LOUIS TRICHARDT – As Council pushes ahead with its proposed rezoning of the Indigenous Tree Sanctuary, commonly known as the Tree Park, resistance is mounting among residents who stand against business development in this area.

The controversy surrounding the rezoning of the Tree Park was sparked in December, when Council advertised its intentions. This in itself caused uproar as public participation is of crucial importance in the process and most people were on holiday at the time. Council's actions placed a serious question mark over its motives for publishing such an important notice during this period of the year. The advertisement gave people with objections against the rezoning until December 27 to register, whereby they will then be able to take part in the Environmental Impact Assessment meeting on January 17. In addition, residents had to register in Tzaneen.

In response to Council's seemingly ill-conceived actions, residents called a public meeting on Monday (13th) to assess the nature and scale of the objections against the rezoning of the Tree Park, and to draft a formal citizens objection. The meeting was well-attended by some of the town's top businessmen and women, senior members of the region's agricultural unions, as well as representatives of the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry who oppose the proposed rezoning and development.

Several speakers, as well as residents had the opportunity to voice their concerns. Key information regarding the process was, however, given by Mr Allan McMurtrie from the local Department of Environmental Affairs. Mr McMurtrie said that he was shocked to hear about the proposed rezoning and development of the Tree Park, after returning from leave. He said he then did some homework and found that Council had until then, not even submitted an application regarding its intentions to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) section in Polokwane. Mr McMurtrie explained that although there is no regulation forcing Council to submit an application, the EIA section in Polokwane has set out certain criteria, which must be followed. This entails providing a copy of the proposed advertisement regarding the rezoning and development of an area to the EIA section, which was not done. Mr McMurtrie, who is the sub regional EIA officer, also questioned Council's actions in advertising its intentions in the middle of December, saying that this time of the year it is commonly seen as "dead time". He concluded by saying that from his department's side, they will do everything they can to halt the process. He did, however, make it clear that it is important to remember that no one can deny a developer the right to apply. Mr McMurtrie later added that Council's actions in December were unprofessional and that Council had no excuse, as copies of the EIA guidelines and applications forms are available free of charge at the local offices of the Department of Environmental Affairs in Joubert Street.

Another speaker, Mr Cerneels Kern touched on the business aspect of the proposed rezoning and development and said that there are a lot of local businessmen and women with established business interests and that any separate development outside of the existing Central Business District will be detrimental to their future. In addition, Mrs Sarah Bristow from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry said that should they manage to stop the proposed development, something should be set in place to prevent any future plans to develop this highly fragile conservation area. She mentioned that they could make use of the National Forest Act, or have the area proclaimed as a Botanical Garden.

Apart from the above, concerns over who initiated the process of rezoning; who the developers of it are; what type of development is envisaged and also how the town's already overloaded sewage system will cope with an additional load, were raised. In this regard, Mr Kern said that he has tried on numerous occasions to obtain information about these aspects from Council but to date has received little or no help. He said that he seriously questions Council's transparency on the issue.

Following the meeting on Monday, it was clear that residents are prepared to fight Council in court, should it continue with its efforts to have the Tree Park rezoned. In one instance, a well-known local businessman offered to foot the bill and contribute financially, should the issue result in a legal battle. It was also made very clear that residents have an important role to play in the process and that they should not refrain from voicing their concerns. In this regard it is of utmost importance that as many residents as possible attend the EIA meetings. It was almost made clear that although most residents are not against development, they should have a say on where development should take place and what type of development would be allowed.

In a surprise turn of events, Council is seemingly backtracking its decision to advertise a notice regarding the rezoning of the Tree Park in December. This week another notice of the meeting was advertised and it is now scheduled to take place in February. On inquiry the Acting Municipal Manager, Mr Vic Viljoen confirmed this. When asked whether Friday's (17th) meeting was postponed in the light of current developments, Mr Viljoen said that Friday's meeting would go ahead as planned, despite the fact that the actual meeting is scheduled for February 21.

Reacting to a question about who the developers are and who initiated the process of rezoning the Tree Park, Mr Viljoen stated that there are at present no developers identified and that the decision to rezone the Tree Park was taken by Council. He said that this is in line with Council's decision last year to sell off land that is potentially fit for development. One of the first areas targeted for this purpose was the remainder of Portion 7 of the farm Bergvliet 288LS. This area also includes the presently undeveloped area of the municipal sports ground and the area commonly known as the Bird Sanctuary.