EVERGREEN LAKE MICHELLE, REMAINDER ERF 3823 NOORDHOEK COMMENTS & RESPONSE REPORT COMMENTS & RESPONSE REPORT CONTENTS CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS .......................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Pre-Application Public Participation Process ....................................................................................................... 3 2. COMMENTS & RESPONSE ...................................................................................................................... 3 2.1. Comments & Response on Pre-Application BAR .................................................................................................. 3 2.1.1. Comments & Response Table ................................................................................................................................. 3 DJEC Ref: 2014/33 Page 2 of 199 COMMENTS & RESPONSE REPORT 1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS One round of public participation was undertaken as part of the pre-application public participation process. All comments received were incorporated in the Basic Assessment Report (BAR). The Public Participation Process (PPP) is described in detail below. 1.1. Pre-Application Public Participation Process The pre-application PPP for this Basic Assessment process included the following steps: • On the 20th of March 2018 representatives from Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Department of Water and Sanitation, City of Cape Town (Departments: Development Management, Urban Planning and Mechanisms, Environmental Management and Biodiversity) , San Parks, and Cape Nature were invited to attend a pre-application meeting to discuss the Lake Michelle Phase 8 development proposal. The concept plan attached as Appendix B1 was presented and discussed. The state departments were given the opportunity to comment on the proposal and raise issues and concerns. The minutes and attendance register is attached as Appendix F1. • Interested and affected parties were identified for the PPP. Refer to Appendix F2 of the Pre-Application BAR for the list of I&APs notified. • An advertisement was placed in the local newspaper (the Falsebay Echo) on Thursday 23 August 2018 informing the Public of the proposed application. See newspaper notice attached as Appendix F3. • The pre-application BAR was made available for public comment from Thursday, 23 August to Monday, 22 October 2018 at the Fish Hoek Public Library (Appendix F4) and all I&APs were notified of the availability of the pre-application draft BAR. See proof of notification of I&APs attached as Appendix F5. The proof of state department notification is attached as Appendix F6. • Letter drops, where possible, were undertaken in order to inform occupiers of the site and adjacent landowners of the proposed development. Proof of letter drops undertaken is included under Appendix F7 of the draft BAR. • An open house meeting was scheduled for the 11th of September 2018. See Appendix F8 for the attendance register and presentation. • Site notices were placed on site informing the general public of the proposed development. Proof that the site notices were placed on site is included under Appendix F9 of the draft BAR. • The Pre-Application BAR and Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) were made available for a 60-day commenting period (from Thursday, 23 August to Monday, 22 October 2018) to all potential I&APs, state departments and authorities with jurisdiction in the area. • A meeting with the Lake Michelle Homeowners Association was scheduled for 17 October 2018. The attendance register and presentation is attached as Appendix F10. During the meeting is was decided to extend the commenting period till the 12th of November 2018. • All comments received during the 60-day comment period are included under Appendix F11 of the draft BAR. All comments received were responded to under Section 2 of this Comments and Response Report (Appendix F12). A Comments and Response Summary was formulated and is attached as Appendix F13. 2. COMMENTS & RESPONSE 2.1. Comments & Response on Pre-Application BAR As stated in the summary above, the pre-Application PPP was undertaken from Thursday, 23 August to Monday, 12 November 2018. All comments received during the Pre-Application PPP were responded to below. 2.1.1. Comments & Response Table Refer to Table 1 for the Comments and Response on the Pre-Application BAR. DJEC Ref: 2014/33 Page 3 of 199 COMMENTS & RESPONSE REPORT Table 1: Comments and Response on the Pre-Application BAR (comment period: Thursday, 23 August to Monday, 12 November 2018) DATE COMMENT AUTHORITY / RESPONSE RESPONDENT I&AP 2018-08-22 My preferred communication method is email. Colin Iles It would appear that development of erf 3823 at some future date was Tony Barbour - Please do not use the postal service and if you do decide to do so, use envisaged when Lake Michelle was initially planned statements by Social Specialist registered services, where it is clear it has been delivered, by my signature estate agents to purchasers that the site would not be developed are and my signature alone. Where proof of receipt is required and you are therefore misleading. using email, please do not assume that I have received and read the mail, unless I have responded saying as such. Unless the title deed of a property states that no form of development make take places, there is always the potential of some form of Indication of Interest development to take place on open land located within urban areas, such as erf 3823, There is therefore always a potential threat that open I own the property at 13 Waterlilly Road, Lake Michelle, Noordhoek. spaces can be developed and that depending on the type of development this may pose a risk to and or impact on surrounding My property faces directly towards where the proposed development is property values and views etc. Some developments may also impact planned. positively on adjacent land uses. This may also be the case with the proposed Evergreen development. I am concerned about the potential detrimental impact of the proposal as I purchased the house, under advisement that Erf 3823 was never to be In the case of erf 3823 a medium sized middle to upper income further developed and I am now concerned I would be negatively impacted development of 110 units catering to the retirement market is being due to a number of reasons including (but not limited to): proposed adjacent to an existing middle to upper income eco-estate development. The proposed development does not therefore represent a significantly different development from a socio-economic perspective. Therefore, while the current sense of place of some properties located immediately adjacent to the development will change, the changes for the majority of properties are likely to be limited. As indicated above, development of erf 3823 has been envisaged for a number of years and pre-dates the establishment of the affected houses in Phase 2 of Lake Michelle. The purchasers should have recognised that at some future date some form of development was likely to take place on erf 3823. -a decline in the value of my property The statement that property values will decline is unsubstantiated. In Planning 2019 properties in Lake Michelle were marketed for between R11 500 Partners 000 and R3 850 000 (Property24 as accessed on 25 January 2019). 3- bedroom houses within the existing residential area are marketed on DJEC Ref: 2016/66 Page 4 of 199 COMMENTS & RESPONSE REPORT DATE COMMENT AUTHORITY / RESPONSE RESPONDENT I&AP average for approximately R7 024.00/m², while the Evergreen product will be delivered at approximately R 10 200.00/m² (calculated as average unit cost over property/stand area). In 2020, properties in Lake Michelle are marketed for between R11 500 000 and R3 475 000 (Property24 as assessed on 27 May 2020) despite the current market conditions, the Evergreen product still reflects a higher average rate/m². With the high-quality product proposed for Remainder Erf 3823 (Phase 8), it is likely that surrounding property values will remain stable. A medium sized middle to upper income development of 110 units catering to the retirement market is being proposed adjacent to an existing middle to upper income eco-estate development. The proposed development does not represent a different development from a socio-economic perspective. -increased noise pollution both during and after any build process. Construction stage noise pollution is of a temporary nature and is Planning associated with all development initiatives. Construction associated Partners noise will be managed through the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP). The Evergreen product is for retirees, who are generally older and more mature than the average household. Sound levels are anticipated to be less than those of standard households and should not be more than is experienced within Lake Michelle already. -negative environmental impacts A freshwater, botanical, and faunal specialist was appointed to assess DJEC negative environmental impacts and to provide mitigation measures for these impacts. The detail of the environmental impacts and mitigation measures have been addressed in the draft BAR. -loss of privacy The erven of Waterlily Close will be separated from the proposed Planning development by