Town Planning Professional Urban Development and Town Planning Consultancy Services in Pretoria PlanPractice Incorporated, a well-respected town planning consultancy firm located in Pretoria, opened doors for the first time in 1986. Since its inception, the company has grown into a larger group of companies consisting of two subsidiary services known as EnviroPractice and MapPractice – both part of The Practice Group. EnviroPractice offers environmental assessment services, whilst MapPractice is our electronic mapping and drafting bureau. The Practice Group offers a full range of town planning services and because of our extensive experience in mapping, township establishment and environmental assessment, we are able to provide multi-disciplinary solutions to our clients. Some of the services on offer are briefly introduced below to provide an indication of our expertise and service scope in South Africa: Urban Development: We plan new towns and urban areas to meet the growing housing and urban development demands in South Africa. This is done in close collaboration with relevant communities and covers all income groups. Obtaining Land Use Rights and Rezoning: We apply for and obtain new or amended land use rights through rezoning and planning consent applications in accordance with the required procedures in terms of the relevant laws. Investigation of Development Potential: Clients benefit from our expertise in the assessment of the development potential of a specific property. The results of the investigation are compiled in a report and submitted to clients. This report includes recommendations regarding planning procedures, meeting of relevant environmental requirements, the costs and time implications for implementing the development proposal, and alternatives. Subdivision and Consolidation of Land: We apply for the subdivision or consolidation of...
Zoning Rights VS Home Owner’s Association Rules A recent High Court judgment addressed the knotty problem of an HOA’s powers to bar an owner from running a home-based business. The facts of the case were that a homeowner in an estate who was running a hair salon from her house breached a written undertaking to the HOA to cease business, and that the HOA then applied to the High Court to interdict her from continuing. She was bound (via both her purchase agreement and the title deeds) by the HOA’s constitution and conduct rules – which prohibited the use of homes in the estate for anything other than residential purposes, except by special resolution, she argued, however, that her home business was permitted by the local zoning regulations – which did indeed permit certain small-scale non-residential activities – and that the HOA had no right to override these zoning scheme provisions by prohibiting all non-residential use. The interdict was, though, eventually granted by a “full bench” of the High Court, which held that “… there is nothing contained in our law which prevents a property owner from agreeing to a limitation of its rights ….”, and that the individual home owners in this estate had, by agreement, forfeited their right to use their properties for anything but residential purposes. Moreover, the Court said, the HOA had not purported to change the municipal zoning scheme and was “well within its rights to seek to preserve the residential character of the development. The home owner was thus ordered to stop running her business from home and, to make things worse, was...
