Planning and Development

Director
Lawrence Ramakuwela (Acting)

• Building Control, Compliance, and Outdoor Advertisement/Building
• Management Development
• Human Settlements
• Land and Property Administration
• Town and Regional Planning

Building Control, Compliance, and Outdoor Advertisement

The Building Control section is responsible for the submission and approval process of building plan applications and the enforcement of statutory requirements regulating buildings in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (103 of 1977).

The section also ensures that all applicable legislation and other relevant standards are conformed with, as well as regulates outdoor advertising in the municipal area in terms of the By-Law.

Some key functions performed by the department:

• Plan Review: The section reviews architectural and engineering plans to ensure compliance with zoning, building, and fire safety codes. They look at aspects such as structural stability, accessibility, energy efficiency, and adherence to local building regulations.
• Permitting: The section issues permits for construction projects, including building permits, electrical permits, plumbing permits, and mechanical permits. These permits are necessary to ensure that construction work is legally authorized and meets all safety standards. 
• Inspections: The section conducts on-site inspections at various stages of construction to verify that approved plans are being followed correctly. Inspections may cover foundation work, electrical wiring, plumbing, and other critical aspects of the construction process.
• Code Enforcement: The section enforces compliance with building codes and regulations by identifying violations, issuing citations, and monitoring corrective actions. This ensures that structures are safe, habitable, and meet established standards.
• Public Safety: The section plays a crucial role in protecting public safety by ensuring that buildings are constructed and maintained in a manner that minimizes risks to occupants and neighbouring properties. This includes adherence to fire safety codes, seismic regulations, and accessibility standards.
• Records and Documentation: The section maintains records of plans, permits, inspections, and code compliance. These records are vital for future reference, property valuation, and ensuring that properties meet legal requirements during ownership transfers. 
• Customer Service: The section assists individuals and businesses with inquiries related to construction projects, code requirements, permit applications, and other building-related matters. They provide guidance, clarification, and support to ensure compliance and a smooth construction process.

Overall, the section plays a crucial role in promoting safety, maintaining quality standards, and facilitating responsible development within a municipality.

Human Settlements

The core mandate of the section is to ensure the provision of housing across the municipality in order to build sustainable communities and facilitate share and equitable social and economic growth and development.

The primary role of the section is to promote and facilitate the provision of adequate housing in its municipal area.

• The main goal of the administration programme is to:
  • Strengthen and align the section’s organisational capacity and capability to deliver on its mandate.
  • Attending to housing complaints of the beneficiary community.
  • Capturing of applicants on the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR)
  • Completion of Housing Subsidy Application forms.
  • Verification of informal houses and formal houses to ensure compliance with the Housing Act.
  • Application for vacant sites earmarked for low-cost housing delivery.
  • Monitoring of informal settlements.
  • Prevention of Illegal invasion of municipal land.
• The aim of the Housing Needs, Research and Policy Development Programme is to:
  • Facilitate and undertake housing delivery planning.
• Identify housing needs.
• Provide a regulatory framework for housing delivery.
• Develop policy guidelines.
• Provide provincial inputs on housing legislation and any amendments associated with these.
• Provide provincial multi-year housing delivery plans.
• Ensure alignment of housing plans with IDPs and conduct research on human settlement related topics.
• The emphasis on the Human Settlements Development Programmes is on:
  • The provision of Housing subsidies and housing opportunities to beneficiaries with accordance with the housing policy.
  • The programme promotes effective and efficient delivery of Provincial and local housing programmes.
  • The transfer of State funded houses.
  • Transfers of state houses build pre-1994 in terms of the Enhanced Extended Benefit Scheme (EEDBS).
  • Upgrading of Informal Settlements.

Land and Property Administration

The Land and Property Administration section’s core mandate is to ensure the efficient management of municipal land in order to promote the building of sustainable communities and facilitate social and economic growth as well as development.

The primary role of the section is to administer and enhance municipal land in its municipal area.

• Administration and Enhancement of Municipal Land:
• Receiving and capturing applications from the public and other stakeholders.
• Disposal and lease of municipal land.
• Facilitating the application and approval process.
• Facilitating public participation.
• Market related valuation of land.
• Verification of applications for land to ensure compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act.
• Applying for acquiring land from other spheres of government.
• Monitoring of municipal land.
• Prevention of Illegal invasion of municipal land.
• Identify land use needs.
• Provide a regulatory framework for disposal of municipal land.
• Develop policy guidelines and standard operating procedures.
• Ensure alignment of land needs with IDPs and conduct research on land related topics.
• Facilitate the transfers of properties.
• Contracts management.
• Maintenance and upgrading of municipal buildings (houses).

Town and Regional Planning

The role of the Town Planning section is to facilitate strategic land development by ensuring effective and efficient planning tools are in place, which promotes investment through equitable and effective service delivery.

The Town Planning section comprises of three subsections:

• Spatial Planning
• Land Use Management
• Geographic Information System (GIS).

The three subsections perform different, but interlinked, functions which can be summarised as follows. 

Land Use Management Section

Every property in the municipality has a set of regulations to control development. These regulations are determined by the zoning of the property. Property zoning is set out in the applicable Town Planning Scheme, which determines such aspects as possible land use, height, coverage, building lines, parking provisions, etc. 

The section is responsible for ensuring effective land use management within the Municipal area. This requires the Land Use Management Section to ensure that all land in Kouga is used according to its permitted use and zoning rights, along with the applicable restrictions as guided by legislation and policies including the Spatial planning and Land Use Management Act, No. 16 of 2013, the Municipal Spatial Planning and Land Use Management By-law and the Development Management Scheme, among others.

Spatial Planning Section

The Spatial Planning section deals with the development and management of the municipality’s long-term spatial plans, frameworks, strategies, and policies in compliance with the provisions of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act. These plans seek to influence the overall spatial distribution of current and future land use within Kouga to give effect to the vision, goals and objectives of the Municipality and the Integrated development Plan (IDP). The objective is to facilitate investment and to create organised land use to balance economic growth needs with considered pressure on natural resources.

Geographic Information System Section

The GIS section's aim is to generate and maintain accurate and crucial geographical information for the municipality to aid decision making at all levels of government and across all directorates.

GIS services include, amongst others:

• Using GIS technology to effectively convert and maintain municipal data into concrete visual representation.
• Facilitating GIS public awareness initiatives.
• Managing and providing GIS services to the municipality and the general community.

GIS is used to monitor changes i.kn how space is utilized and monitor characteristics of households in various places, enriching spatial planning and other processes with sound evidence towards development of strategies, plans, policies, and decision-making. We can map a wide variety of objects and overlay them to identify places that are prone to veld fires and flood plains, and we can examine community access to facilities and predict settlement density, just to name a few examples as the benefit of GIS.