therefore regulate all spatial

development within the national borders with

specifi c aim to:

[ Promote sustainable agricultural

development.

[ Prevent urban sprawl.

[ Improve environmental management

instruments.

[ Reduce the impact of economic

and environmental shocks via clever

management.

[ Encourage good administration

among regulatory entities.

The draft SPLUMA regulations were gazetted on

12 December 2014 and are currently available

for comment until the 23rd of January 2015.

The regulations were fi nalised and signed by

the minister on 18 March 2015 and gazetted

accordingly on 23 March 2015 (GG N.38594).

The regulations are planned to be implemented

by July 2015. This will impact the package of

plans and the development application process

and inevitably affect the land use planning

application processes.

6Source: Department of Rural

Development and Land Reform,

Spatial Planning and Land Use

Management Act, 2013.



In addition, some municipalities are in the

process of drafting municipal planning by laws

for implementation of the SPLUMA regulations.

eThekwini Municipality in particular is currently

doing the same. Currently, the eThekwini

Municipality, amongst all other municipalities in

the country, have been tasked with preparing

the Municipal Readiness Action Template as

laid out by SPLUMA. This template indicates

municipality readiness to effectively implement

SPLUMA regulations. SPLUMA also devolves the

processing of appeals to be handled internally

at municipalities. This will be discussed below.

4.2 KZN Planning and Development Act No 6 of 2008

The current land use planning legislation that

governs most development applications in

eThekwini Municipality is the KwaZulu-Natal

Planning and Development Act No 6 of 2008,

with the exception of ‘Permanent Closure of

Municipal Roads or Public Spaces’.

The objective of the KZN Planning and

Development Act is to provide for the adoption,

replacement and amendment of schemes, to

provide for the subdivision and consolidation

of land; to provide for the development of land

outside schemes; to provide for the phasing or

cancellation of approved layout plans for the

subdivision or development of land; to provide

for the alteration, suspension and deletion

of restrictions relating to land; to establish

general principles for the permanent closure of

municipal roads or public places; to provide for

the adoption and recognition of schemes, to

provide for compensation in respect of matters

regulated by the Act; to establish the KwaZulu-

Natal Planning and Development Appeal

Tribunal; to provide for provincial planning and

development norms and standards; and to

provide for matters connected therewith.


According to the eThekwini Developer’s

Guidebook, a KZN Planning and Development

Amendment Bill, involving well in excess of

a hundred changes, was prepared to correct

shortcomings in the 2008 Act. Although it

reached an advanced stage and had been

checked by the State Law Advisor, it was delayed

on a number of occasions as the authorities

were not keen to enact these changes in several

tranches. The most recent deferment related to

the ongoing concerns over the constitutionality

of the Planning and Development Appeal

Tribunal and a need to overcome this specifi c

matter before enacting the amendment bill.

As outlined under SPLUMA, a model based on

series of appeal authorities nominated by groups

of District Councils and/or Metro Council,

but funded by the province, was proposed


In addition, the amendment bill was to

reintroduce the special consent procedures

which were to be very similar to the rezoning

procedures (A Developer’s Guidebook, 2013). It

also did away with the need to notify all persons

within 100 metres of an application, which has

proved to be very onerous for developers for

often almost inconsequential applications of

various types (A Developer’s Guidebook, 2013).

4.4 KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2013

The aim of this bill is to provide for the planning

and development of land in the province;

to provide for a system of planning and

development; to provide for provincial planning

and development norms and standards; to

provide for the determination by municipalities

of applications for planning and development;

to provide for the establishment of municipal

planning and development appeal tribunals;

to provide for the enforcement of planning

and development; and to provide for matters

connected therewith. The Bill was meant to

replace the 2012 amendment Bill (this Bill was



considered to be excessively long) and the 2008

Planning and Development Act.

The format of the KZN Planning and

Development Bill has also been changed from

the current Act by the elimination of existing

duplication between the respective chapters

dealing with different types of development

applications. A noteworthy addition proposed

is to allow for the setting of conditions when

building plans are lodged (A Developer’s

Guidebook, 2013).


The bill originally arose as a result of the July

2012 proposal to introduce the earlier proposed

KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2012, and

when concerns were expressed at the Forum

that this initiative would yet further delay

certain critical outstanding amendments to the

Planning and Development Act, 2008 that were

then holding up and/or frustrating development


This short term succinct bill is aimed at

addressing specifi cally the most critical of

matters. The amendments foreshadow certain

items contained within the Planning and

Development Bill, 2013. The earliest anticipated

operational date for the Critical Amendment Bill

has been identifi ed by COGTA as being August

2013. Given the projected enactment of the

full KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2013,

some eight months later, there was initially

some doubt that the former Bill would ever see

the light of day. However, the possibility of the

yet further modifi cations being required to the

KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2013 as a

result of the adoption of SPLUMB [B 14B-2012]

by the National Assembly on 26 February 2013

and the processes to follow, will likely make

the fi nal implementation date for the former

extend out beyond March 2014 (A Developer’s

Guidebook, 2013).

4.6 Draft eThekwini Municipality Planning and Land Use Management By-Law, 2015: Forth Coming

The purpose of the draft By-Law is:

‘To provide for the spatial development

framework and the land use scheme; to provide

for the development of plans; to regulate and

manage spatial and land use planning and

development; to provide for the categorisation

of land development applications, to provide for

processes and procedures for land development

applications; to provide for compliance with the

land use scheme; to provide for offences and

penalties; and matters incidental thereto (Draft

eThekwini Municipality Planning and Land Use

Management By-Law, 2015).’

Following the formal release of SPLUMA

regulations in July 2015, eThekwini Municipality

will be ready with a planning by-law adopted

by council. This essentially means that there will

be substantial changes in the local planning

environment. The forthcoming by-law will

supersede the PDA or provincial planning

legislation to provide for a comprehensive

framework for planning in the municipality.

This will essentially affect process, timeframes,

public participation, package of plans, appeals,

categorisation of applications, roles and

responsibilities of local coordinators, decision

making bodies etc. In terms of timeframe the

forthcoming planning by-law, while infl uenced

by the Development Facilitation Act processes

is set to decrease timeframes for the processing

of applications. The forth coming by-law does

not provide workfl ow processes and standard

operating procedures.

Existing land use management applications

lodged as per the PDA will be fi nalised within a

timeframe to be decided upon or an applicant

will have the option of withdrawing and

reapplying as per new legislation.

In terms of addressing current challenges

with planning application procedures and

delays experienced with applications, the by-



law addresses this by putting in measures for

timely compliance of both the applicant and

the local authority.

According to the draft by-law, a new decision

making body is to be established; the Municipal

Planning Tribunal (MPT). The three main decision

makers of land development applications will be

the MPT for applications which correspond with

the Municipal Spatial Development Framework

(MSDF), Municipal Council for applications

which do not correspond with the MSDF and the

Head of Development Planning, Management

and Environment. Decision making power is

also to be devolved to regional co-ordinators

for certain applications. Following the decision

to have a municipal appeals authority, this

will be divided into two authorities; that is,

an external and internal appeals authority.

Appeals for land development applications

with a decision taken by the Municipal Council

and Municipal Planning Tribunal will be dealt

with by the ‘External Appeals Authority’

(which is yet to be formed) and appeals for

land development applications with a decision

taken by the Head of Development Planning,

Management and Environment.

4.7 Changes in the Interaction between eThekwini Municipality and KZN Provincial Government

The transformation in legislation will alter

the entity responsibilities and ways in which

applications are handled. This is especially

related to appeals which will eventually

become a municipal function. The diagram

below indicates this change

4.8 Conclusion

As shown above, the Planning Environment is

directed by a plethora of legislation emanating

from National, Provincial and Local legislation.

The Provincial Planning and Development Act

(Act 6 of 2008) came into effect within the

Province of KZN in May 2010. According to the

eThekwini SDF 2014/2015 at this stage, chapters

of the existing Town Planning Ordinance No

27 of 1949 still remained in force and effect

and it is the implementation of both pieces of

legislation that has left the planning fraternity in

a state of fl ux in the Province. The Planning and

Development Act (PDA), itself has had over the

past 3 years, over 150 proposed amendments.

Processing of LUM Applications

Special and written consent

Internal Appeals

Scheme Adoption, Recplacementor Amendment: Rezoning

Township, Subdivision andConsolidation of Land

Site Development Plan

Development of LandOutside of Area of Scheme

Cancellation of Approved Layout Planfor Subdivision or Development Land

Alterations, Suspension and Deletionof restrictions Related to Land

Permanent Closure of Municipal Roadsand Public Places





KZN COGTA:Advisory Role

Appeals

CITY OF ETHEKWINIMETROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

KWAZULUA-NATAL PROVINCIALGOVERNMENT

InternalAppeals:

MunicipalProcessing





Diagram 4.1: Future Change

in Interaction between

the City of eThekwini and

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial

Government.



The promulgation of SPLUMA as an Act and

release of the associated regulations has

prompted new planning by-laws to be adopted

by eThekwini Municipality by July 2015. This will

inevitably impact local development application

and planning processes in terms of timeframes

and application processes, due to alter processes

with different actions to be taken.

SECTION FIVE: DEVELOPMENT PLANNING APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION PROCESSDEVELOPMENT PLANNING APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION PROCESS

In order to be able to critically analyse the eThekwini MM building plan and LUM application

processes and thereby provide guidelines for improvements, it is imperative to fi rst understand

how they currently function.

Diagram 5.1 illustrates the various components

of the generic land development process, which

includes Land Use Management (LUM) and

building plan application processes. The role of

supplementary studies such as environmental,

heritage and traffi c impact assessments

should be noted. The fi gure furthermore

clearly illustrates that the LUM applications are

Previous process: Viability studies and �nancial planning

1. Pre-consultation with the municipal o�cials

2. Submission of relevant LUM application

4. Supplementary analysis requirement

5. Submission of supplementary research

6. Scrutiny by relevant departments

Next process: Bulk services approval

7. Final LUM decision

No Yes

Comments

Amendments

Comments

Amendments

8. Submission of �nal building plans

9. Scrutiny

10. Final building plan decision

3. Scrutiny

Identify the required documentation and research

Amendments

Comments

ENVI

RON

MEN

TAL

/H

ERIT

AG

E /

TRA

FFIC

/ M

ARK

ET

Diagram 5.1: Generic

Development Cycle.



typically submitted after pre-consultations with

municipal offi cials. Supplementary analysis such

as environmental, heritage or traffi c impact

assessments may be requested during the LUM

application process, which might extend the

timeframe of such applications. Building plans

can only be submitted once fi nal approval of the

proposed LUM application has been granted.

The way in which all relevant applications are

processed by the eThekwini Municipality are

analysed in the following sub-sections.

5.1 Land Use Management Application Procedure - PDA Process

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Planning and

Development Act No 6 of 2008, Schedule

1 provides the overall guideline of the

development application procedure for

lodging of applications for amendment of

municipality's scheme. These include all

applications for subdivision or consolidation of

land, development of land situated outside the

area of a scheme and alteration, as well as the

suspension or deletion of restrictions relating to

land. The overall procedure is explained below

and thereafter represented graphically.

Step 1: Initial Submission

The applicant lodges an application to the LUM

department for

a. the amendment of municipality's

scheme;

b. the subdivision or consolidation of land;

c. the development of land situated outside

the area of a scheme;

d. the phasing or cancellation of approved

layout plan; or

e. the alteration, suspension or deletion of

restrictions in relation to land.

The application lodged must be accompanied by:

a. the application form;

b. written motivation by the applicant in

support thereof;

c. proof of registered ownership and a copy

of the diagram, unless the application

relates to a general amendment of the

municipality's scheme;

d. the written consent of the registered

owner of that land, if the applicant is not

the owner thereof, unless the application

relates to a general amendment of a

scheme;

e. in the case of an application for the

subdivision or consolidation of land, or

the development of land situated outside

the area of a scheme, copies of the

layout plan or general plan which may

be required by the municipality; and

f. any other plans, diagrams, documents,

information or fees that the municipality

may require.

