Municipality could relook development at dam

GEORGE NEWS - The George Planning Department could reconsider its development proposals for the land at the Garden Route Dam.

Planning and Environmental Management Deputy Director Delia Power said the department will be tabling its rezoning application to the George Council again for their input on whether they want to proceed with the concept as it is at the moment, or if there are some changes that need to be made before the process is taken further.

"In the meantime they cannot advance on any decisions, as they are waiting for the legal review of the record of decision (ROD) from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) to be completed. Power spoke at a recent feedback meeting for Ward 18 residents, organised by Ward Councillor Donovan Gultig.

The Garden Route Dam Action Group (Gardag) made application to the High Court on 27 July to review the ROD for the proposed residential, commercial waterfront and university development at the dam. From the outset, the proposal was met with strong opposition from various organisations and residents. Eventually, Gardag applied for a High Court review after opponents' appeals to DEADP failed.

"The review is the final recourse, but there are different orders of the court that can be referred to, so if they (the applicants) are not happy with the decision of this court, they can take it to a higher court," Power said.

"The court is not going to decide on whether the application is approved or not. What the court can do is to set the decision aside and then we will need to go back and review the application, but our intent from the planning side was to review it in any event."

Alternative concept

Power explained that the ROD grants the municipality "a package of rights", but they do not necessarily have to exercise all of these rights. The zoning rights are also not only for purposes of a university but can be used for any place of instruction - tertiary, secondary or primary, and also for research institutes.

"So the rezoning is fairly versatile, but when we go back to council on what we need to do on the concept, then it is up to council to decide if they want to pursue the idea of establishing a university there or if we should rather be looking at some sort of other educational (facility) or facility that falls within the ambit of those rights," she said.

"When we work on an alternative concept we will consult with the entire community. We have to look at what the need of the greater community in general is."

The municipal tribunal will decide on the rezoning and if residents are not satisfied, they can appeal, and if the appeal authority upholds the tribunal's decision, that can also be taken on review.

The dam area is popular among nature lovers. Photo: Alida de Beer

Development must take place

Power stressed that the land cannot be kept as is. "The vacant plots are vulnerable to unlawful occupation so we have to try and find a way to make it work for the community as a whole. We will definitely go back to the drawing board on that. Fortunately there is no pressure at this stage to finalise rights on the property so we will take our time and make sure we have a solid concept."

The cost of maintaining and conserving the property is massive and as it is now, it does not generate revenue and could not be sustainably managed unless an organisation such as the botanical garden takes care of it. She said the size of the proposed development was reduced from 120ha to 70ha and significant areas have been earmarked for conservation.

A "generous" 100m riparian buffer from all the water courses has also been retained.

Limited land for development

Power said there is limited space for development in George and if provision for growth is not made within the urban edge, the municipality will have to look to expand outward where more pristine environmental areas than the area at the dam will have to be sacrificed.

The Garden Route Dam area is one of only three sites available for development (the other two are the riding club land between Glenwood Avenue and Knysna Road, and the Mediclinic site in York Street) while there is a growing demand.

"We cannot tell people to turn around and go back to where they came from. It is a democracy. It is unconstitutional - the municipality cannot refuse people who want to move into the city, and we have to make provision and provide services for them."

She said George has not expanded its urban edge since 2012, but has in fact retracted the urban edge in many areas with the amended spatial framework in 2019.

The layout proposed to locate the university campus and commercial waterfront to the northeast next to the dam overflow.