Understanding the Roles of each Professional in a Housing Development Project 

It is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of each professional in a development housing project. The input of each professional is also dependent on the nature of the project, the municipal location of the project, the size of the project, and the client or developer’s requirements.

In a housing project, the following teams’ members will typically be involved: The blog post will explore the duties of each professional in a typical housing development project.

TOWN PLANNER

The town planner plays an extremely valuable role in the cycle of a housing project. Town planners need to lobby for problem-solving solutions between different professionals, the council, and the developer. A town planner can also act as a project manager, depending on the nature and scale of the project.

 

The duties and responsibilities of the Town Planner in housing project includes the following:

• The town planner will consult with the project manager and all other professional team members.

• The town planner will prepare a cost-effective settlement layout plan for housing purposes in accordance with municipal standards.

• The town planner will obtain input from professional team members to ensure that the town plan complies with civil and geotechnical engineering, environmental, and architectural guidelines, as well as land survey standards and requirements.

• The town planner will consult with the department of education to establish educational requirements and to obtain approval from the said department for proposed education sites where applicable.

• The town planner will consult with the department of transport of provincial or national roads that border the project area or are within close proximity thereof in order to obtain their needs, requirements, and approval.

• The town planner will undertake a site inspection to establish all non-residential land uses in order to accommodate these land uses in the town plan where possible.

• The town planner will consult with all service providers to establish existing, proposed, and future infrastructure requirements with respect to the project area.
• The town planner will provide appropriate information to the project manager as and when required.
• The town planner will attend monthly progress meetings as scheduled by the project manager or as required.

• The town planner will attend community meetings as required.

• The town planner will ensure compliance with program requirements as stipulated by the project manager.

• The town planner will obtain approval of the town planning layout and township establishment from the relevant authorities and community.

• The town planner will accommodate physiographical constraints identified through a slope analysis, geotechnical investigation, and environmental impact assessment and further adhere to the guidelines and parameters as recommended.

• The town planner will ensure that the layout plan adheres to the relevant municipality’s minimum standards for development planning and engineering regarding site sizes, panhandle widths, road geometric design parameters, road reserve widths, etc.

• The town planner will ensure identification of individual site low points and private storm water servitudes, as well as any other requirements for infrastructure purposes.

• The town planner will assess the status of all existing structures and infrastructure in order to retain the maximum number of structures and minimize relocations.

• The town planner will make provision for the amendment of the layout plan to accommodate engineering requirements.

• The town planner will ensure that the layout plan should reflect erf numbers as supplied by the surveyor general, and the numbering of the erven on the layout plan should be done with the assistance of the appointed land surveyor.

• The town planner will prepare a town planning motivation report, draft conditions of establishment, and provide additional documentation as required by the relevant municipality and based on the relevant SPLUMA guidelines.

• The town planner will assess the underlying property or properties and ensure that all land legal aspects related to town planning matters are appropriately addressed in the design stage of the layout plan as well as in terms of the township establishment. In this regard, specific attention should be given to restrictive title deed conditions to be removed or suspended as part of the township process.

• The town planner will monitor the town planning application up to approval.

• The town planner will assist with any conditions of approval and establishment.

• The town planner will draw the project managers attention to any matter that can and will influence the layout plan and township establishment in order for the matter to be addressed.

PROJECT MANAGER

The project manager will act as the team leader and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the project is executed and completed. The project manager will lead the project team, which consists of numerous appointed professionals. The project manager will provide a timeline for activities that need to be completed and will communicate with the client. It should also be noted that the town planner can also act as the project manager in certain projects and circumstances.

The duties and responsibilities of the Project Manager includes the following:

• The project manager will manage all feasibility and detailed planning activities for the housing development project allocated to them.

• The Project Manager will formulate, facilitate, co-ordinate, and maintain a sustainable, continued regular liaison and interaction(s) by and between individual members of the professional team of service providers for the project, municipal line departments, including relevant committees, services, and statutory institutions, as well as relevant government departments and beneficiary community representatives, together with Human Settlements: Project Officials.

