Public Protector to assess Brackenfell zoning complaint over housing site
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The Public Protector's office has confirmed that a complaint about conflicting zoning records at Erf 9702 in Ruwari, Brackenfell, the site of a planned affordable housing development, is awaiting assessment.
The Public Protector's office has confirmed that a formal complaint about zoning discrepancies at Erf 9702 in Ruwari, Brackenfell, is awaiting assessment, and said it is working through a backlog of cases.
The complaint was lodged on 20 September by City of Cape Town councillor Sandra Dickson of GOOD, on behalf of the Brackenfell Ratepayers Association. It centres on a contradiction in the City's own records, where some identify the property as Open Space 2 (OS2), on which may not be built, and others as Local Business 2 (LB2). Dickson says the contradiction was known internally as far back as May 2025.
She pointed to City GIS evidence from 20 August showing an OS2 entry returned at the parcel-specific split zoning level, an entry that subsequently disappeared. On 17 September, the City's Northern District manager confirmed that the zoning layer on the official City Viewer had been changed and described it as a rectification.
According to Dickson, the City has not provided the original and amended dataset records, the GIS edit and audit history, the authorisation, or the procedural decision setting out what was changed and under which legal authority. She is asking the Public Protector to establish whether the change was properly authorised under the Municipal Planning By-law, including section 30(6) if the statutory zoning map was corrected, and whether its effect on neighbouring residents and public participation was considered.
She stressed that she is seeking an investigation and documentary findings, not making a concluded allegation that the database was altered dishonestly. The complaint was accompanied by a 31-page evidence pack, and nearly 600 objections have been lodged against the building departure applications for the development.
Dickson also asked that related matters be placed on record, including a separate complaint by councillor Karl Bodin questioning the City's Municipal Planning Tribunal and the 2025 amendments to its planning by-law, and the South African Human Rights Commission's announcement on 28 October that it will go to the Western Cape High Court to interdict the transfer of 49 municipal properties sold at auction in February. She said those matters do not prove wrongdoing at Erf 9702 but show why an independent, document-based assessment is needed.