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Simmering tensions have reached boiling point as a number of trees on the Klaasenbosch greenbelt came crashing down on Monday 15 April, regarded by local environmental groups as illegal tree felling serving interests of dense property development in Constantia.
Fingers are pointing to the City of Cape Town and the owner and/or developer of the property at 21 Spilhaus Avenue, neighbouring the adjoining strip of Klaasenbosch greenbelt.
Jenny Louw from the Zandvlei Catchment Forum gave a breakdown of the incident discovered earlier this month.
A group of horse riders representative of the wider public frequenting the trail “passed by the site when their horses got spooked by roaring chainsaws and chanced upon active tree felling of old pines and tree tops mowed on land marked as protected by the City of Cape Town’s parks and recreation department”.
“We were told permission was granted to cut down trees posing a threat to fencing on the border of the City’s and neighbour’s land, separating the two. But it was discovered that the tree felling continued well into the protected zone,” Louw explained.
The City’s Principal Technical Assistant for Environmental Management Fay Howa was called to the site on Tuesday 16 April and the activity was forced to a halt, pending an investigation by the City.
Friends of the Constantia Valley Greenbelts’ (FoCVG) chair Colin Walker argues this “ ‘visceral’ public outrage is because of the tree felling by the property’s owner / developer to enhance the view of the property and so justify its sale price.”
The 7 617 m², six-bedroom property is listed for sale online for the price of R18 950 000. Interestingly, the property was still being marketed as a tree canopied property according to the Property24 website as of Monday 22 April.
Walker claimed that the owner did not have a permit from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) to remove the forest, or any of the trees from the property.
“This [permit] is required if a landowner wants to remove mature indigenous trees”.
Except for the huge pines on the lower portion of the property (covered 100% by trees), Walker added, more than 90% of the trees were indigenous such as the Kiggeleria (wild peach), Diosporus (Bladder Nut/Cape Ebony) and Rapanea (Cape Boekenhout) are the dominant species.
“Some of these trees were at least 50 years old and plus 6 m in height. Nothing is left of this canopy... It is important to note here that the contractor is a City registered contractor who is thus well aware of City felling protocol,” he pointed out.
Walker additionally alleged that “the contractor also felled small trees and dropped branches onto the City’s electrical substation narrowly missing power lines. We expect that the City will also take cognisance of this act of wanton recklessness.”
City investigation underway
The City’s Mayco member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said the matter is currently being investigated, stating: “The City’s Recreation and Parks Department confirms that no authorisation was given to the landowner to cut down the mature pine trees on Council land.”
Prior approval must be obtained from the City’s Recreation and Parks Department for all tree trimming, tree removal and tree root pruning requests.
The Department is aware of the incident as was reported on Monday, 22 April.
“A meeting was previously held between the City and the landowner on Tuesday 16 April to discuss reckless tree felling on the landowner’s property resulting in the damage of his own Outeniqua yellowwoods.
“The landowner requested to remove the large pine trees on City land to improve his view. After an assessment, the request was declined as the trees were deemed healthy and posed no risk to the property,” she added.
Answering questions regarding suitable punishment for illegal tree felling, Van der Ross said: “Results to such actions are guided by the contextual importance in the area as well as conditions of the authorisation from both the City of Cape Town and the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment.”
The City’s Recreation and Parks Department also takes into consideration its policy on recovery of damages to non-insured City of Cape Town property.
Community activist cry out
Parkscape’s Heritage spokesperson Paddy Atwell labelled the damage to trees in the Klaasenbosch Trail as “absolutely shocking”.
“We welcome the City’s investigation into this incident. The City has listed the Klaasenbosch Trail as a Grade 3A Cultural Landscape, requiring maximum protection.”
Atwell motivated that the cultural significance of the trail is high, according to the City’s heritage inventory, forming an important component of the Constantia Cultural Landscape.
“The trail is one of the most scenic of the Constantia greenbelts, and an extremely important public amenity. Unfortunately, we have seen the felling of mature trees in the greenbelt in recent years that does not appear to take this status into account.”
The greenbelts form a key part of Cape Town’s tiny urban forest of which trees cover only about 6% of the city, according to Cape Town’s Urban Forest Policy.
“Everything possible must be done to conserve what we have and to expand our urban forest, preferably to 50%, in line with international best practice.”
The activists agree that increasing development is beneficial to the city. Yet, they advocate absolute responsibility be taken by the City of Cape Town where developments threaten the city’s environmental assets.
While global urban forest averages are heading to a minimum of 30% canopy cover, “Cape Town is woefully backward on its percentage of urban forest – a tiny 6%, set to decrease by 40% since the invasion by the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB),” according to Parkscape’s Chair Nicky Schmit.
Chair of TreeKeepers Cape Town Clare Burgess chimed in, saying they support the public outcry over this incident.
“Trees should not be felled indiscriminately. The correct legal procedures must always be followed before trees on City-owned land may be cut down. We encourage citizens to be aware of potential illegal felling, and report incidents on the TreeKeepers website: https://treekeeperscapetown.org.za/take-action/”
The City warns residents against the removal of trees and to immediately report all tree incidents on its land to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cell phone or 107 from a landline.
Attempts by the People’s Post to reach out to the property owner were unsuccessful. None of the people interviewed, nor the City was able to provide details.