Step 2: Records for Receipt of Application and Request for Further InformationThe municipality records the receipt of

application in writing on the day of receipt and

requests any additional information in writing

within the following 28 days.

Step 3: Provision of Additional InformationThe applicant must provide the municipality

with additional information within 90 days or

the agreed period. If the applicant declines in

writing to not submit any information, then the

municipality will proceed to refuse and fi nalise

the application.

Step 4: Confi rmation of Lodging of Complete Application if Additional Information was RequiredThe municipality will notify the applicant

in writing that the application is complete

within 14 days after receipt of the additional

information required. Step 2 will be repeated

if the additional information do not meet the

requirements of the municipality.

Step 5: Giving Public NoticeThe municipality will give public notice of the

application within 14 days of having notifi ed

the applicant that the application is complete.

The date stated in the notice for the lodging of



APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR APPLICANTSApplication

Complete

Give 30 days public notice of application

Comments received

21 days to respond

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Public hearing within 60 days

Public hearing

14 days decide if public hearing required

14 Days to recordapplication, acknowledge

receipt thereof

14 Days to record application,acknowledge receipt thereof

and request further information

90 days or longer period agreed for applicant to submit additional information

14 Days toprepare public notice

7 days to submit comments to applicant

30 days to make decision(consider report andrecommendation byregistered planner)

60 days to make decision(consider report andrecommendation byregistered planner)

14 days to request further info

or acknowledge complete

comments may not be earlier than 30 days after

the date on which the notice was served.

Step 6: Manner of Public NoticeThe municipality displays a notice of specifi c

specifi cation, as well as serving a notice to

interested and affected parties and advertises in

the local newspaper.

Any person who has an interest in any specifi c

matter, may, by agreement with the municipality,

give public notice on behalf of the municipality

Step 7: Petitions and Delivery to Groups Notice is given to the signatory of this/these

groups.

Step 8: Amendments to Application Prior to Approval The applicant can amend the application

prior to approval of the application (either at

the applicants own initiative or at the request

of the municipality. The municipality must

give notice of the amendment to all persons

who commented on the application and give

those persons no less than 14 days to provide

additional comment. A municipality must again

give public notice of the application, if the

amendment affects the application materially.

Step 9: Applicants' Right to ReplyCopies of all comments lodged with a

municipality must be served on the applicant

Diagram 5.2: KwaZulu-Natal


Act Application Procedure for

Applicants.

Source: Draft User’s Manual

on the KwaZulu-Natal


Act 2008.



within 7 days after the closing date for public

comment, together with a notice informing

the applicant of its rights in terms of this item.

The applicant may, within a period of 21 days

from the date of service of the comments

upon it, lodge a written reply thereto with the

municipality and serve a copy thereof on the

person who made comments.

Step 10: Power of Municipality to Conduct Site InspectionA municipality must decide whether to conduct

a site inspection, within 14 days of step 9 above

or expiry of the period for lodging comments.

The municipality must notify the applicant of its

intention to carry out an inspection and agree

on the date and time of the inspection.

Step 11: Public Hearing A municipality must decide whether to conduct

a hearing, within 14 days of step 9 above or

expiry of the period for lodging comments. The

date of the hearing must be set down within

60 days from the commencement of the 14

day period referred to in this item, unless the

applicant consents in writing to a longer period

and all parties must be notifi ed of the hearing

by the municipality.

Step 12: Period for Municipality to make DecisionA municipality must decide on the application

within:

(a) 60 days of the closing date for

representations, if the municipality did not

hold a hearing;

(b) 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing,

if the municipality did hold a hearing; or

(c) such further period as may be agreed to

by the applicant, which period may not be

more than –

(i) 90 days after the closing date for

representations, if the municipality did

not hold a hearing and accompanying

inspection; or

(ii) 90 days after the conclusion of the

hearing and accompanying inspection.

Diagram 5.2 graphically presents the prescribed

PDA land use management application

procedure, as previously discussed.

5.1.1 LUM Application TimeframesThe table below shows the timeframe per step

of the development application process as

legislated by the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and

Development Act No 6 of 2008.

5.1.2 LUM Application Procedure and Timeframe if Additional Information or Hearing is Required

The table below shows the timeframe per step

of the development application process as

legislated by the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and

Development Act No 6 of 2008 in the instance

where additional information or a hearing is

called upon..

Step Number of Days

Application submission of complete document 1 Day 1

Recording of application 14 Day 2-15

Preparation of public notice 14 Day 16-30

Public notice 30 Day 31-61

Submit comments to applicant 7 Day 61-68

Response to comments 21 Day 69-89

Decide if Public hearing is required 14 Day 90-104

Public hearing 60 Day 105-165

Decision 30 Day 165-195

Total time 195 days 28 weeks or 7 months

Table 5.1: Legislated

Timeframe as per PDA

Process.

Source: Email correspondence

with eThekwini planning

professional Ms Cathy

Ferguson.



Step Number of Days

Application submission of complete document 1 Day 1


Applicant prepares additional information 90 Day 28-119

Resubmit 1 Day 120


Preparation of public notice 14 Day 149-164

Public notice 30 Day 164-194

Submit comments to applicant 7 Day 195-202

Response to comments 21 Day 203-224

Decide if Public hearing is required 14 Day 225-239

Public hearing 60 Day 239-299

Decision 30 Day 300-330

Total time 330 days 47 weeks or 11 months

5.1.3 Spatial Planning in eThekwini MMThe fi gure below provides a schematic

representation of the hierarchy of plans that

eThekwini municipality prepares and reviews

on a yearly basis. These plans assist in directing

and guiding development in terms of the overall

strategic planning goals of the municipality

based on development trends and the current

status quo.

Importantly, the fi gure depicts the fl ow from

the long term strategic planning goals through

to the implementable and legally compliant

‘Scheme’ which is revised every 5 years. The

term ‘scheme’ or ‘town planning scheme’ is

important to understand as it is the primary

tool used to manage development within a

municipality. It comprises a set of maps and

associated clauses (development controls)

which guide and manage land use. A scheme

identifi es land uses which are freely permitted,

prohibited and permitted with consent of the

municipality. In addition the development

FPB

FrameworkPlanningBranch

Sector inputs &assesments fromwater, wastewater,electricity, tra�c,environment, economicdevelopment & housing

Interactive or cyclicprocess feeding bothdown & up betweendi�erent level of plans

An e�ective component of theIDP providing direction to thesuccesive IDP’s

Required in terms of theMunicipal Systems Act

Required in terms of Spatial Planning & Land Use Management Bill

SpecialProject Plan as appropiate

Strategic plans gothrough a multi-sector

plan & public processprior to Council approval

Sector inputs &assessments from

water, wastewater, electricty, tra�c,

environment, economicdevelopment & housing

Required in terms of the KZN Planning &Development Act & Spatial Planning & Land Use Management Bill

From a strategiclevel at top with ever increasing levels of detailmoving downwards

Land UseManagementSystem Branch

FPB

FPB

GIPO

Long Term DevelopmentStrategy - 20 yrs +

Integrated Development Plan5 yrs with annual revision

Spatial DevelopmentFramework

Spatial DeveloapmentPlan North

Spatial DeveloapmentPlan South

Spatial DeveloapmentPlan West

Spatial DeveloapmentCentral & Inner West

AgriculturalPlan

FunctionalArea Plan

CorridorPlan

NodalPlan

LocalArea Plan

Rural AreaDevelopment Plan

PrecinctPlan

Scheme (wall - to - wall)ideally revised every 5 yrs

Prepared by John Forbes Associates:September 2012

Diagram 5.3: Schematic

Hierarchy of Plans in

eThekwini.

Source: eThekwini

Municipality, A Developer’s

Guidebook, 2013.

Table 5.2: Legislated

Timeframe as per PDA

Process.

Source: Email correspondence

with eThekwini planning

professional Ms Cathy

Ferguson.



controls defi ned within a scheme include

information such as shape, size and position of

a building, parking requirements, .

5.1.4 Institutional Structure of the eThekwini Municipality Development Planning, Environment and Management UnitIt is imperative to understand eThekwini

Municipality’s Development Planning,

Environment and Management Unit which is

responsible for the processing and receiving of

development applications.

The department is split into three divisions,

namely;

a. Development Planning Department

which is responsible for strategic spatial

planning (Land Use Management,

Framework Planning, Research and

Policy and Information Systems etc.).

The Framework planning division of this

department is responsible for commenting

on signifi cant development applications

received to ensure that they comply with

the high level strategic plans. The Land Use

Management (LUM) division is responsible

for formulating schemes in relation

to Spatial Development Plans, Spatial

Framework Plans and the Integrated

Development plan for the city. The division

is mainly responsible for receiving and

assessing individual planning applications


b. Development Management Department:

comprises four Branches, namely

Development Applications, Building

Inspectorate, Enforcement and Prosecutions

and General Advertising. These branches

are responsible for approving or refusing

building (plan) applications, the inspection

of buildings for which approval has been

granted, prosecution of those acting

unlawfully and the approval or refusal of

advertising and signage.

c. Environmental Planning and Climate

Protection Department responsible for

the impact assessment of development

applications and commenting on

Environmental Impact Assessments

(EIAs) lodged with provincial and

national departments (A Developer’s

Guidebook, 2013).

5.1.5 Land Use Management Application Appeals Process The appeals process follows two procedures;

that is; for special consents the appeal is

referred to the Town Planning Appeals Board (as

legislated by the Town Planning Ordinance) and

all other PDA applications are handled by the

KZN Planning and Development Appeal Tribunal

(as legislated by the KZN PDA) which sits at the

provincial level. If the applicant is dissatisfi ed

with the decision undertaken through the

application process, the applicant must appeal

the matter within 28 days at the Planning and

Development Appeal Tribunal. The process

outlined below is taken from the PDA and

Developer’s Guidebook. The appeals process as

per the PDA is illustrated and discussed below.

Please note that the timeframe is indicative as

there may be delays which deviate from the

original timeframe. access etc. The scheme is

prepared by the Land Use Management Branch.

The package of plans will be affected by the

new SPLUMA regulations

a. Lodge Memorandum of Appeal: within

28 days the applicant must lodge an appeal

memorandum (as per requirements set

out in the PDA) with the tribunal registrar,

municipal manager and all interested and

affected parties.

b. Counter Arguments: counter arguments

lodged after receipt of appeal within a

period of 28 days.

c. Appeal Tribunal Hearing: the Appeal

Tribunal sets a date for a hearing 21 days

after the expiry date for counter arguments

to be lodged. The date for the hearing will

be within 90 days from the date of appeal.

d. Decision: the appeal tribunal makes a

decision within 7 days after the date of

the hearing, compiles reasons within

30 days and advises all interested and

affected parties.



Timeframe:± 127 Days

Incorrect/additionalInformation required

Generic Appeals Process Possible Reasons for Delays

• Applicant to serve memorandum of appeal

• Notify All Parties of Decision

• Counter Arguments

• Appeal Tribunal Hearing

• Decision

5.1.6 Generic eThekwini LUM Application ProcessThe process diagram below sets out the

entire process from the time the application

is lodged to when the fi nal decision is made.

It must be noted that even though the KZN

Planning and Development Act No 6 of 2008

largely repeals the Town Planning Ordinance

No 27 of 1949, special consent applications

are carried out as per the procedure of the

Town Planning Ordinance No 27 of 1949

whereas every other application is carried out

Local authority 14 daysto notify complete

21 days to set hearing from receipt of appealmemorandum. Date not greater

than 90 days.

IAP’s given 14 days to submitadditional commen ts

Local authority does not reacha decision within 90 days of

closure of comments 30 days of hearing or < 90 days if extended

7 Days

28 Days

21 Days

28 Days

28 Days

28 Days

14 Days

14 Days

60 less14 Days

Copied toIAP’s

60 days of closureof comments or

< 90 days if extended

30 Days

7 Days

30 days tocompile reasons

Note: Land use changes& relaxation of scheme

controls consentappliciations controlled in

terms of Town PlanningOrdinance, 1949 and

NOT the KZN Planning & Development Act, 2008

Scheme Amendment, Subdivision & Consolidation.Development Outside of Scheme. Phasing/

Cancellation of Layout Plan, Road/Open SpaceClosure, Removal/Amendment of restrictions

A pre-submission processis alternatively being

followed by the eThekwiniMunicipality which is

substantially the sameas set out in the KZN

PDA but without the settime frames. Followingthe application being

adjudged complete thepublic noti�cation process

commences.

Decision

Complete?

PublicHearing

AmendedApplication

Writtenreply

IAP’s writtencomments

Comments suppliedto applicant

Appeal TribunalHearing

CounterArguments

LodgeApplication

AdditionalInformation

AppealMemorandum

Decision

Site Inspection

Site Inspection

Public Hearing

Public Hearing

Appeal?

Notify all partiesof decision

Notify all partiesof decision

Decision comesinto e�ect

NO

NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Prepared by John Forbes Associates:September 2012


eThekwini Application

Process.

Source: eThekwini

Municipality. 2013.

(A Developer’s Guidebook).

Diagram 5.4: Generic PDA

Appeals Process.



as per the PDA7. While there is a legislated

procedure for development applications

through the PDA, eThekwini Municipality

has aligned their own process to this. This

is in specifi c reference to the pre-application

process which the city encourages in the best

interest of the applicant.

The decision making body for all applications

except for rezoning (or PDA Chapter 2) is

the Head of Development Planning of the

eThekwini Joint Advisory Committee (JAC).

Rezoning involves a full council decision making

structure, EXCO, Town Planning Sub-Committee

and Joint Advisory Committee. Information

for this section was sourced from interviews,

previous research and relevant legislation. The

diagram below shows the application procedure

including a possible hearing and possible appeal

process. The appeals procedure is only followed

if the applicant or interested and affected parties

decide to contend a decision taken. Detailed

step write ups follow in the sections below.

Please note that time frames are indicative and

may vary in certain instances.

The eThekwini application process, while

aligned to the PDA has an initial screening

process before an offi cial application is lodged

as per the PDA. This process in theory allows

for the municipality to meet the legally binding

time lines set out in the PDA. In addition, the

municipality views the pre – application process

as being in the best interest of the applicant to

avoid any possible future delays. The process

diagram and write-up that follows explains a

generic development application procedure in

more detail. The process is an amalgamation

of information emanating from interviews, the

eThekwini publication; A Developers Guidebook

and the KZN PDA.

The timeframe given below is indicative and

may vary according to individual applications..

EThekwiniInternal

Procedure

PDAProcedure195 days

(7 months) -330 days

(11 months)

Request for Additional Information

Applicant may not want to legally submit if notunhappy with step 1

Incorrect advertisement and noti�cation steps

Delay in writtenresponse fromapplicant

Comments sentto incorrecto�ce

Objectionswithoutreasons

Hearing

Di�erent bodies with organisedmeetings - have to wait formeetings to get item on agenda

Lengthy process toget signatures foritem to be on agenda

Backlog andown timeframes

Delay in circulation toexternal and internaldepartmentsStep 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

TIMEFRAME FROM ADVERTISEMENT TO FINALDECISION WITHOUT ADDITIONAL APPEALS ANDHEARING PROCESS:• 60 days• 90 days if a 30 day extension is requested from applicant

Generic Land Use Management Process

Possible Reasons for Possible Delays

• Pre-Application and Circulation

• Legal Submission

• Advertisement

• Comments

• Council decision

• Appeal

• Final Decision

21 days

Diagram 5.6: Generic Land

Use Management Application

Procedure.

7Please note that eThekwini

has varied procedures/sequence

for different applications.

They do however resemble a

similar generic process which is

mapped in this section.



a. Pre-application and Circulation:

applicant consults with municipality where

compliance with the scheme is checked,

advice given on the procedure and other

town planning issues together with the

application form. The applicant submits

a draft application to the municipality

with all necessary documentation. The

application is entered into a register and

a fi le created by the admin assistant.

The application is then assessed by a

planning professional and circulated to the

applicable departments as advised by the

town planner (ETA, Metro Waste Water,

Electricity, Environment, Roads provision,

Telkom etc.). Departments are given 14

days to comment. The comments are

forwarded to the applicant once comments

are received and collated with a 21 day

period to respond. When the response

has been received from the applicant, this

is circulated to relevant departments for

fi nal comment. The applicant is required

to circulate the application to departments

external to the eThekwini Municipality

if advised by the municipality. Please see

Annexure 1 for a list of internal departments

that the respective land use management

applications need to be circulated to.

b. Legal Submission: the municipality

then notifi es th Advertising: when all

the information is captured and the

municipality has confi rmed that the

application is complete, the applicant is to

advertise (within 14 days) the application in

the form of published press releases as per

the municipality requirements e applicant

of the complete application and the fee is

payable. The municipality is responsible for

supplying the applicant with wording for

adverts, site notice and affi davit. It is at this

step that the legal timeframes as per the

PDA are implemented.

c. Advertising: when all the information

is captured and the municipality has

confi rmed that the application is complete,

the applicant is to advertise (within 14 days)

the application in the form of published

press releases as per the municipality

requirements8. The local planner must also

simultaneously send all documents and the

application to COGTA (KZN Department of

Cooperative Governance and Traditional

Affairs) to track if due protocol has been

followed. In addition, the municipality

undertakes a site visit and inspection.

d. Comments: the public and interested and

affected parties (IP&As) are given 30 days to

provide any feedback. These comments are

forwarded to the applicant within 7 days

thereafter and allowed an opportunity to

respond in writing within the next 21days.

The amended application (if amended) and

written reply is then circulated to IP&As

to submit additional comments within 14

days. Please note that the municipality can

decide to hold a public hearing.

e. Council Decision: the application is

evaluated by the planning professional

with all written comments and a

recommendation is made to the Joint

Advisory Committee (JAC) and checked

by the regional coordinator. This is then

taken to the Town Planning sub-committee

where a decision is reached and forwarded

to EXCO for fi nal ratifi cation. This is done

within 60 days if a hearing is not held. If

there is no appeal the applicant is notifi ed

in writing and the Surveyor General

Diagram is endorsed.

f. Appeal: if there is an appeal, the applicant

has a choice to appeal via the Municipal

Systems Act or the KZN Planning and

Development Appeal Tribunal and matters

are referred.

g. Final Approval: a fi nal decision is taken

when the appeals process has run its course

and all parties are notifi ed of the decision.

It is apparent that the procedure, illustrated

in Diagram 5.6, is subject to a number of

variations and therefore different timeframes

are applicable. Reasons for possible delays

during the application procedure include:

• Long processes drive developers away,

• Lengthy referral procedure and lengthy

internal decision making procedures (for

8These include newspapers,

signage with specifi cations. In

addition, neighbours must be

notifi ed.



rezoning for example).

• Request for additional information in the

form of additional research projects to be

undertaken and environmental authorisation

needed through an Environmental Impact

Assessment for example, or the possible

need for Traffi c Impact Assessment etc.

The additional information can be time

consuming depending on the request and

extent of the application/development.

• Circulation to an external body for comments

by applicant may take a long time.

• Dept. of Agriculture – Act 70 of 70 –

determines whether the land has agricultural

potential which takes 6 months to a year

which may cause delays.

• Approval and attainment of a water use

licences.

• Provincial and national legislation impact on

decision making.

• Legal issues and constant change in

legislation.

• Staff capacity.

Importantly, to avoid delays it is strongly advised

that a professional town planner, registered

in accordance with the Planning Professional

Act, who is familiar with the terminology/

requirements complete the application on

behalf of the applicant to avoid or be able to

address potential delays.

N.B. The process for special consent applications

is similar to the above except that potential

appeals are referred to the Town Planning

Appeals Board and there is no pre-application

and screening process.

5.2 Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public Spaces Application Process

With respect to applications relating to the

permanent closure of municipal roads and

public spaces, a different deproclamation

administrative process is followed. Diagram

5.7 and the subsequent write up provides an

indication of the generic deproclamation process

followed in eThekwini Municipality. This process

relates to the closure of road or lane upon

application from the public or recommendation

from the eThekwini Development and Planning

Department. These applications are carried out

by the eThekwini Real Estate Department. The

entire deproclamation process takes between

18 months and 3 years and is incorporated

with the sale of the respective property. The

information presented in this section was taken

from interviews with municipal offi cials9.

a. Application and investigation:

Applications for the closure of road or lane

is referred to the Property Transactions

Department for investigation. The

application together with relevant Surveyor

General diagrams are then circulated to

various internal departments. This process

takes approximately 6 months. Here,

valuation of the respective property is also

requested and is valid for 6 months.

b. Offer to applicant: Once the application

has been cleared, a letter of offer is

prepared and given to the applicant upon

which a R3 000 deposit is requested for

advertising and posters. If the offer is

accepted, a R3 000 deposit is requested for

advertising and posters and the application

is processed.

c. Prepare report to Committee for

consideration: A report is prepared

by the Real Estate Department to be

circulated to 5 different Committees for

consideration. It is circulated amongst

the Real Estates Project Committee, the

Human Settlement Committee, Executive

Committee, the Municipal Council and the

Bid Spec Committee.

9Ravina Sather, Senior Estates

Offi cer, Real Estate Department,

eThekwini Municipality (2015).



d. Statutory notice for abutting property

owners: Once approval by the Committee

has been received, a statutory notice

is prepared in terms of Section 211 of

the Ordinance and a notice is served to

abutting property owners.

e. Advertisement: Copy of notice is given to

the Survey Department for poster display.

Once the statutory notice has expired the

Survey Department is requested to remove

notice boards and furnish a certifi cate of

competition and check with City Secretariat

whether or not objections were received.

f. Comments: If objections were received,

a report is prepared and sent to the Executive

Committee for onward transmission to the

Minister of Local Government, Traditional

Affairs and Minister of Human Settlements.

g. Preparation and completion of

permanent closure of road or lane:

Request Survey Services to note the

permanent closure and request that the

survey be put in hand, as well as pointing

out beacons to the purchaser if necessary.

Instruct conveyancers from the panel to

expunge all references to road reserve from

the Title deed if necessary.

h. Prepare completion certifi cate/LSA:

The Surveyor general does the road closure

which takes approximately 3 months and

provides a road closure certifi cate.

According municipal offi cials, reasons for

possible delays during the deproclamation

application procedure include:

• Clearance from internal departments:

Requests for additional information and

comments given to applicant during

internal circulation within the Real Estate

Department and external circulation with

other departments.

• Indecisiveness of applicant on acceptance

of offer to purchase by the Municipality.


internal decision making procedures

when circulating application amongst the

committees.

• Delay in response from abutting property

owners.

Timeframe18 months -

3 years

Request for Additional information and clearancefrom internal departments

Lengthy process to gain technical clearance

Indecisiveness of applicant on acceptanceof o�er to purchase bythe municipality

Report has to be circulatedamongst 5 committees for consideration

Obtaining HousingClearance Certi�cate

Re advertisement due to amendments of SG Diagram and a delay with technical clearance

Public Objections

Delays due to �nalization of rezoning, updated land plans

Delay in circulation toexternal and internaldepartmentsStep 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Generic Application Process Reasons for Possible Delays

• Prepare report to Committee for consideration

• Statutory notice for abutting property owners

• Preparation and completion of permanent closure of rod or lane

• Prepare completion certificate/LSA

• Offer to applicant

• Application and investigation

• Advertisements

• Comments


Deproclamation Process.



• Possible objections and associated processes.

• If council cannot make a decision the

application is referred to KZN Cooperative

Governance and Traditional Affairs

Department.

• Each committee sits at different times of

month and if one date is too close to the

next, the matter can only be addressed for

consideration the following month. Also,

if a council meeting is postponed, the

department will wait for the next sitting in

the following month for the application to

be considered.

• If the respective piece of land has to

be rezoned, the applicant would need

to go through a land use management

application process before the land is

purchased by the applicant (bare in mind

that closure of public road applications are

combined with sale of that piece of land),

• Negotiations between applicant and local

authority (for example, regarding price of

respective piece of land).

