To prove his point, Gert Joubert visited the site on Tuesday with a bakkie-load of seven homeless people from the area. Then he showed them around, promising them the 2 400m2 plot if the Kenridge Ratepayers' Association and the Bellville Municipality did not meet his demands within three months.
Finally, he sent them on their way with R100 each, "for their time", after they indicated they were more than willing to be part of his plan.
| 'This not a publicity stunt. This land is useless to me' |
A disgruntled Joubert said he had bought three adjacent plots in Alf Road in Tygervalley 10 years ago for R1m.
He bought the "very difficult piece of land" with the intention of building a nine-storey block of upmarket flats.
Since then, he had been fighting a losing battle with the Kenridge Ratepayers' Association to have the land zoned for development. He said the association had deemed the development unacceptable because it would be "too high".
It would also cause traffic congestion, and residents "were not happy with having the parking area situated above a municipal water facility".
Joubert said he was now "gatvol", and his answer was to simply give the land away to the homeless.
"This not a publicity stunt. This land is useless to me. Every month I pay my rates and taxes, and I've spent about R5 000 to have rubble removed, so I'm the only one suffering financial difficulties," Joubert said.
The homeless people brought to the site said they deserved the land. One, Koos van Staden, asked Joubert whether he would be allowed to build a "hokkie" on it.
Another, Herman Theunissen, interjected, saying he was tired of not being able to walk the streets of Durbanville without being labelled a thief and a criminal.
Ratepayers' association chairperson Taki Amira said Joubert was being "pathetic and childish".
Neighbours objected to his plans because their sunlight would be blocked. Traffic would also be increased, and the proposed parking area would be built above a municipal water pump.
He said zoning laws and by-laws did allow for some of Joubert's proposals. However, if Joubert planned to house the homeless there, Amira said he would have to make the necessary applications and follow procedure.
City spokesperson Charles Cooper explained that the ratepayers' association provided comment only, and that the city's planning department made recommen-dations in the event of objections.
"This issue pre-dates the establishment of the Northern Planning District in 2008, and neither the District Manager, Mr Charles Rudman, nor any of his planners are aware of Mr Joubert's proposals," Cooper said, adding that Rudman had invited Joubert to contact him to discuss the issue.
Moving homeless people on to the land would also need planning department permission.
Joubert, who owns the Shelley Point development along the West Coast and runs other property developments in St Helena Bay, fired off a warning to his neighbours.
"When I said I wanted to build a nine-storey block I was told the residents didn't want rich people looking down at them. Now I'll give them poor people to look up at them," he said.
- Cape Argus
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