Mo Rush
January 29th, 2009, 01:34 PM
the obsession with "mini-cities". sounds like a low cost Century City. eish
Developer plans mini city for 472ha of 'farmland'
By Anél Powell
A HUGE 472-hectare "mini-city", roughly twice the area of Century City and including 20 000 residential units and retail and industrial space, is being proposed for the Philippi horticultural area, the City of Cape Town has confirmed.
The land borders Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein and is zoned for agricultural use.
Mayoral committee member for housing, Dan Plato, confirmed that developer Rapicorp had applied for rezoning of teh land so it could build an "integrated human settlement" with mixed land uses, including residential, retail, industrial and public facilities such as schools.
But Plato said the application had to go through council processes before any decision could be made.
"We know the sensitivity of the land. We will deal with this application like any other zoning application."
Concerned residents in the area said the development would have "disastrous environmental consequences that would ultimately lead to the demise of the entire horticultural area".
Paul Olden, of consultants Urban Dynamics Western Cape, said that while the mini-city would be developed within the Philippi horticultural area, the land was a "heavily degraded and defunct mining area" and less than 5% of it was used for agriculture.
One resident, who asked that she not be named, said Rapicorp's application would overturn long-standing planning legislation that reserved the land for vegetable farming once the sand mining operations were completed.
But Olden said that, unlike the northern section of the horticultural area where vegetables were grown for consumption, the 472ha were vacant or underused.
"As land suitable for large-scale urban development of this nature is virtually non-existent within the urban edge of the Cape Metropole, the development application presents a substantial opportunity to promote the sustainable development of a natural link to the southern suburbs."
The resident disagreed, saying the land would provide valuable agricultural land once the sand mining had been completed. She said there was more appropriate land the city for development.
"Despite problems experienced in the area, agriculture in the Philippi horticultural area has been expanding over the years and continues to play an important social, environmental and economic role in the city," the resident said.
Residents say the development would threaten the Cape Flats aquifer, but Olden said further agricultural activity on the land would do so.
Olden said the mixed-income residential units would take up about 180ha, with 45ha being set aside for community facilities. The rest of the land would be used for industrial and commercial developments.
But a large portion of the land would remain open space, including sensitive vegetation and wetland areas.
Olden said the development would lead to a substantial investment in electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal services. He said the Cape Flats sewage treatment works had the capacity to service the entire development.
"That bulk capacity is available to service the entire development at a marginal cost is significant as it presents an unprecedented opportunity to provide housing opportunities at a substantially lower cost."
The housing units will be for lower to middle-income home owners in accordance with the province's urban densification requirements.
Olden said the planned development would provide more than 30 000 jobs, excluding jobs created during construction. Sand mining operations provided less than 100 jobs, while intensive horticulture would only provide 230 jobs.
"Not only is the proposed development a massive and in many ways unique project, but it will also set a new standard for developments of this kind."
anel.powell@inl.co.za
Published on the web by Cape Times on January 28, 2009. © Cape Times 2009. All rights reserved.
Developer plans mini city for 472ha of 'farmland'
By Anél Powell
A HUGE 472-hectare "mini-city", roughly twice the area of Century City and including 20 000 residential units and retail and industrial space, is being proposed for the Philippi horticultural area, the City of Cape Town has confirmed.
The land borders Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein and is zoned for agricultural use.
Mayoral committee member for housing, Dan Plato, confirmed that developer Rapicorp had applied for rezoning of teh land so it could build an "integrated human settlement" with mixed land uses, including residential, retail, industrial and public facilities such as schools.
But Plato said the application had to go through council processes before any decision could be made.
"We know the sensitivity of the land. We will deal with this application like any other zoning application."
Concerned residents in the area said the development would have "disastrous environmental consequences that would ultimately lead to the demise of the entire horticultural area".
Paul Olden, of consultants Urban Dynamics Western Cape, said that while the mini-city would be developed within the Philippi horticultural area, the land was a "heavily degraded and defunct mining area" and less than 5% of it was used for agriculture.
One resident, who asked that she not be named, said Rapicorp's application would overturn long-standing planning legislation that reserved the land for vegetable farming once the sand mining operations were completed.
But Olden said that, unlike the northern section of the horticultural area where vegetables were grown for consumption, the 472ha were vacant or underused.
"As land suitable for large-scale urban development of this nature is virtually non-existent within the urban edge of the Cape Metropole, the development application presents a substantial opportunity to promote the sustainable development of a natural link to the southern suburbs."
The resident disagreed, saying the land would provide valuable agricultural land once the sand mining had been completed. She said there was more appropriate land the city for development.
"Despite problems experienced in the area, agriculture in the Philippi horticultural area has been expanding over the years and continues to play an important social, environmental and economic role in the city," the resident said.
Residents say the development would threaten the Cape Flats aquifer, but Olden said further agricultural activity on the land would do so.
Olden said the mixed-income residential units would take up about 180ha, with 45ha being set aside for community facilities. The rest of the land would be used for industrial and commercial developments.
But a large portion of the land would remain open space, including sensitive vegetation and wetland areas.
Olden said the development would lead to a substantial investment in electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal services. He said the Cape Flats sewage treatment works had the capacity to service the entire development.
"That bulk capacity is available to service the entire development at a marginal cost is significant as it presents an unprecedented opportunity to provide housing opportunities at a substantially lower cost."
The housing units will be for lower to middle-income home owners in accordance with the province's urban densification requirements.
Olden said the planned development would provide more than 30 000 jobs, excluding jobs created during construction. Sand mining operations provided less than 100 jobs, while intensive horticulture would only provide 230 jobs.
"Not only is the proposed development a massive and in many ways unique project, but it will also set a new standard for developments of this kind."
anel.powell@inl.co.za
Published on the web by Cape Times on January 28, 2009. © Cape Times 2009. All rights reserved.