• Expiration of valuation certifi cates which

are valid for six months. Hence if the

application is not fi nalised within 6 months

of valuation, a new valuation certifi cate will

need to be requested by the department in

order to fi nalise the purchase agreement.

• Delays regarding legal processes.

• Lengthy procedures throughout the process.

5.3 Building Plan Application Process

The building plan application process is

undertaken as legislated by the National

Building Regulations and Standards Act No 103

of 1977. The building plan application process

takes place only after a Land Use Management

clearance is obtained. See diagram below for

the two phased process to be followed within

eThekwini Municipality in order to obtain a

building plan approval. Note that the local

authority is responsible for ensuring the required

level of compliance has been achieved before it

can approve a building application. An approved

building plan is a prerequisite to obtaining a

bond to fi nance construction of the respective

structure. It must be noted that in accordance

with law (the Architectural Profession Act)

applications can only be prepared and submitted

by a person registered with the South African

Council for Architectural Profession (SACAP).

5.3.1 Building Plan Application Timeframes The building plan application process is a statutory

one which sets requirements to be fulfi lled and

timeframes within which decision are required.

[ Where the architectural area of the

building is less than 500m² - the local

authority shall grant, or refuse to grant

Step 1) Make an application for consideration in respect of the

relevant Town Planning Scheme to Land Use Management

Branch;

After planning authorisation is obtained -

Step 2) Make a building plan application in respect of

section 4 of Act 103 of 1977 to Development Applications

Branch.

Diagram 5.8: eThekwini

Municipality’s two phased

approach to development

applications.

Source: Building Plan

Requirements, eThekwini

Municipality, 2012.



approval within 30 days after the receipt

of application.

[ Where the architectural area of the

building is greater than 500m² – the

local authority shall grant, or refuse to

grant approval within 60 days after

receipt of application.

[ Where an application is refused, the

reasons are given in writing. The applicant

may within 12 months of the application

being refused resubmit the application

‘anew’ with no additional costs, subject

to the necessary amendments having

being made.

5.3.2 Building Plan Application Procedures The diagram and write up below provides an

indication of the generic building plan process

followed in eThekwini Metro. The information

presented in this section was taken from

interviews with municipal offi cials10.

EThekwiniInternal

Procedure -up to 30

days

NBR&BS Act- 30-60 days

Delay in obtainingplanning approval

Planning authorizations based upon conditionalrequirements not being resolved prior to making abuilding plan application

Application non-compliant

Public Objections

Requirements of Heritageand Environment legislationnot being addressedLUM

Application

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Generic Building Plan Application Process Reasons for Possible Delays

• Land Use Management Planning Application Process

• Building Plan Application Lodged

• Building Inspection and Issue Occupancy Certificate

• Administration and Collection • Refusal Process

• Plan Examination

• Approval Process

a. LUMS Authorisation: the application is

submitted to the Land Use Management

Branch to ensure that all planning and land

related issues (scheme provisions in terms

of zoning controls etc.) are clear before

submission of a building application. This

will warrant planning authorisation before

the next step of making an application to

the building plan division (Development

Applications Branch). This process is given

a 30 day period but usually takes between

10 -14 days.

b. Building Plan Application Lodged: the

application is lodged at the Development

Applications Branch where the application

is considered. A fee is also payable on

application and a fi le is created. During

this step the Submission and Assessment

Assistants undertake a cursory check on

the application to ensure basic that the

minimum requirements for submission

have been met. Once the application is

accepted for submission, the relevant

data is captured onto the tracking system


Building Plan Application and

Approval Process.

10Richard Holgate, Marcel Keuter

and Bazil Tigere..



and the application is forwarded to

the assessment section. The 30/60 day

timeframes are measured from this point.

c. Plan Examination: the assessment

offi cer circulates the plans to a number of

departments including Fire, Wastewater,

Coastal and Drainage, Health, Traffi c and

Transportation (ETA) and other relevant

departments for input as regards their

requirements and clearance.

d. Approval Process: the assessment

offi cer (Building Control Offi cer), taking

into account the input received from

other departments then examines the

application for compliance with the Act

and any other applicable laws and makes

a recommendation to approve or refuse

application. As required in terms of the

Act the Team Leader (on behalf of the

local authority), having considered the

recommendation makes the fi nal decision

and either refuses to grant, or grants

approval. It must be noted that the Act

requires that in order for the local authority

to approve an application, it must be

“satisfi ed” that the application complies

with the Act and any other applicable law.

e. Administration and Collection: If the

application is approved, the applicant is

contacted to collect a copy of the plan with

an approval stamp and associated letter.

Approved applications are forwarded

to Archives and Building Inspectorate

accordingly. Once approval has been given,

the applicant can begin to build and the

Building Inspector must be contacted by

the applicant to inspect progress.

f. Building Inspection and Issue Occupancy

Certifi cate: Upon completion the applicant

is issued with a certifi cate of occupancy

confi rming that the building has been built

in accordance with approved plans.

g. Refusal Process: Should it be found that

an application does not comply with Act

or any other applicable laws (these may

include planning, environmental or any

other legislation) the assessment offi cer

(Building Control Offi cer) has no alternative

but to recommend that the application be

refused. Should the team leader, on behalf

of the local authority, refuse the application,

the applicant would be notifi ed, in writing,

of the decision and the reasons for the

application being refused. As provided for

in the Act the applicant, having amended,

corrected or modifi ed the application as

required, may resubmit the application

anew at no additional cost in order that it

be reconsidered.

Delays11:

According to information received from municipal

offi cials, perceived delays (associated with, but

outside the control of the local authority) are

generally associated with the following:

• Non-compliance by applicant: As onus is

on the applicant to achieve compliance and

to "satisfy" the local authority accordingly,

all of the necessary investigations prior

to making an application need to take

place to ensure that all applicable laws

have been satisfi ed. Such other legislation

generally has a direct b earing on whether

development is possible or not. A key delay

of noncompliance indicates that certain

requirements have not been met for

example; any zoning issues, traffi c studies,

environmental impact assessments, etc.

that have not been concluded.

• Zoning/restrictive conditions / scheme

control may hamper obtaining a planning

authorisation.

• Requirements of Heritage and Environment

legislation not being addressed.

• Limited knowledge/understanding of some

professionals in terms of the statutory

requirements to satisfy the NBR&BS and

associated SABS codes or rational design.

• Limited knowledge/understanding of

some professionals in respect of their

responsibility to achieve compliance in the

design of buildings.

• Planning authorizations based upon

conditional requirements not being resolved

prior to making a building plan application.

Non-resolution of conditional requirements

means a building plan application cannot

be considered favourably, if at all.

11According to Municipal offi cials;

in respect of the building plan

application and statutory process

eThekwini Municipality currently

fulfi ls its obligation to make

decisions (with reasons) within the

timeframes required. Thus no delays

exist within the process.



5.3.3 Building Plan Applications Appeal ProcessThe review of the decision to approve a building

application may only be made by application to

the high court. Any person who is aggrieved

by the refusal of the local authority to approve

a building application or who disputes the

interpretation of a national building regulation

or by-law may appeal to the Review Board in

terms of section 9 of the National Building

Regulations and Building Standards Act No 103

of 1977.

5.4 Conclusion

It is apparent that after review that each land

development processes, pertaining to LUM,

permanent closure of municipal roads and public

spaces, and building plan applications have the

potential to experience numerous delays. This

can be attributed to the many actions that need

to be taken, as well as the numerous parties

that are involved throughout the processes. It

is thus diffi cult to coordinate these procedures

effi ciently and a well-structured process with

precise protocols is therefore required.

SECTION SIX: APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION BENCHMARKS AND TRACKINGAPPLICATION ADMINISTRATION BENCHMARKS AND TRACKING

This section offers the application administration benchmark measurements to serve as

background to the subsequent municipal and private sector application tracking case

studies. The application administration benchmarks and tracking analyses consists of three

parts, namely:

[ Overall Municipal Application Benchmark

Statistics

[ Municipal Application Tracking Case

Studies

[ Private Sector Application Tracking Case

Studies

The administration benchmarks highlight the

application processing effi ciency of eThekwini

Municipality in terms of the fi nalisation of

building plan and land use applications. This

enables the study to determine if there are

any overall shortcoming in terms of adhering

to relevant timeframes. For the purpose of this

investigation, a three-year analysis period was

utilised from 2012 to 2015.

Application case studies from both the public

and private sectors were investigated in order

to more specifi cally determine what the delay

factors are and how they infl uence the overall

adherence to timeframes.

6.1 Municipal Application Benchmark Statistics12

6.1.1 Building Plan Application BenchmarksFigure 6-1 illustrates the fi nalisation effi ciency

ratio13 pertaining to all the building plan

applications received within the analysis period

by presenting the total number of plans fi nalised

within the legislated timeframe as a function of

the total number of relevant building plans.

The fi nalisation effi ciency ratio clearly improved

over the analysis period with 100%14 of all

building plan applications fi nalised in-time from

the fi rst quarter of 2014 to the fi rst quarter

of 2015. Note that the numbers for Q1 2015

are low as the information is only available for

the month of January 2015. This indicates that

the recent number of in-time fi nalisations per

quarter have increased faster than the increase

noted in the total number of fi nalisations. This

indicates an improvement in the municipal

administration profi ciency with the most recent

periods (2014 and 2015 Q1) recording an

effi ciency ratio of 100% which has improved

from an average of 97% in time building plan

applications in 2013.

12Please note that all the fi ndings

stipulated in this effi ciency analysis

were derived from information

provided by the Development

Management Department of

EThekwini Municipality. The

analysis is reliant on the data

made available by the public sector

and the presentation of such data

is infl uenced by the form in which

it was captured by the relevant

department.

13 The effi ciency ratio displayed

relates to the total number of

in-time fi nalised building plan

applications according to the

building plan.

14 Meeting 100% target is linked

to each Development Applications

staff member’s performance

contract with the municipality.

This is to ensure that one of the

focus areas is achieving a quality

decision on each application,

within legislated timeframe (that

is, within 30 days for applications

less than 500m2 and within

60 days for applications larger

than 500m2. The Development

Application and Assessment

Branch aims to not distinguish

between the two and endeavours

where possible to process all

the applications within a 30 day

period.



The eThekwini MM records high in-time

fi nalisation ratios relating to building plan

application administration. It is important

to note that although the municipality

maintains a high effi ciency benchmark in

terms of in-time fi nalisations, un-fi nalised

building plan applications are noted within

the analysis sample. Un-fi nalised building

plan applications refer to applications

submitted but not yet fi nalised. Building

plan applications of this nature may still be

in the process of being administered.

The fi gure below presents the total number

of fi nalisations recorded during the analysis

period in relation to the total number of plans

submitted in this time, which in conjunction

provide a snapshot of workfl ow. The number

of applications received for that month is

however isolated from the number of fi nalised

applications, for example; fi nalised could be

applications from as far back as 2 or more months

earlier (60 days) in the case of applications

greater than 500m2. According to municipal

offi cials, the fi gures would also differ slightly as

a result of applications being withdrawn by the

applicant during the assessment period. During

2013 the branch adopted a turn-around strategy

to ensure that applications we processed within

statutory periods hence the relative increase in

the number of plans submitted and processed15.

The city received a total of 43 337 building plan

applications from the fi rst quarter of 2012 to

the fi rst quarter of 2015 of which 44 323 were

fi nalised. The higher number of fi nalisations

indicates that the municipality has increased

effi ciency to address pending applications from

a backlog before the turn-around strategy was

implemented in 2013.

