The City of Joburg has revealed plans to introduce a bylaw that will compel the public to include trees and other green features in future building plans.
According to Joburg City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley, the municipal entity has commenced with the consultation process, but the process would need further engagement with various role players.
As part of the city council’s Growth and Development vision for 2040 every new household should include a tree or a fruit tree, Moodley said.
Executive Mayor Parks Tau had highlighted that erratic weather patterns would impact on food security globally and that the demand for fresh produce would outstrip supply if immediate planning was not undertaken, she said.
“Hence the need for Joburg to address greening disparities to create a culture of respect for trees,” added Moodley.
As part of the city council’s greening projects, it sought to ensure that 10 000 indigenous trees and 6 000 fruit trees would be planted.
The city council currently had greening requirements for site development plans, which were mandatory for developers across the city.
The current greening requirements compelled the inclusion of landscaping information such as the botanical names and quantities of tree and shrubs, which should preferably be indigenous, in site development plans.
“At this stage the onus is on new homeowners and developers to willingly comply, however there are high levels of non-compliance,” said Moodley.
“Perhaps in the long term, subject to the availability of space, this will inform future requirements in the city of Joburg. The unfortunate reality is that not every household has the ability to plant and care for a tree,” she said.
Moodley said there were 10 million municipal trees across the city and it was very disappointing that there were isolated reports of residents complaining that these trees were a nuisance.
City Parks would only remove a tree if it was dead, diseased or decayed.
The entity advised companies who were looking to offset their carbon footprint to contact them at trees@jhbcityparks.com or 011 712 6600 to plant trees in areas that urgently required tree cover.
