1. The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BOCRA)BOCRA is currently engaged in legal action against the City of Cape Town and The Developer to stop the development. Heritage Western Cape applied to be an intervening party in this matter. (Updated Dec 2017)

2. The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BOCRA) and Professor Todeschini give the City of Cape Town notice of their intention to APPEAL the Municipal Planning Tribunal's decision (Updated 15 Aug 2016)...see more below

3. The Municipal Planning Tribunal unanimously rubberstamps the City's whitewash report and approves the development of the "Monster" building in the Bo-Kaap. (Update 8 June 2016) ...see more below

2. The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BOCRA) and Professor Todeschini give the City of Cape Town notice of their intention to APPEAL the Municipal Planning Tribunal's decision (Updated 15 Aug 2016)

On the 15 August 2016, the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association submitted documents to the City of Cape Town, notifying it that BOCRA would be appealing the decision of the Municipal Planning Tribunal which approved the Monster building on 7 June 2016.

BOCRA's appeal was based on the following issues:

• PROCESS - There were no heritage professionals, no qualified urban designer, no neutral legal expert on the Municipal Planning Tribunal to evaluate the decision. The City distributed the 1800 page report to BOCRA a mere 2 working days before the tribunal hearing, which gave BOCRA insufficient time to prepare. The tribunal was biased towards the developer and came with prepared statements, indicating that they had already made the decision in favour of the developer before the tribunal hearing. The minutes that were distributed were not a true reflection of the tribunal hearing. 
• ZONING - The consolidation of the 2 erven should not be permitted as the zoning of the properties fall under 2 overlays. 

Download - BOCRA's letter of appeal

Download - BOCRA's request for proper notification of and adequate reasons for the decision

Professor Fabio Todeschini prepared a comprehensive appeal  on behalf of BOCRA, local property owners and affected parties, with the following grounds for appeal:

General grounds for appeal:

• The decision is irrational and is obviously not in the longer-term public interest in terms of best practice and of sound city planning, urban design or heritage resources management, as may be understood by a reasonable person, even not a city planner or other built-environment professional;
• The decision is flawed procedurally;
• The decision did not take into account and respond to the substance of over 1,000 written reasonable objections lodged by the then due date of February 2016 by citizens of Cape Town, the majority being residents of the Bo-Kaap. 

Specific grounds for the appeal: 

• The decision flouts provisions of: the declared CoCT SDF of 2012; the declared Densification policy of 2012; and of the adopted Tall Buildings policy;
• The decision flouts provisions of the adopted District SDF of 2012;
• The decision flouts provisions of the HPOZ and the reasonable representations and objections made in regard to how the proposed development would be seriously damaging to significant heritage resources in the context of the site. The decision is challenged as a consequence;
• The decision flouts declared CoCT Urban Design policy;
• The development proposals were framed by a professional team no member of whom has professional qualifications and accreditation in either of the disciplinary fields of urban design or of heritage resources management. Additionally, the CoCT official and case officer who prepared the internal planning report, Mr. Paul Heydenrych, has no professional qualifications or accreditation in either of the disciplines of urban design or of heritage resources management. And, moreover, the MPT decision was taken by a panel that comprised only one individual who has an urban design qualification (Mr. Simon Nicks) and none of whom have any heritage resources management qualifications or accreditation whatsoever. By implication, the vast majority of the professionals involved in the framing and the consideration of the proposals—including the MPT itself—have virtually no professional standing with respect to the very significant urban design and the related heritage resources management issues in the matter. This is by no means reasonable and the decision is, therefore, challenged.  

Download - Professor Fabio Todeschini's appeal document, compiled on behalf of BOCRA, local property owners and affected parties

Download - Appendix 1 - Prof Todeschini's report of June 2016, from which he made verbal representations at the MPT hearing of June 2016

Download - Appendix 2 - a letter of support of this appeal from the Chairman of the Urban Design Institute of South Africa

Download - Appendix 3 - extract from the Tall Building Guidelines of the City of Toronto.

 3. The Municipal Planning Tribunal unanimously rubberstamps the City's whitewash report and approves the development of the "Monster" building
in the Bo-Kaap. (Update 8 June 2016)