88% 95% 91% 95% 96% 97% 97% 96% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

3 466 3 376 3 556 3 534 3 317 3 489 3 577

4 137

3 274 3 722

4 073 3 868

934

3 062 3 199 3 219 3 365 3 191 3 392 3 456

3 984

3 274 3 722

4 073 3 868

934

82% 84% 86% 88% 90% 92% 94% 96% 98% 100% 102%

-

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

4 000

4 500

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1

2012 2013 2014 2015

Perc

enta

ge F

inal

ised

In-T

ime

Num

ber o

f Bui

ldin

g Pl

ans

Period

E ciency Ratio Finalised Finalised In - Time

43 337 44 323 42 795

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

Applications Submitted Applications Finalised Average Number of Applications Finalised In-Time

Num

ber f

o A

pplic

atio

ns

Figure 6-2: Total Building Plan

Submission versus Finalisation

2012-2015.

Source: eThekwini

Municipality Development

Applications Branch and

Urban-Econ Survey and

Calculations, 2015.

15 Information taken from

electronic communication with

the Development Applications

Branch Manager.

Figure 6-1: Building Plan

Finalisation Effi ciency.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



The turn-around strategy refers to a statistical

reporting system that was formulated and

implemented in order to regulate performance.

In essence it is a monitoring tool that is linked

to the performance of individual municipal

employees, guides the building plans

department, enabling it to achieve 100% turn-

around times. The fact that the department is

able to address a historic backlog, along with

100% of ongoing submissions, is an indication

that the implementation of turn-around strategy

is working. In addition, 96.5% of applications

fi nalised are fi nalised in-time on average over

the 3 year period.

6.1.2 Land Use Management Application BenchmarkThe fi gure below provides the number of Land

Use Management (LUM) Applications received

by eThekwini Municipality and number of LUM

applications dealt with. Dealt with indicates

applications that has either been approved or

referred/refused16.

It is evident from Figure 6-3 that the difference

between annual number of applications received

and the annual number of application dealt with

is increasing each year within the study period.

This is concerning as it suggests that the burden

of processing LUM applications is ever increasing,

while the burden is not addressed in subsequent

years. Figure 6-4 presents the total number of

fi nalisations recorded during the analysis period

in relation to the total number of plans submitted

in the same period of time.

The MM received a total of 31 186 LUM

applications from the fi rst quarter of 2012 to

the fi rst quarter of 2015 of which 25 668 were

fi nalised. This relates to a remainder of 5 518 un-

fi nalised LUM applications (18% of all submissions

31 186

25 668

-

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

Applications Submitted Applications Finalised

7 314 9 024 8 424 906

8 875

10 720 10 177

1 414

-

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000

12 000

2012 2013 2014 2015

Applications dealt with

Applications received

Figure 6-4: Total Land Use

Management Application

Submissions versus

Finalisation, 2012-2015.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.

Figure 6-3: Land Use

Management Applications

Received and Processed,

2012-2015.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.

16 Please note that for now

eThekwini Municipality is unable

to generate the number of

applications dealt with within

prescribed timeframe, however

the municipality is looking into

redesigning the database to

provide that information.



between 2012 and 2015). Un-fi nalised LUM

applications refer to applications submitted but

not yet fi nalised. It must be understood that a

portion of the un-fi nalised applications are still

within their legislated timeframe for approval

or that the applications are undergoing delays

for various reasons (see Section 6.2.5). It is

anticipated that the continuous increase of the

annual surplus or remainder of LUM applications

will ultimately increase the future burden of the

MM and capacity will become exponentially

more constrained.

6.1.3 ConclusionThe eThekwini Municipality processed almost

44 500 building plan applications and 25 700

LUM applications from the fi rst quarter of 2012

to the fi rst quarter of 2015. The municipality

maintains high administration profi ciency rates

for building plans on an average of almost 97%

on average. While the fi nalisation period was

available for building plans benchmark statistics,

this is currently not available for land use

management applications. The municipality is in

the process of designing a database to provide

that information. It is anticipated that due to

the municipality’s lacking monitoring process or

database relating to LUM applications, it is less

aware of latent problems concerning application

processing backlogs.

6.2 Municipal Application Tracking Case Study

The municipal application tracking case

study provides a collection of fi ndings

pertaining to administration effi ciency of

eThekwini Municipality by analysing a sample

of development applications of high value

commercial property. It must be noted that

where examples of commercial property could

not be provided, other land use applications

were used.

6.2.1 Purpose and Approach The purpose of the application tracking case

study is to investigate the timeframe taken

to make a decision for relevant high value

applications in order to identify potential

delays in application processing. The municipal

tracking case study will ultimately determine

and interpret the administration profi ciency of

eThekwini Municipality.

For the purpose of this assessment, all building

plans and LUM applications for developments

above R5 million in value were requested

from the Metro and analysed accordingly. The

actual timeframes achieved to conclude the

applications are compared to the timeframes as

prescribed by provincial and national legislation.

The case study tracking campaign is concluded

with a brief overview of the factors potentially

infl uencing the administration tempo of the

municipality.

6.2.2 Case Study Summary

The case study sample consists of 104 entries in

total of which 50 are building plan applications

and 54 Land Use Management applications. All

applications analysed were fi nalised by the time

of the analysis. No ongoing applications were

included in the case study.

6.2.3 Key limitations Key limitations to the municipal application

tracking case study include the following:

• Delay in obtaining information for

LUM applications coupled with lengthy

processes in gathering of data.

• Delay in receiving benchmark statistics

for LUM applications and associated

lack of information regarding processing

timeframes.

• Limited application fi les available for the

past fi ve years within the time period for

large scale commercial property.

• Large scale developments on-going have

already been through the application

process prior PDA promulgation and are

stored in archives. Presently, most of the

large scale developments taking place

within the northern eThekwini have

completed the LUM application stage of

the development process and are currently

commencing with the building plan

application processes.

• Lack of response from KZN Appeals



hence no additional information has been

sourced.

• Lack of information for all applications in

terms of advertising dates.

• Incorrect statistics database provided by

building plans, resulting in work being

revised.

6.2.4 Building Plan Application Case StudiesFigure 6-5 presents the processing time per

building plan application in relation to the

maximum prescribed municipal timeframe (60

days) of the total building plan sample. The

fi gure also shows the average processing time

of the total sample and the average number

of times an application has been resubmitted

following refusal. Once an application is deemed

refused, it is lodged as a new application.

However for purposes of this study, the refusals

and resubmissions of the same application fi le

will be treated as one application. Refusal of

resubmissions is largely due to applicants not

fully addressing comments from initial refusals.

The building plan case study highlights that the

median processing timeframe for the building

plans case study sample is approximately 187

days. This is 128 days over the prescribed

maximum timeframe of 60 days. It should

be noted that the 187 day median timeframe

includes the time it takes for an applicant to

achieve compliance, which takes into account

the number of times an application has been

resubmitted for consideration. It is important to

note that each time an application is resubmitted

it is regarded as a new submission and the 187

day median cannot be directly compared to

the 60 day timeframe prescribed by law. This

assessment was conducted in order to illustrate

that although individual applications (including

resubmitted applications that are regarded as

new applications) don’t necessarily exceed the

60 day lawfully prescribed timeframe, repeated

resubmissions are detrimental to development

progression.

As shown the average number of resubmission

per application is 2 times. As indicated by the

individual applications of the case study sample,

some applications can be resubmitted up to 6

times depending on level of compliance. Only

24% of building plan applications have been

fi nalised within the prescribed timeframe. While

multiple resubmissions is the main reasons for

longer timeframes, it is imperative to understand

reasons for the need for resubmission which will

be discussed further in this section.

While the fi gure below provides the time in

days from date submitted to the date that the

application was approved, the fi gure below

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49

2011 2012 2013 2014

Aver

age

Num

ber o

f Res

ubm

issi

ons

per A

pplic

atio

n

Day

s to

Pro

cess

Building Plan Application

Time in days from date submitted to date approved Processing Time Median Maximum Time Frame

Figure 6-5: Building Plan

Processing Timeframes.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



indicates the time in days from the date of fi nal

resubmission to the local authority to the date

the application was approved. The resubmission

before approval is the fi nal submission with

all comments addressed and should therefore

not be a lengthy process. Given that each

resubmission is deemed a new application, this

comparison provides the average processing

timeframe for resubmitted applications in the

case study sample. The fi nal resubmission date

was only available for 30 sample applications

which were used for this analysis. The average

number of days taken to process applications

from the fi nal date of resubmission to fi nal

date of approval is 14 days. 100% of fi nal

resubmission of applications was undertaken

within the maximum prescribed timeframe. This

high level of effi ciency could also be linked to

the turnaround strategy adopted by the branch

mentioned above.

Figure 6-7 indicates the reasons for delays

regarding prolonged timeframes. This data

was captured from responses of the case study

sample provided by eThekwini Municipality

Development Applications Branch. Clearly, non-

compliance of standards mostly hinders the

administration process where the local authority

has to put forward amendment requests to the

applicant with 84% of applications displaying

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess

Building Plan Application

Time in days from last sebsequent resubmission to date approved

Processing Time Median

Maximum Time Frame

84%

20% 22%

2% 4% 8% 8%

2% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% 2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Non

-com

plia

nce

of s

tand

ards

Requ

est f

or a

dditi

onal

info

rmat

ion

Com

men

ts fr

om in

tern

al/e

xter

nal

depa

rtm

ents

out

stan

ding

Inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n pr

ovid

ed b

y ap

plic

ant

Am

endm

ent t

o or

igin

al d

esig

ns

Pers

on p

repa

ring

appl

icat

ion

did

not m

eet m

inim

um re

quire

men

ts

lack

of c

lear

ance

from

pla

nnin

g ap

plic

atio

n pr

oces

ses

(no

EIA

, TIA

et

c. s

ubje

ct to

con

ditio

nal

Com

plex

Lan

d is

sues

(e

xpro

pria

tion

etc.

Mun

icip

ality

took

long

to a

ddre

ss

appl

icat

ion

App

lican

t del

ayed

in p

aym

ent o

f le

vy

Land

Leg

al Is

sues

App

lican

t lef

t to

laps

e by

app

lican

t

App

licat

ion

wen

t on

App

eal

App

lican

t bui

lt w

ithou

t au

thor

isat

ion

Figure 6-7: Reasons for

Delays and Refusals within

the Building Plan

Application Process.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.

Figure 6-6: Building Plan Final

Resubmission Processing

Timeframe.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



this challenge. This is followed by 22% of

application refusals emanating from lack of

clearance from internal/external departments or

departments taking too long to respond. This is

followed by 20% of application delays/refusals

due to requests for additional information.

Other delays or reasons for refusals are due to

lack of requirements of professionals preparing

applications as well as the lack of clearance from

the step 1 planning application phase.

It is apparent from Figure 6-7 that the main

reason for delays relates to the non-compliance

of set standards. It is suggested that by providing

the private sector with better guidance, by

means of easy to understand templates and/

or checklists of requirements, this delay factor

could greatly be alleviated.

ConclusionIn the analysis of the timeframes related to

the case study sample, it is noted that the

average time taken per application with

multiple resubmissions is 187 days. However,

looking at processing timeframes from the last

time an applicant resubmits the application

to the municipality, the average timeframe

for processing applications is 14 days. These

fi gures indicate that 24% of applications within

the sample have been fi nalised in-time taking

into consideration resubmissions and 100% of

applications have been fi nalised in-time from

date of last resubmission to date of approval,

thus indicating that the MM is maintaining the

timeframes as stipulated by legislation.

Importantly, each application resubmission is

treated as a new application and therefore

the respective application or resubmission is to

be processed within the legislated timeframe

prescribed. This makes it diffi cult to track

building plan applications in real time. It is

however important to note that resubmissions

of applications have an adverse effect on

development in general.

Key delays factors resulting in refusals where the

applicant has a choice to resubmit, are largely

due to non-compliance of standards, lack of

clearance from internal or external departments

(delays in commenting) and requests for

addition information.

6.2.5 Land Use Management Application Case StudiesThe fi gure below presents the processing time

per land use management application in relation

to the maximum prescribed municipal timeframe

of the total land use management sample.

As shown the processing time median across

the sample is approximately 253 days which

is approximately 11 months including the pre-

submission process. The fi gure shows the time

in days from date of initial submission of an

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49

2009

20

10

2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess

Land Use Management Application

Time from date of application submitted to date of nal approval (days)


Maximum Timeframe (with public hearing)


Management Planning

Application Processing

Timeframes.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



application by an applicant to the municipality

to fi nal date of the decision taken. 20% of

applications within the case study sample

extend past the maximum legislated timeframe.