• The project manager will support and encourage on-going consultation between the professional team members as well as project stakeholders, including municipal line and government departments, in order to manage and control the effective flow of communication, progress and completion of the commissioned tasks, assignments, studies, required services and processes, feedback, and compilation of all forms of reports, drawings, statistics, design, and applications to ensure that they are obtained and delivered or submitted within the stipulated time frames.

• The project manager will ensure that the professional team makes use of a number of high-level tools, such as spatial data analysis systems, sophisticated economic analysis tools, transport modeling, and planning systems, to deliver the necessary innovation to this project. The breadth of information and the sophistication with which it is analyzed and integrated will be critical to ensuring that all opportunities are captured and optimized.

• The project manager will translate the project specifics in terms of the activities of the various role players involved and ensure that they deliver on time and in the correct sequence according to the estimated duration and the order in which the activities must be performed relating to the following

• Environmental Issues;
• Geo- Technical Matters;
• Town Planning;
• Land Surveying;
• Roles of Municipality Line Departments
• Responsibilities of the Provincial Government Departments and
• Beneficiary Community Representative Structures

• The project manager will ensure understanding of key factors that involve the technical, social, and financial investigations and aspects required to make the project feasible, as well as any other factors that are important and mandatory for the success of the project’s implementation.

• The project manager will familiarize and understand the relevant project funding instruments, models, and sources, together with the applicable adjustments to the housing subsidy quantity and grant amounts (if applicable).

• The project manager will proceed to manage the approvals of all submissions for the detailed planning stage, especially for the implementation of Stage 1 (one), which will culminate in the town planning approval of the project in accordance with the applicable town planning scheme.

• The project manager will outline the methodology and prepare a program for the entire project, resulting in the preparation of a project charter and a project communication plan.

• The project manager will assemble and collate the available information for the various components that are to be reviewed, as well as ensure that the information is in a format that is readily accessible and available to municipal officials after the project is complete.

• The project manager will establish procedures and undertake all activities relating to stakeholder engagement and consultation, project reporting, and financial control.

• The project manager will undertake all administrative activities associated with the project, including convening meetings and taking minutes.

• The project manager will provide the client with monthly progress reports.

• The project manager will provide presentations of the project to various stakeholders and municipal committees as and when required.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER

The geotechnical engineer specializes in analyzing the behavior of earth materials such as soil, rock, and groundwater to determine their suitability for housing and construction projects. Their role is crucial in ensuring the stability and safety of structures built on or in the ground.

The duties and responsibilities of the geotechnical engineer include the following:

• The geotechnical engineer will conduct a detailed geotechnical assessment on the subject site to determine its suitability for the project.

• The geotechnical engineer will conduct the geotechnical assessment in line with the NHBRC requirements.

• The geotechnical engineer will provide recommendations on the developmental constraints of the site by mapping out areas of the site that are not appropriate for the erection of structures.

• The geotechnical engineer will work in close consultation with the project manager, town planner, and professional team to ensure the successful and timely completion of the project.

• The geotechnical engineer will provide professional geotechnical services for the purposes of the construction of the housing project.

• The geotechnical engineer will ensure laboratory tests, plant hire, disbursements, advertising, hydrological study, field work, and office work.

• The geotechnical engineer will ensure that all work is completed to the standards required by the SAACE and NHBRC.

• The geotechnical engineer will provide the project manager with all appropriate information as and when required.

• The geotechnical engineer will attend monthly progress meetings as scheduled by the project manager or as necessary.

• The geotechnical engineer will ensure compliance with program requirements as stipulated by the project manager to ensure that neither part nor the whole of the work (the construction of housing) is delayed in any way.

• The geotechnical engineer will provide appropriate base information to the civil engineer and town planner for the purposes of town planning and engineering design, respectively.

• The geotechnical engineer will submit the final technical report to NHBRC for approval and to amend the report where NHBRC has requested it.

