Council: Updated Weekly Blogging

All the different councils in and around Cape Town all have different procedures that they follow when approving plans but all have the same general counters and departments. Having been to the khayelitsha, Cape Town, Blauuwberg, Athlone, Summerset West, Stelenbosch and Parow councils countless times I have come to know exactly how to get a plan approved quickly and easily.

Each council is allocated to a certain area within a region and as of May 2011 all use are to use one general application form that must comply with the SANS 10400. The only council that has yet to follow this application form is the Stelenbosch council which has a form very similar to the new one. At each council there are a number of general counters which vary from place to place. The counters are as follows;

Counter 1. General Counter
This counter is where you go to check that you have everything you need for the application. It is now a general requirement from council that all plans must be accompanied by a surveyor’s general diagram and a title deed together with the SANS 10400 form 1. In some cases an authorization letter is required when a client is signing of behalf of a company trust.

Counter 2. Environmental/ heritage Counter
At this counter someone will first check whether the building is older than 60 years old. They also check on the system if the building is located in a urban conservation area. In the case where the building is both older than 60 years and in a n urban conservation area they will refer you to the Heritage Western Cape located in Green Market Square. At the HWC they check what it is that you want to build or change and see if it is reasonable and not negatively affecting any heritage building or land. A heritage officer will then make the decision to grant you a HWC certificate giving you permission to do the proposed building work.  After this certificate has been obtained, the plans can go to the next counter at the council.

Counter 3. Zoning
At this counter site boundaries and building lines are checked on the system to make sure that they are all correct and that the proposed building does not cross any boundary or building lines. In the case where the building encroaches the building line an application for departure will have to be made. This usually costs about R180 and need a title deed, a power of attorney, a motivation letter and neighbours consent.

Scrutiny fees are also calculated at this counter and have to be paid at the cash office before the plan submission can take place.

Counter 4; Planning: Submission
At this counter the plans are taken in. At this point the plans go into circulation to the different departments. Depending on what you are building, the plan may only have to go to one department. The most common departments that all plans go to are the fire, water & sewage and town planning. After being submitted you are given the plan number. Ex. 1991/2011 indicating the year at the end. It usually takes about 2 weeks before the plan has been circulated however plans have sometimes been in council for over 6 months which generally gives the council a bad reputation.

The Title Deeds Office
The deeds office is located on the 13^th floor at 90 Plein street. It contains all the title deeds in the Northern and Western Cape. A title deed is a signed document that states the owner to which that particular erf belongs to as well as all the restrictions and regulations that that erf has. Anyone can obtain a copy of a title deed at the cost of R36. The deeds office is currently digitalizing all of the deeds and you will soon be able to obtain a copy through the internet.

The Surveyors General Diagram Office (SG Diagram)
Located on the 9^th floor at 90 Plein Street one can obtain the exact dimension of any given site in the Northern and Western Cape. Each diagram gives the exact angel of each corner in degrees, minutes and seconds that can conveniently be entered into Auto CAD to give you the exact orientation of any site. Each diagram cost as much as the paper it is printed on which is usually about R1.