circular-8-procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-land-use-planning-ordinance-1985-ordinance-15-of-1985-a960e66c552a5a82.pdf

Circular 8/2013 provides updated procedures for appeals under the Land Use Planning Ordinance, 1985 (LUPO) in the Western Cape, following a High Court judgment that declared section 44 of the LUPO unconstitutional. The circular outlines how the Minister will now handle appeals—through dismissal, setting aside, or substitution—and details the administrative requirements for municipalities processing these appeals.

• Following the Habitat Council judgment on 14 August 2013, the Western Cape High Court declared section 44 of the Land Use Planning Ordinance, 1985 (LUPO) unconstitutional and invalid. This declaration is suspended for 24 months to allow the Provincial Legislature to amend or replace the provision.
• The Minister's authority to decide on LUPO appeals is now limited to three specific actions: dismissing an appeal if the municipality performed its function effectively; setting aside a decision and referring it back to the municipality if the function was not performed effectively; or substituting the municipal decision if the matter concerns provincial, regional, urban, or rural development and the municipal decision was incorrect.
• When setting aside a municipal decision for failure to perform its planning function effectively, the Minister evaluates whether fair administrative procedures were followed, if relevant considerations were ignored, if irrelevant considerations affected the decision, and if the decision was rationally connected to the information and reasons provided.
• To determine if an application has provincial significance justifying a substitution of the decision, the Minister assesses if there is a significant impact on the general welfare of inhabitants or the orderly, coordinated, and harmonious development of a region or the Province, considering the scale of land use or cumulative impacts.
• Under the amended General Structure Plan, all rezoning and subdivision applications are delegated to municipalities for first instance decisions. However, applications involving land outside the approved urban edge (or built-up area if no SDF exists) or land converted from agriculture or conservation must be referred to the Department for comment, which must be provided within 30 days.
• The administrative process for LUPO appeals requires appellants to submit a motivated written appeal and supporting documentation to the Director: Land Management within 21 days of the municipality's decision. Municipalities must then notify objectors and applicants, allowing 30 days for written comments on the appeal before submitting the final file to the Department.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). circular-8-procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-land-use-planning-ordinance-1985-ordinance-15-of-1985-a960e66c552a5a82.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Circular-8-Procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-Land-Use-Planning-Ordinance-1985-Ordinance-15-of-1985.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. circular-8-procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-land-use-planning-ordinance-1985-ordinance-15-of-1985-a960e66c552a5a82.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Circular-8-Procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-Land-Use-Planning-Ordinance-1985-Ordinance-15-of-1985.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=circular-8-procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-land-use-planning-ordinance-1985-ordinance-15-of-1985-a960e66c552a5a82.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Circular-8-Procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-Land-Use-Planning-Ordinance-1985-Ordinance-15-of-1985.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndcircular8proceduresregardingappealsitothelanduseplanningordinance1985ordinance15of1985a960e66c552a5a82pdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{circular-8-procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-land-use-planning-ordinance-1985-ordinance-15-of-1985-a960e66c552a5a82.pdf}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Circular-8-Procedures-regarding-appeals-ito-the-Land-Use-Planning-Ordinance-1985-Ordinance-15-of-1985.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }