Open Formal Petition — Western Cape

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We call on the four responsible authorities to fulfil their environmental obligations before any construction commences on Erf 1061, Ruskin Road, Bergvliet where an IUCN Endangered species has been confirmed present, a river flows into a documented wetland system, and not a single known specialist environmental study has been conducted.

This petition is addressed to

City of Cape Town

Building plan approval authority · Maintains no EIA needed due to 1967 zoning · Twice refused PAIA disclosure.

Western Cape Education Department

Applicant and developer · Commissioned the Traffic Impact Assessment.

Heritage Western Cape

Issued the approval · Dismissed the appeal without written reasons.

WC Dept of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning

Provincial environmental oversight authority · Has power to require additional assessments.

We, the undersigned, state the following

The Western Leopard Toad (Sclerophrys pantherina) – classified Endangered on the IUCN Red List and found nowhere else on Earth besides the Western Cape – has been confirmed present on Erf 1061 during breeding season and otherwise by verified iNaturalist records. Each year between July and October, this species migrates northward across this site to breed at Die Oog Nature Reserve, 300 metres away. The proposed development would place a 1,120-learner school generating 1,527* additional peak-hour vehicle movements directly across this migration route.

The Keysers River flows southward along the western boundary of Erf 1061 into the Dreyersdal wetlands – a system formally documented in peer-reviewed research as a restoration priority in the Zandvlei catchment. Poor water quality in the Keysers River is already documented as driving eutrophication in Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve. Converting 3.87 hectares of permeable land to hard surfacing upstream of the Dreyersdal wetlands would add directly to that load. No known stormwater or hydrological assessment has been conducted.

The City of Cape Town maintains that no Environmental Impact Assessment is required because the site was zoned for educational use in 1967 – before the Constitution, before the National Environmental Management Act, before the National Heritage Resources Act, before the National Water Act, and before the recognition of this area as ecologically significant. A historical administrative decision made without environmental knowledge cannot permanently waive the state’s obligations to the species and waterways subsequently identified here. The precautionary principle in NEMA Section 2(4)(a)(vii) does not expire.

*Based on an independent traffic assessment commissioned by the community after access to the TIA was denied.

We endorse the following five demands.

01

Commission and publicly release a specialist Western Leopard Toad migration impact assessment before any construction commences

A qualified herpetologist must map all migration routes, document all iNaturalist records on and around Erf 1061, assess the impact of the development on northward migration to Die Oog, and specify enforceable mitigation – including seasonal construction restrictions during the July to October breeding season.

02

Conduct and publicly release a stormwater and hydrological impact assessment of the Keysers River and Dreyersdal wetlands

A specialist engineer must assess the downstream impact of converting 3.87 hectares to hard surfacing on the Keysers River and Dreyersdal wetlands – already identified as ecologically compromised – and quantify the additional pollution load entering Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve. Binding mitigation conditions must follow.

03

Suspend any construction authorisation pending independent peer review of the Traffic Impact Assessment

The TIA was withheld from the community twice and released only after the Ombudsman ordered the City to comply with PAIA. A document central to the approval must be independently peer-reviewed, and its findings publicly addressed, before any construction commences.

04

Impose enforceable nocturnal lighting and noise conditions as binding permit requirements with independent monitoring

Maximum lux levels at the northern and western site boundaries during the July to October breeding season, a prohibition on night floodlighting of sports facilities year-round, and seasonal noise management measures as binding conditions, not planning recommendations.

05

Obtain a formal legal opinion on whether the 1967 C01 zoning exemption lawfully applies under NEMA and the Constitution

Whether a 1967 zoning decision can permanently exempt a 1,120-learner regional development from NEMA’s precautionary principle and Section 24 constitutional environmental rights – when an IUCN Endangered endemic species has since been confirmed on the site – is a question that deserves a High Court answer.

We do not sign this petition in opposition to the provision of public education. We sign it because the law requires the state to protect an Endangered species and a documented ecological corridor and because a 1967 zoning certificate, issued before any of this was known, is not a sufficient answer to that obligation.

Add your signature

Open to all residents of and interested parties in the Western Cape.

Starting goal: 1000 signatures

349

Individuals who have signed this petition.

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I endorse the five demands listed above and call on all four named authorities to act on them before any construction commences.

Keep me updated on this campaign and GroundRules initiatives across the Western Cape.

This petition is open to all residents of the Western Cape and to any person with an interest in the conservation of the Western Leopard Toad, the Keysers River catchment, or the responsible application of environmental law in South Africa.

Why your signature matters

The toad cannot sign

The Western Leopard Toad is confirmed on this site. It has no legal standing. Your signature is the only voice it has in this process.

Petitions carry legal weight

A petition formally submitted to an organ of state must be acknowledged and responded to. It becomes part of the public record in any subsequent legal or regulatory process.

Volume changes political calculations

Officials respond differently to 500 signatures than to 10,000. The end goal of 10,000 is chosen specifically because it is large enough to be cited in media coverage and legal submissions.

This is bigger than one suburb

The Keysers River flows to Zandvlei. The Western Leopard Toad’s range covers the whole Cape Peninsula. The 1967 zoning argument affects every ecologically sensitive site zoned before 1994. This case matters beyond Bergvliet.

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SOURCES AND LEGAL BASIS

IUCN RED LIST

Sclerophrys pantherina — Endangered. Area of occupancy: 405 km². Severely fragmented population. Continuing decline in habitat quality.

NEMA SECTION 2(4)(a)(vii)

The precautionary principle: where there is risk of serious or irreversible environmental harm, a lack of full scientific certainty may not be used as a reason for postponing preventive measures.

KEYSERS CATCHMENT RESEARCH

Peer-reviewed research documents the Dreyersdal wetlands as a priority restoration node in the Keysers catchment system and identifies poor water quality as a driver of eutrophication in Zandvlei Estuary.

CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH AFRICA

Section 24: everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing, and to have the environment protected for present and future generations.

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