A Comparative Consideration of Development Charges in Cape Town

This article, will look at the relatively new Cape Town development charge initiative in a comparative perspective. Part I will discuss the U.S. experience with development charges, including examples both effective and less so. The aim in Part I will be to demonstrate the achievements and shortcomings of development charges - or impact fees, as they are most commonly called in the U.S. - as utilized in the U.S., which was an early adopter of such practices globally. Part I will also suggest areas in which Cape Town practitioners (of whatever kind, whether lawyers, urban planners, engineers and so on) might want to take care as they seek to work with their legislation, based on the U.S. experience. Part II will then provide an assessment of Cape Town\u27s development charge (DC) efforts in context. Part II also will assess DC efforts in Cape Town in comparison with other models, including the U.S. model and ask, in light of South African spatial management literature, what, if any, concerns stand out for Cape Town\u27s successful implementation of a DC program. Based on the previous two parts, Part III will, finally, briefly conclude with some observations and concerns about the practicability of Cape Town achieving significant infrastructure improvements using its new development charge regulations