The maximum timeframe including appeals,

public hearing etc. is 330 days.

Keep in mind that eThekwini Municipality Land

Use Management branch only starts counting

from date of legal submission which is made

when the municipality is satisfi ed that the

application is complete. It is only then that the

applicant submits payment and can advertise.

This is the step at which the legislated timeframe

of 60 – 90 days (a 30 day extension can be

requested by the local authority to reach 90

days) begins. Hence, the following fi gure shows

the date of advertisement to date of approval to

get a better understanding of timeframes. The

data presented in the fi gure below includes only

the sample of the case study which consisted of

the date of advertisement provided.

The processing time median from date of

advertisement to date of approval is 122 days,

± 30 days more than the maximum legislated

timeframe prescribed. 55% of the case study

sample of applications falls within the 60 – 90

day timeframe. Delays are discussed in Figure

6-11. It should be noted that the total sample

size relating to the post advertisement period is

less, as the eThekwini Central Region did not

provide data on advertisement dates.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess


Time from date of advertisement to date of nal approval (days)


Maximum Timeframe

174

45

259

3 30

103

64

48

97

463

378

424

293

172

173

101

251

103

74

164

83

142

105

36

1060

63

38

18

2 91

37

69

3 76

17

8 11

7 58

97

11

36

9 34

46

293 13

0 26

9 17

7 52

77

182 16

5 22

5 15

4 74

36

49

48

11

9 14

7 60

50

59

156

695

45

91

73

26

86

187

15 96

120

94 10

4 46

60

53 91

15

9 19

6 62

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess


Pre-Advertisement Period Time from date of advertisement to date of nal approval (days)

Figure 6-10: Comparison of

the Processing Timeframes

from Submission and

Advertisement to Date of

Final Approval.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.


Management Planning


Timeframes from Date of

Advertisement.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



Figure 6-10 provides a snapshot of the case study

sample showing time in days taken for each of

the sample applications broken down into the

pre-submission/pre-advertisement period and

the time in days from advertisement to fi nal

approval. The fi gure only includes application

where the advertisement date was provided.

This breakdown provides an indication of where

the delays lay.

It is apparent from Figure 6-10 that 55% of

applications experienced longer timeframes at

the pre-submission phase. However, as soon

as applications enter the post advertisement

phase of the administration process 47.5%

of applications exceed the maximum

allocated timeframe of 90 days, while 25%

of applications exceed the maximum overall

timeframe of 330 days.

Figure 6-11 indicates reasons for delays

documented from the case study sample. 55% of

applications recorded delays due to requests for

additional information from the applicant. This

was followed by 35% of applications receiving

comments from internal departments which

went back to applicants to be addressed. 41%

of delays were caused by a delay from internal

and external departments in responding to the

applications as well as circulation of applications

and hence clearance was not obtained

timeously. 10% of applications recorded delays

as a result of objections to applications. Another

delay documented is that in certain instances the

dates of the committee meetings for decision

making bodies are too close. For example, if a

committee meets only once a month and if this

date is for some reason too close to a preceding

committee meeting where the application is to

be considered, then the department will have to

wait for the next meeting to table the item for

consideration for approval.

10%

19%

10%

3%

3%

55%

6%

35%

6%

3%

3%

16%

6%

16%

3%

6%

3%

3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Application not complete in terms of the basic requirements

Comments from internal departments received late

Application recirculated to relevant departments

Council recess

Closure of advertising period

Additional information requested

Appeal

Comments from internal department to be addressed by applicant

Internal delay with circulation

Applicant took long to advertise

EXCO sitting was missed for the month

Objections received

Applicant took long to respond to comments

Delay in comments from external departments

Amendment to wording

Site inspection

Condition imposed by council

Public hearing


Management Applications

Affected by Delay Factors.

Source: eThekwini




Calculations, 2015.



Conclusion

80% of applications submitted are fi nalised

in-time, that is, within the 330 day maximum

legislated timeframe. It must be noted that the

minimum timeframe for PDA applications is 195

days. The average timeframe for processing

applications is 253 days per application which

is less than the minimum legislated timeframe

for processing applications. Within eThekwini

Municipality, due to the pre-application process

not following a formal legislated timeframe, the

municipality starts counting the legal timeframe

when an application is deemed complete. It is

only when an application is deemed complete

that the applicant can advertise their intentions.

This is when the payment for processing of the

application is taken from the municipality. It is for

this reason that the time period from the date

of advertisement for the sample applications to

the date of approval is presented. The results

show that processing time is less than the

maximum prescribed timeframe of 90 days.

The minimum timeframe is 60 days. Delays in

processing are mainly related to the request for

additional information and delayed comments

from internal and external departments hence

affecting clearance of the application from

respective departments circulated to. In addition

the information above shows a distinction

between the pre-submission phase and the

phase after advertising. It is evident that the

pre-submission phase, on average, takes longer

than the time taken to process the application

within legal timeframes.

6.2.6 Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public Open Space (Deproclamation and Sale of land)Applications relating to this LUM application

type are less common and few application

case studies were therefore made available.

For purposes of this analysis, a sample of only

4 applications could be obtained from the

municipality and viewed, of which 2 applications

are still in progress. While there is no legislated

timeframe for this application, the internal

procedures indicate that the indicative timeframe

is 18 months to 3 years. The fi gure below

presents the processing time per application in

relation to the maximum prescribed municipal

timeframe of the total sample. The fi gure

indicates that the processing time median is

approximately 1 130 days (4.3 years). Reasons

for this include that the deproclamation of land

as the municipality refers to it is combined with

the sale of the land. If land is to be sent through

to gain land use clearance, this may involve

undertaking for example a rezoning application

and the purchase agreement and sale can

only be fi nalised thereafter. The fi gure below

indicates that 2 of the 4 applications are over

the processing time median of 1 130 days and

maximum timeframe of 750 days..

Other delays documented include;

• Clearance from internal departments:

Requests for additional information and

comments given to applicant during

internal circulation within the Real Estate

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1 2 3 4

Tim

e in

Day

s

Application

Time from date of application submitted to date of nal approval (days)


Maximum Timeframe (with public hearing)

Figure 6-12: Processing Time

frames.



Department and external circulation with

other departments.

• Indecisiveness of applicant on acceptance

of offer to purchase by the Municipality.


internal decision making procedures

when circulating application amongst the

committees.

• Delay in response from abutting property

owners.

• Possible objections and associated

processes.

• If council cannot make a decision the

application is referred to KZN Cooperative

Governance and Traditional Affairs

Department.

• Each committee sits at different times of

the month and if one date is too close to

the next, the matter can only be addressed

for consideration the following month.

Also, if a council meeting is postponed, the

department will wait for the next sitting in

the following month for the application to

be considered.

• If the respective piece of land has to

be rezoned, the applicant would need

to go through a land use management

application process before the land is

purchased by the applicant (bare in mind

that closure of public road applications are

combined with sale of that piece of land),

• Negotiations between applicant and local

authority (for example, regarding price of

respective piece of land).

• Expiration of valuation certifi cates which

are valid for six months. Hence if the

application is not fi nalised within 6 months

of valuation, a new valuation certifi cate will

need to be requested by the department in

order to fi nalise the purchase agreement.

• Delays regarding legal processes.

• Lengthy procedures throughout the

process.

ConclusionTimeframes for deproclamation of land (closure

of public roads and public open space) indicate

that 50% of the sample was done within 3

years. It must be noted that this includes sale

of property.

6.2.7 Comparison of Timeframes per LUM Application TypeThe table below provides a comparison of

timeframes per type of land use management

application. It is clear that from the mainstream

planning applications that, Chapter 2 PDA

applications for Scheme amendment and

rezoning take the longest to fi nalise. This is

followed by PDA Chapter 3 applications for

Townships, subdivision and consolidation of

land. Permanent closure of municipal roads and

public open space, administered by the Real

Estate Department and seen as separate to the

land use management applications lodged at

the town planning branch takes the longest to

fi nalise. As this application is not administered

in terms of the PDA within eThekwini, it follows

different timeframes and processes as described

in pervious sections.

Sche

me

Ado

ptio

n,

Repl

acem

ent

or A

men

dmen

t:

Rezo

ning

Tow

nshi

ps,

Subd

ivis

ion

and

Cons

olid

atio

n

of L

and

Spec

ial a

nd

writ

ten

cons

ent

Alte

ratio

ns,

Susp

ensi

on

and

Del

etio

n

of R

estr

ictio

ns

Rela

ted

to

Land

Perm

anen

t

Clos

ure

of

Mun

icip

al

Road

s an

d

Publ

ic P

lace

s

Average Time from

date of application

submitted to date of

fi nal approval (days)

271 286 226 160 1 130

Average Time from

date of advertisement

to date of fi nal

approval (days)

146 106 108 - 507

Table 6.1: Comparison

of Timeframes per LUM

Application Type.



6.3 Private Sector Application Tracking Case Study

The private application tracking case study

benchmarks the municipal performance

according to actual land use management

submissions to eThekwini Municipality. This

case study follows the municipal comparative in

order to present the experience of the private

sector in terms of applications submitted to the

respective regulatory entities.

Purpose and Approach The purpose of the application tracking case

study is to investigate the potential delays in

LUM application processing from a private

sector perspective. The case study summarises

the relevant development processes, in terms of

application submissions, to ultimately determine

and interpret the administration profi ciency

of the governing entities as experienced by

the private sector. The actual timeframes

achieved to conclude the applications are

compared to the timeframes as prescribed

by provincial legislation. Factors infl uencing

the administration tempo will be investigated

accordingly.

The application case study sample pertain

to 33 individual developments. Because the

types of applications that are processed vary,

applications were grouped according to type.

This ensures that different application types can

be compared, as well as enabling the analysis

of various types of applications in isolation. The

types of applications analysed can be listed as

follows:

[ Scheme Adoption, Replacement or

Amendment: Rezoning

[ Townships, Subdivision and Consolidation

of Land

[ Special and Written Consent

[ Development of Land Outside Area of

Scheme

[ Alterations, Suspension and Deletion of

Restrictions Related to Land

[ Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads

and Public Places

[ Site Development Plan Approval

Some of the 33 developments in the case

study relate to more than one application type,

which means that the applications associated

with some of the developments were used

more than once as part of the analysis. The

total number of applications therefore used for

the case study analysis, when differentiating

between application types, equates to a sample

of 46 applications.

Case Study Summary The respondent sample consists of 46

applications relating to 33 developments. The

breakdown of applications is shown on the

fi gure below. The majority of applications

were PDA Chapter 2 applications (Scheme

Amendments, rezoning), PDA Chapter 3

43%

22%

20%

4%

7% 2% 2%

Scheme Adoption, Replacement or Amendment: Rezoning

Townships, Subdivision and Consolidation of Land

Special and Written Consent

Development of Land Outside Area of Scheme

Alterations, Suspension and Deletion of Restrictions Related to Land

Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public Places

Site Development Plan Approval

Figure 6-13: Respondent

Sample Application Type

Breakdown.



applications (Townships, Subdivision and

Consolidation of Land) and Special and Written

Consent.

Key Limitations Key limitations to the private sector application

tracking case study include the lack of willingness

to complete the survey by consultants within

respective timeframes resulting in a small sample

size. It should be noted that a very limited

timeframe was applicable in which it was tough

to ensure a high level of participation from the

private sector. In addition, with the application

sample of 33 developments and the related 46

applications, information regarding delays was

only provided for a few applications. There is

however enough application case studies to be

able to observe a trend.

6.3.1 Land Use Management Application AnalysisThe fi gure below presents the processing time

per analysed land use management application

in relation to the maximum prescribed

municipal timeframe of the total land use

management sample.

As shown the processing time median across

the sample is approximately 232 days, which is

approximately 10.6 months including the pre-

submission process. The fi gure shows the time

in days from date of initial submission of an

application by an applicant to the municipality

to fi nal date of the decision taken. Only 21%

of applications within the case study sample

extend past the maximum legislated timeframe.

