Residents encouraged to attend info days about spatial plan for CBD

CITY OF CAPE TOWN

MEDIA RELEASE

The City of Cape Town published the local spatial development framework (LSDF) for the CBD area on 2 September 2024 for public comment. The intention of the LSDF is to strategically shape the area’s future growth and development. Residents and stakeholders are encouraged to attend the upcoming information days where they will have the opportunity to pose questions to City officials, and submit comments and proposals. Read more below:

The study area is the core economic area of the CBD, divided into eight precincts, each with its own characteristics, constraints, and opportunities namely: De Waterkant, Convention District, Mid-City, Company Gardens, East Foreshore, Cape Town Station, East City, and Lower Gardens.

The draft LSDF proposes development guidelines for each precinct in terms of its urban form, approach towards height management, and character assessment.

‘It is very important for residents and stakeholders to collaborate with the City as we are refining the draft LSDF for the CBD. Once approved, the LSDF will guide decisions about land use and development, density, transportation and urban design. It will also inform public investment in infrastructure to ensure that the CBD transitions into a more sustainable, equitable, inclusive, liveable and resilient space to the benefit of current and future generations of Capetonians. Thus, there should be no doubt about the importance of the LSDF in guiding us towards the CBD of 2024, and therefore, the more input we receive from our residents, the better,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

The draft LSDF is available on the City’s website at: www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay  

Upcoming public information days:

·  Saturday, 28 September 2024, from 09:00 to 12:00, at the Central Library in Parade Street

·     Thursday, 10 October 2024, from 10:00 to 18:00, at the Central Library in Parade Street

How to comment:

·     Go online www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay

·     Attend the public information days

·     Submit comments by 31 October 2024

‘The CBD is key to Cape Town’s future resilience and economic health. The draft LSDF proposes how we can fully optimise the CBD’s existing characteristics such as its unique sense of place with the Atlantic ocean and Table Mountain, its diverse cultural heritage, and vibrancy.

‘The intention of this spatial vision is to transform the CBD into an environment that is more people-centred with urban design interventions to improve mobility and access for pedestrians, efforts to optimise heritage areas, a public land programme to inform land release in support of affordable housing opportunities, and an appropriately scaled urban form and interface to encourage mixed use intensification. With mixed use, we mean development that accommodates multiple uses such as business, retail, and residential opportunities for existing and new buildings.

‘Thus, in short, we need the CBD to be accessible to all Capetonians, safe, attractive, and inclusive. The LSDF must guide development decisions to accommodate the growth in the property market, facilitate mixed-use and residential intensification, while leveraging the character and traditional urban fabric opportunities,’ said Alderman Andrews.

All of the public comments will be assessed and taken into account in finalising the LSDF once the public participation process has been concluded.

End

Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town

Media enquiries: Jason Love, Executive Support Officer to the Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Cell: 072 161 4037, Email: Jason.Love@capetown.gov.za (Please always copy media.account@capetown.gov.za)