GEORGE NEWS - A delegation of local business groups met with the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) last year to raise their concerns about the draft Township Economies By-law. George Municipality, the authority that must implement the by-law, was invited to this meeting, but did not attend.

Responding to a query from George Herald, Acting Director for Planning and Development Delia Power responded as follows to business leaders' concerns:

"A comparison is being drawn between the existing Informal Trading By-law and the proposed Standard By-law. The by-laws share common goals; however, the scope of the Standard By-law is broader and includes formal business as well as informal business, whether on public or private property.

"Recommendations will be made to the council regarding the need to adopt a new by-law or apply amendments to the current by-law, noting that the adoption of the standard by-law in its current format will trigger the need to amend several other by-laws of the municipality as well, to avoid contradictions. The municipality is also considering the use of overlay* zones to address the township economy and respond to informality.

"Whether amendment of an existing by-law or adoption of a new by-law is considered, the process outlined in the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000 (MSA) determines that the draft by-law must be adopted by the council in principle before public participation can commence. 

"The public participation will be undertaken over the customary channels and interested and/or affected parties (I&APs) will be notified of the opportunity to comment. Given the market that is targeted and the impact that the legislation may have on the livelihoods of many operators and property owners, it is anticipated that the municipality will engage with the communities on the local level as well. 

"The final by-laws or amendments to existing by-laws can only be tabled before the council for adoption once the comments and representations have been addressed.

"This process is anticipated to take approximately six months, commencing in January. Although the final standard by-law was released in November, the timeframe did not yield sufficient scope to undertake the investigation into integration with existing by-laws and tabling before the council. It must not be assumed that this space is not legislated. 

"Sufficient legislation and policy exist within the municipality to manage and enforce the operation of the business and zoning rights and erection of structures."

* An overlay zone applies an additional layer of standards to all areas within a defined overlay boundary, regardless of the underlying base zoning district.

Also read: Township Economies By-law - 'concerns must be addressed'

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