The maximum timeframe including appeals,

public hearing etc. is 330 days. It should

be noted that the majority of application

presenting delays fall within the 2012 and

2013 period, with a noticeable improvement

being apparent since 2014.

Keep in mind that eThekwini Municipality Land

Use Management branch only starts counting

from date of legal submission, which is made

when the municipality is satisfi ed that the

application is complete. It is only then that the

applicant submits payment and can advertise.

This is the step at which the legislated

timeframe of 60 – 90 days (a 30 day extension

can be requested by the local authority to

reach 90 days) begins. Hence, the following

fi gure shows the date of advertisement to

date of approval to get a better understanding

of timeframes. The data presented in the

fi gure below includes only the sample of the

case study which consisted of the date of

advertisement provided.

The processing time median from date of

advertisement to date of approval is 136 days,

46 days greater than the maximum legislated

timeframe prescribed. Only 51.85% of the case

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess


Time from date submitted to date approved


Maximum Timeframe

Figure 6-14: Private Sector


Timeframes.



study sample of applications falls within the

maximum 90 day timeframe. It is also noticeable

that as soon as an application does exceed the

maximum 90 day period, on average it exceeds

it by a signifi cant margin. Once again it should

be noted that the majority of application

presenting delays fall within the 2012 and 2013

period, with a noticeable improvement being

apparent since 2014.

The Figure 6-16 provides a snapshot of the

private sector case study sample showing time

in days taken for each of the sample applications

broken down into the pre-submission/pre-

advertisement period and the time in days from

advertisement to fi nal approval.

The fi gure only includes application where the

advertisement date was provided.

It is apparent that only 12.5% of applications

experienced longer than expected timeframes

at the pre-submission phase. However, as soon

as applications enter the post advertisement

phase of the administration process 62.5%

of applications exceed the maximum

allocated timeframe of 90 days, while 25%

of applications exceed the maximum overall


The fi gure below provides reasons for delays in

the process of obtaining approval. The top 3

factors causing delays in obtaining approval are;

delays caused by having to obtain approval from

external departments, clearance from internal

72

140

133

53

217

12

22

84

173

0 126

270

251

437

69

93

173

51

31

141

148

22

76

99

203

105

39

302

88

102

335

189

181

159

179

255

164

82

81

150 94

41

45

59 10

3

80

82

164

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess


Pre-advertisement period Time from date advertised to date approved

Figure 6-16: Comparison of

the Processing Timeframes

from Submission and

Advertisement to Date of

Final Approval for Private

Sector Application Sample.

0

50

100

150

200

250

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Day

s to

Pro

cess


Time from date advertised to date approved Maximum Timeframe Processing Time Median



Timeframes from Date of

Advertisement.



5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

11%

5%

16%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

11%

5%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Amendment of agreement

Administrative issues

Appeal

Awaiting date to advertise and DOT response

Combined application

Delay caused by having to obtain approval

Delay caused by having to obtain external

Delay in receiving comments from internal

Land Legal

Missed EXCO meeting for the month

Request for additional information

Request to amend application

departments dependant on comments provided

to applicant to address, as well as the request

for additional information.

It is evident from Figure 6-17 that main delay

factors associated with the private sector LUM

application sample are;

1. Delays caused by having to obtain external

department approval (16% of applications)

2. Requests for additional information (11%

of applications)

3. Comments from internal departments

to be addressed by applicant (11% of

applications)

It should be noted that in comparison to the

municipal case study, similar factors were

identifi ed for being the main reasons for

application administration delays. In terms

of municipal case studies the following delay

factors were apparent:

1. Delays caused by having to obtain external

department approval (16% of municipal

case study applications)

2. Requests for additional information (55%

of municipal case study applications)

3. Comments from internal departments

to be addressed by applicant (35% of

municipal case study applications)

4. Delays in receiving comments from internal

department (19% of municipal case study

applications)

The fact that both case studies indicated that

the same delay factors are applicable, suggest

that improvements aimed at a faster turn-over

time of application administration should be

focused on addressing these factors specifi cally.

Further analyses of individual application types

were undertaken in order to determine which

types of applications in comparison are prone to

experience more delays.

Scheme Adoption, Replacement or

Amendment: Rezoning.

In terms of rezoning applications, a total of 20

applications were sampled from the private

sector. The average processing time associated

with a rezoning application is 249 days, which is

81 days less than the overall maximum allocated

timeframe.

As presented by Figure 6-18, in total only 20%

of the analysed rezoning application sample

exceeded the maximum allocated timeframe

of 330 days. However, 60% of applications

exceed the ideal or minimum overall prescribed


With respect to the post advertisement

timeframes, the average processing time

for this type of applications was 152 days,

thus exceeding the allocated timeframe with

62 days. In all, 80% of these applications

exceeded the prescribed post advertisement

allocated timeframe, as indicated by Figure

80%

20%

Processed In Time Not Processed in Time

20%

80%


Figure 6-18: Timeous

Processing - Scheme

Adoption, Replacement or

Amendment: Rezoning.


Processing Post Advertising

- Scheme Adoption,

Replacement or Amendment:

Rezoning.


LUM Application Delay

Factors.



Townships, Subdivision and Consolidation of LandWith regard to townships, subdivision and

consolidation of land applications a sample

of 10 applications were received. These

applications were on average processed within

260 days of submission, and therefore well

within the maximum allocated timeframes. Of

the overall sample, 80% of applications did not

exceed the prescribed timeframes, as indicated

by Figure 6-20.

In terms of post advertisement timeframes, 78% of

the applications did exceed the allocated 90 days,

with an average post advertisement timeframe

of 153 days. This is a signifi cant 63 days past the

prescribed timeframe and should be noted as an

area were improvement should be focussed.

In general overall timeframes are met, however,

the timeframes associated with the post

advertisement phase are regularly exceeded,

once again.

Special and Written Consent ApplicationsThe special and written consent application

sample of 9 applications is one instance were

all applications were processed well in time,

at an average of 186 days per application.

This suggests that these types of applications

generally are not complicated and are easily

processed by the municipality.

With respect to the overall processing

timeframes, special or written consent

applications were mostly dealt with in time at

an average of 186 days, 144 days less than the

prescribed timeframe. Of the entire sample only

22% of applications surpassed the maximum

330 day timeframe, as indicated by Figure 6-22.

With respect to special and written consent

applications, post advertisement timeframes are

more often than not met, with only 38% of the

sample exceeding this timeframe, indicating a

lower priority for intervention when compared

to some of the other application types. It does

however add to the observed trend of application

processing timeframes being exceeded once

entering the post advertisement phase of the

processing procedure.

Development of Land Outside Area of SchemeFor the development of land outside the area

of scheme only two applications were provided

as a sample. Of the sample, 100% of the

applications were processed and completed well

within the allocated timeframe of 330 days, at

an average of 250 days per application.

However, as soon as these applications enter the

post advertisement period of the administrative

process, they well and truly surpass the 90 day

prescribed timeframe, at an average 164 days

per application.

Alterations, Suspension and Deletion of Restrictions Related to LandApplications associated with alterations,

suspensions and deletion of restrictions related to

land generally (67%) exceed the maximum 330

days, at an average of 294 days per application.

In terms of the post advertisement period, these

types of applications are on average especially

delayed, as indicated by the average processing

time of 174 days. As showed by Figure 6-24, of

the total sample, 67% of applications exceeded

the set 90 day period..

Permanent Closure of Municipal Roads and Public PlacesWith respect to this type of application, only

one application was provided by the public

sector. This application was processed in 305

days overall, which is well within the timeframe

set forth by legislation. In terms of the post

advertisement period the application however

78%

22%


80%

20%


22%

78%



Processing - Townships,

Subdivision and

Consolidation of Land.


Processing Post

Advertisement - Townships,

Subdivision and

Consolidation of Land.

Figure 6-22: Timeous Processing

- Special and Written

Consent Applications.

62%

38%


Figure 6-23: Timeous Processing

Post Advertisement - Special and

Written Consent Applications.

6-19. This suggest that even though the overall

timeframe is generally adhered to, applications

are delayed as soon as they proceed into the

post advertisement phase of the administrative

process. This is a reoccurring trend, which

was also observed as part of the municipal

application tracking case study.



was only handled within 179 days, a full 89 days

past the prescribed 90 days.

Due to an only a limited sample being available,

it is diffi cult to compare and comment on this

application type. However, when compared to

the municipal application case study sample, the

single application is on par with the observed

average. As the majority of application are

within the allocated timeframe, but exceed the

prescribed post advertisement timeframes.

Site Development Plan ApprovalOnly one site develop plan approval application

was received from the private sector. This

application was fi nalised in 172 days overall,

with only 39 days required to administrate the

post advertisement processes. Due to only a

limited sample being available, it is diffi cult to

compare and comment on this application type.

6.3.2 Conclusion 79% of applications are fi nalised in-time within

the maximum 330 days as legislated by the

PDA. On average, applications take 232 days

to be processed which is also higher than the

minimum timeframe (195 days) as prescribed

by the PDA. Calculating the percentage of

applications processed within the 60-90 day

timeframe from date of advertisement, only

33% are fi nalised in-time, taking 136 days on

average.

The most common causes of delays are; request

for additional information and clearance from

internal and external departments.

33%

67%



Processing Post

Advertisement - Alterations,

Suspension and Deletion of

Restrictions Related to Land

Applications.

SECTION SEVEN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSSECTION SEVEN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The fi nal section of this report presents the analysis fi ndings regarding application

processing, realistic timeframes and administration blockages in order to identify delay

factors likely to remain relevant in the future regulatory environment of the eThekwini

Metropolitan Municipality.

All fi ndings and recommendations needs to be viewed in context to the limitations listed

in section 1 of this report.

The purpose of the concluding section is to summarise the main reasons for delay and identify

manners in which the administration blockages can be addressed by considering possible

interventions. This section will not only review public sector interventions but will also highlight

private sector’s responsibility and contribution towards minimising application processing delays..

7.1 Summary of the Main Reasons for Delays

The reasons for application administration

delays that have been found from the analysis

of the case study sample and interaction with

the municipality and private sector respondents.

Diagram 7.1 below illustrates the main reasons

for delay in order of priority. The diagram is

followed by a brief description of each factor.

1. Uncompliant / Incomplete submissions

2. Internal decision making procedures

3. Controversy

4. Delegation Diagram 7.1: Main Reasons

for Application Delays.



Uncompliant/Incomplete Submissions

Description: submitted application/plans, which

do not comply with specifi c requirements of

the relevant development application type.

Incomplete applications lead to an amendment

request, which in turn delays the administration

process if the private sector applicant does not

respond timeously.

Main application types affected: uncompliant

applications are the main reason identifi ed for

delayed administration processes. This blockage is

noted in all (residential and non-residential) LUM

applications, building plans as well as building

plans and removal of restriction applications.

Possible reasons for delay: either the applicant

does not have knowledge of the correct

procedures or the requirements per type of

application is unclear

The onus is on the applicant to achieve compliance and to adhere to the regulations put forth by the local

authority, as well as provincial and national legislation. All of the necessary investigations prior to making an

application need to take place in order to ensure that all applicable laws have been satisfi ed. Other legislation

generally has a direct bearing on whether development is possible or not. A key delay of non-compliance

indicates that certain requirements have not been met. Examples of requirements not met include:

• inappropriate zoning for the development,

• non-completion of traffi c studies.

• non-completion of environmental impact assessments.

• non-compliance of the NBR&BS statutory requirements.

• non-compliance in the design of buildings

• expired valuation certifi cates

Internal Decision Making Procedures

Description: postponements in the application

process due to delayed correspondence between

internal and external departments.

Main application types affected: applications

generally affected requires various inputs from

internal departments. Non-residential LUM

applications and appeals often records the

highest occurrence with some cases also reported

in building plan administration.

Possible reasons for delay: delays are

caused owing to belated responses from the

departments involved.

