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The Lake Michelle Property Development, Cape TownEnvironmental awards ignore the real champions of environment. What really went down behind the scenes at Lake Michelle.
Lake Michele DevelopmentIt really irks me when property developers claim they have an environmentally friendly or sustainable development. While there may be What is even more annoying is when developers, planners, estate agents and engineers all pat themselves on the back and enter their pet properties into competitions to win awards for sustainability or ‘greenness.’ One such example is that of Lake Michelle, a waterfront development around what was originally a seasonal wetland in Noordhoek, in Cape Towns southern suburbs. This recently won an award, being chosen as the winner for annual awards for excellence in property development by the SA Property Owners Association (SAPOA). It also won a landscaping award that hinged largely on our insistence that all planting consists of both indigenous – preferably endemic – species. This development is an accident of planning that was granted development rights during the global heyday of waterfront developments in the 1980s. Now that we know the true value of wetlands and their conservation value most of these developments would not have seen the light of day given modern planning and environmental regulations. Lake Michele is only one, which would probably also include Marina Da Gama in Muizenberg, St Francis marina in the Eastern Cape and the marina on the Kowie river, Port Alfred. However it is on Lake Michele that I wish to concentrate. The fact that the developers of this site were stopped from illegally bulldozing the wetlands in 1998 through our direct intervention shows how problematic the later phases of this development was from the outset. The original proposal consisted of over 600 properties, including cluster housing, narrow and unsustainable canals, all at densities that would have in all likelihood have pushed this system to entropy. This plan was passed by a partisan political party decision in local government over our strong protests in 1998. The initial development, after being halted, again lurched into life in 1999 when the environmental group I work with (The Noordhoek Environmental Action Group) lodged an appeal to the provincial authorities to intervene and institute a proper planning and oversight process that was both inclusive and comprehensive. The existing planning at that time was piecemeal and inadequate, the reason for our original opposition to it at a municipal level. Accordingly, a proper scoping process was eventually embarked upon. Our and other expert input forced the developers to take a far more conservative approach and to leave the most sensitive areas of the development alone entirely due to its high conservation value. Interestingly this is the area that was originally being bulldozed, as above! This phase, phase 8 was ironically going to be the most densely built, right along the scenic Noordhoek main road. Instead it was found to have the best preserved Sarcocornia wetland in the Cape Town metropolis. If it were not for our input this entire area would have been bulldozed and trashed. We also tried hard to change the outlet flows from the lakes from its existing flow to a fairly pristine vlei, Papkuilsvlei and shift it instead toward the degraded Wildevoelvlei, where it could assist in cleaning water in this polluted wetland. However this option was shelved but can be initiated later if problems do arise in Lake Michele. The existing outlet was upgraded and modified to better control flows. But the central point is that it is only through pressure that we, NEAG and the Noordhoek Conservancy, brought upon the developers and owners of this property that it was nearly as successful as it was. We do not do this for kudos but simply because it is our role as conservators and watchdog organisations. It does at least seem that it may just be polite if our role was acknowledged when these developers, who we have pushed towards successful developments, get an award. But not; the egos and marketing opportunities are milked instead. The final development plan approved for Lake Michele reduced the number of properties that were developed from over 600 to 230, increased the size of the properties, increased the size of the wetland areas, ensured that proper maintenance and indigenous planting programmes were instituted and contributed in many other ways to the success of this development. As chair of the Environmental Liaison Committee during the construction of the lakes I continued to push the developers to ensure that this development is a success, both for existing residents and new residents. It is fine for developers to pat themselves on the back but it is egregiously misleading for them to claim either directly or indirectly that the eventual outcome was due only to their input while ignoring the pressure that was brought to bear on them in order for this development to be as carefully constructed as it was. After at least 40 meetings, dozens of documents and submissions and close attention to the details of this development, all contributed to voluntarily by ourselves, with no recompense at all, it would seem politic for the developers of this supposed eco-estate (which is actually nothing of the sort but I will keep that for another blog) to at least acknowledge that their hand was forced and they did not go down this route without a struggle. Since they are unlikely to make such an admission I instead contribute this missive to clear up what really went down behind the scenes to make Lake Michele the ‘success’ it has been. Not that I personally believe that turning a wetland into a housing estate can ever be a ‘success’ but that is another story for another time………….
Lake Michelle ArticleKeywords: wetland, eco-estate, developer, watchdog, community group, environmental activism, award, Lake Michele, Plan Trust, SAPOA, Chittenden NicksBack To Ekogaia Home Page
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