This can typically be attributed to possible

capacity overload within specifi c departments or

a shortage of specialised offi cials.

Internal decision making procedures is often constrained by the following main factors:

• Referral procedures result in lengthy timeframes when an application has to be circulated to relevant

departments from which clearance has to be obtained.

• Uncoordinated and isolated interaction of committees that need to take part in the approval process.

For example; committees convenes at different times of the month and if the date of consequent

application processes is too close to one another, when forwarded to the second committee the

matter will be referred and only be addressed in the following month.

• Postponement of council meetings delay the progress of an application.



ControversyDescription: objections on applications in

which disagreement among certain parties

within the public or private sectors delay

administration. Applications affected by

controversy are subjected to objections and

appeals, which result in strenuous consultation

and circulation requirements.

Main application types affected: Appeals

and non-residential LUM applications are often

subjected to objections and appeals from

public participation practises.

Possible reasons for delay: typically

objections are received on major development

projects, which is considered to impact its

surrounding location in a negative manner. A

factor of Not in My Back Yard (or ‘NIMBY’ism)

should also be considered. Objections and

appeals are generally not the applicant or the

governing entities fault, however it can still be

addressed during policy formation.

DelegationDescription: timeline extensions experienced

because of allocation to third party committees

outside of the municipality.

Main application types affected: LUM

applications are usually subjected to

delegation delays.

Possible reasons for delay: delegation for

decision by committees of council mainly

hinders the administration process due to

organisational and logistical arrangements.

Respondents indicated that it is occasionally

diffi cult to establish a date in which the case

can be discussed with the relevant committee

members owing to capacity overloads.

Examples: delegation to Agriculture,

Environmental or Heritage departments

to comment on the property’s agricultural

potential, environmental sensitivities and

heritage value.

7.2 Recommendations to Address Administration Blockages

The introduction of the newly formulated

national and provincial legislation along

with planned improvement strategies by the

municipality will address some administrative

blockages. This section shows fi ve key areas

of intervention and highlight additional

recommendations for optimal functionality.

Recommendations are not only aimed at the

public sector, but also to advise the private

sector on how to do their part to resolve

administration blockages.

Diagram 7.2 illustrates fi ve key intervention areas.

1. Circulation and assessment of

applications

Improved circulation processes to promote

coordination and isolated processes. This

is likely to assist in reducing timeframes in

the regulatory process to a large extent.

Electronic submissions to improve convenience

1. Circulation and assessment of applications

2. Application submissions 3. Management systems and processes

4. Registry and records management

5. Sta resources

for applicants to submit and track their

applications online is a possible intervention to

be introduced.

In addition, such a system can also be used as

a management tool for accurate reporting on

performance targets as well as an early warning

system to pick up negative or positive trends

for the municipality to proactively respond.

Diagram 7.2: Five Key

Intervention Areas.



2. Application submissions

The municipality should be actively promoting

and enforcing the submission of quality

and complete applications. This is done

through continued engagements with

professional associations representing the

development industry or the professions

submitting development applications. Quality

and complete applications will dramatically

improve processing times by eliminating time

spent on aspects of the process that could

have been avoided by a complete application

submission. Pre-submission meetings should

be encouraged, to ensure that applicants are

informed of the application requirements.

3. Management systems and processes

Further standardisation across different district

offi ces is required to ensure more certainty to

the public, applicants and the industry in what

they can expect throughout the regulatory

process when submitting an application to any

one of the District Planning Offi ces.

This will allow the municipality to be able to

draw management reports on the performance

of each of the departments in the Council that

contributes to the various elements of the

planning and building application processes.

The MM could also consider implementing

pre-submission application contact stations

or hot-lines at the various District Planning

Offi ces, which could assist applicant with

queries regarding potential issues or matters

that are unclear. This will help to ensure that

more complete and complaint applications are

submitted initially, thus decreasing the number

of incomplete/non-compliant applications.

4. Registry and records management

The improvement in records management could

be implemented with a migration towards an

electronic environment, which will bring huge

advantages for record keeping purposes and

the ease and speed of access to information.

A public-private sector partnership could

potentially be explored to address this issue.

5. Staff resources

Increasing the staff capacity should be done

with the implementation of a staff development

strategy to cater for future needs, taking

into account the status of the workforce.

Increasing involvement of student and interns

is a possible intervention to ensure a long-

term contingent of appropriately skilled and

experienced staff within the municipality. In

addition the municipality could also source and

train new interns and staff (where applicable)

in association with professional bodies within

the development industry.

7.3 Responsibilities of the Private Sector

The private and public sector application tracking

case studies did not only highlight shortcomings

in the administration process that caused by the

public sector. Certain administration blockages

have a private sector component to them.

It is therefore vital that the private property

professionals understand their responsibilities in

terms of development application submission

and the way in which they can assist in the

improvement of the overall administration process

to the benefi t of the entire commercial property

development fraternity. The responsibilities of the

private sector can be summarised in four points

as illustrated diagrammatically below.

1. Utilise pre-consultations 2. Pre-check requirements before submission

3. Timeous responses

4. Participate in consultation opportunities

Diagram 7.3: Responsibilities

of the Private Sector.



1. Utilise pre-consultations

It is the responsibility of the private sector

representative to ensure that the application

submitted for approval are complete

according to the entity it is submitted to.

Pre-consultations with the municipality

enables interaction between private property

professionals and public sector offi cials before

the submission of applications and payments

of any fees. It provides a platform to the

private property professional to establish what

type of application is required and the specifi c

requirements of the relevant application type in

addition to administrative matters such as the

required payments etc.

2. Pre-check requirements of the

application before submission

Once the required application type is identifi ed

and fees are available, it is vital to ensure that

the application submitted complies with the

requirements set by the governing entity. These

requirements may include specialised viability

or impact studies. Addressing this blockage is

of key importance as the application tracking

analysis have shown that the largest portion of

the delay lies within the pre-advertising phase

of the application.

3. Respond timeously to amendment

requests and ensure that all requirements

of the application is adhered to in

suffi cient detail

If amendment requests are issued, quick

response to the requests is required to ensure

the process is not unnecessarily delayed. A

large portion of the application tracking sample

is affected by incomplete or non-compliant

applications. Similar to the above responsibility,

timeous responses could assist in reducing the

delay in the pre-advertising phase.

4. Participate in consultation

opportunities

The private sector must realise the importance

of utilising available platforms to interact with

the municipality. It is recommended that private

sector representatives make use of any platform

provided and voice their opinion regarding

specifi c concerns of the administration process.

The changing legislation and regulation will

impact the application processes and it is the

private sector respondent’s own responsibility

to ensure that they understand the manner

in which processes have changed and the

implication these changes will have on

application submissions and procedures.

7.4 Conclusion

As seen in “The Economic Value of the

Commercial Private Property Sector” report

(Component One of the research initiative), the

commercial private property sector contributes

signifi cantly to the economy of Kwa-Zulu

Natal and the Metropolitan municipality of

eThekwini. For that reason the streamlining of

public administration processes is of cardinal

importance to ensure that all parties involved

banks on the opportunities presented for

economic growth and expansion.

The essential concluding remark posed by

the conducted research is one of cooperation

between the public and private sector.

Functionality barriers and limitations will

always be experienced when operating in

any multi-dimensional structure, such as

the development application processing

structure. It is not only the responsibility of

the public sector to address these limitations

and therefore a one-dimensional approach is

not the solution. Both the private and public

sectors are responsible for the improvement

of the current manner in which the processing

structure operates by utilising communication

platforms to identify the limitations and

address them as far as possible.

It is therefore important for the private sector

to voice their opinions regarding potential ways

to improve and the public sector to take note

of the inputs received for the purpose of policy

and implementation framework formulation.



eThekwini Long Term Development Strategy 2001eThekwini Municipality, A Developer’s Guidebook 2013eThekwini Municipality, Central Spatial Development Plan 2010/2011eThekwini Municipality, eThekwini Integrated Development Plan 2012 – 2017 (IDP)eThekwini Municipality, eThekwini Spatial Development Framework (SDF) 2013-2014 eThekwini Municipality, Spatial Development Plan North 2010/2011eThekwini Municipality, Spatial Development Plan South 2012The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental A� airs, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Growth and Development Strategy 2011,The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental A� airs, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Spatial Economic Development Strategy 2011,The Republic of South Africa, 1996, Constitution of RSA Act No. 108 of 1996The Republic of South Africa, Development Facilitations Act No 67 of 1995 The Republic of South Africa, Environmental Conservation Act No 73 1989The Republic of South Africa, KwaZulu Ingonyama Trust Act No 3 of 1994The Republic of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal Land A� airs Act No 11 of 1992 and its regulationsThe Republic of South Africa, KZN Planning and Development Act Amendment Bill, 2012The Republic of South Africa, KZN Planning and Development Act No 6 of 2008The Republic of South Africa, KZN Planning and Development Bill, 2012The Republic of South Africa, KZN Provincial Roads Act No 4 of 2001 The Republic of South Africa, Less Formal Townships Establishment Act No 113 of 1991 The Republic of South Africa, Local Authorities Ordinance No 25 of 1974 (for road and pubic place closures)The Republic of South Africa, Municipal Systems Act No. 32 of 2000 The Republic of South Africa, Natal Town Planning Ordinance No 27 of 1949The Republic of South Africa, National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act No 103 of 1977The Republic of South Africa, National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 and Associated Acts The Republic of South Africa, National Forestry Act No 84 of 1998 The Republic of South Africa, National Heritage Resources Act No 25 of 1999The Republic of South Africa, National Water Act No 36 of 1998The Republic of South Africa, NEMA: Air Quality Act No 39 of 2004The Republic of South Africa, NEMA: Biodiversity Act No 10 of 2004The Republic of South Africa, NEMA: Integrated Coastal Management Act No 24 of 2008The Republic of South Africa, NEMA: Protected Areas Act No 57 of 2003The Republic of South Africa, NEMA: Waste Act No 59 of 2008The Republic of South Africa, New Growth Path 2011 The Republic of South Africa, Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No 16 of 2013The Republic of South Africa, Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No 70 of 1970Urban-Econ Development Economists, 2014. The Role and Impact of the Commercial Property Sector in the Western Cape. Cape Town: South African Property Owners Association.

Interviews:eThekwini Municipality, Bazil Tigere, Information Services eThekwini Municipality, Claire Norton, Prof. Planner: Manager: Land Use Management eThekwini Municipality, Lekha Allopi, Strategic Projects ExecutiveeThekwini Municipality, Marcel Keuter, Regional Co-ordinator: Development Applications eThekwini Municipality, Nkanyiso Mzimela, Senior Professional Planner eThekwini Municipality, Richard Holgate, Manager: Development ApplicationsOther discussions held via telecom and electronic mail with other o� cials and consulting professionals.

REFERENCES



INTERNAL CIRCULATION OF LUM APPLICATIONS

CIRCULATION DEPARTMENTS REZONINGSPECIAL/COUNCIL

CONSENTSUB-DIVISIONS/

CONSOLIDATIONSRELAXATION

PLANNING ASSESSMENT

DAA - - -D (Double story and

greenfi eld development)-

Drainage & Coastal Management M (all) M (all) M (all) M (all) -

Durban Tourism - B & B (guesthouse only) - - -

Economic Development D (all) D (all) - - -

Electricity - - M (all) - -

Environmental Planning and Climate Protection

M (all) M (all) M (all) D (all) D (all)

eThekweni Traffi c Authority M (all) M (all) M (all) D (all) D (all)

Fire - D (all) - D (all) -

Framework Planning D (all) - - - -

Health D (all) D (all) - - -

iTrump M (C) M (C) M (C) - -

Metro Waste Water M (all) M (all) M (all) D (all) -

Pollution Control D (all) D(all) - - -

Soils Laboratory - - M (C) - -

Water and Sanitation - - M (all) - -

Roads Provision - - D (all) - -

D = DISCRETIONARY - in consultation with Regional Co-Ordinator

M = MANDATORY

Annexure 1: List of Internal

Departments for LUM

Application Circulation.



82

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