LAND SURVEYOR

The Land Surveyor will be responsible for the co-ordination and management of all aspects of the survey works. Consultation with the Project Manager and all other Professional Team members. The Land Surveyor will also see to and ensure that the Surveyor General Diagrams (SG Diagrams) are approved. 

• The Surveyor will ensure that the data provided is compatible with the systems used to enable the data to be usable by the Project Professional Team of Consultants.

• The Land Surveyor will attend technical meetings, if required.

• The Land Surveyor will prepare the Consolidation diagram of underlying properties, and survey to confirm the outside figure diagrams for the entire project study area.

• The Land Surveyor will with the appointed Town Planner to finalise the Conditions of Establishment (CoEs).

• The Land Surveyor will ensure the reservation or designation of Erf numbers to the Surveyor General.

• The Land Surveyor will a Certificate for all affected Servitudes on the project area. 

• The Land Surveyor will confirm property description, land ownership, expropriation notices, extent of the site, title deeds numbers and any servitudes and restrictive conditions that may affect the proposed housing.

• The Land Surveyor will ascertain whether there are any land claims registered against the subject property, mineral rights. Ascertain Title Deed Conditions and other Encumbrances affecting the Parent Properties and Removal of Restrictive Conditions

• The Land Surveyor will conduct land investigation to determine any encumbrances (servitudes, mining right, restrictive conditions of title. Etc.

• The Land Surveyor will survey provide a detail plan of the site depicting all necessary detail and data in digital format for township design purpose;

• The Land Surveyor will survey boundary and structures to be provided as follows:

• The Land Surveyor will obtain approved documents from the Town Planner and other relevant professional team members. 

• Preparation and framing of the General plan subsequent to SPLUMA Approval

• The Land Surveyor will prepare and submit General Plans to the Surveyor General; 

• The Land Surveyor will ensure site pegging in terms of approved general plans.

• The Land Surveyor will provide the site handover for the pegs.

• The Land Surveyor will establish and accurately fix survey stations to be used for the future setting out of the Township.

ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTITIONER 

The environmental practitioner plays a significant role in a housing project by ensuring that development is carried out in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner in line with national and provincial environmental legislation and guidelines.

These activities include:

• The environmental practitioner will attend pre-application meetings.

• The environmental practitioner will establish the suitability of the project for a housing development.

• The environmental practitioner will collect data.

• The environmental practitioner will prepare a plan of study that identifies and defines the roles and responsibilities of the authorities, interested parties, affected parties, and other stakeholders, establishes the process to be undertaken for the assessment, and establishes the contents of the report and the methods to be followed for the environmental scoping.

• The environmental practitioner will see to the submission of the preliminary environmental report.

• The environmental practitioner conducts a scoping process.

• The environmental practitioner will oversee the compilation of wetland assessments, flood line delineation, water table assessments, and impacts of the project on flora and fauna.

• The environmental practitioner will ensure specialized studies are completed in line with the relevant requirements needed for the project.

• The environmental practitioner will ensure the scoping report and submission thereof.

• The Environmental Practitioner will ensure that the E.I.A. report, submission, and approval,

• Obtain a Record of Decisions (ROD) from the relevant authority, which establishes the environmental requirements for the housing development.

• The environmental practitioner will ensure that the project meets all statutory environmental specifications and requirements.

• The Environmental Practitioner will develop the Environmental Scoping Sub-Phase to prepare a Plan of Study that describes the identified environmental issues and feasibility alternatives for the proposed housing development and proposes methods for identifying the impacts of these on the environment.

• Determine the key issues and reasonable alternatives for the proposed housing development from an environmental perspective.

• Consult with and provide information to enable the relevant authority to determine whether or not further environmental assessment is required for the proposed development; and

• Document the key environmental issues associated with a proposed housing development, identified risks and potential flaws, the findings of the scan, and the outcomes of the consultations with relevant authorities.

CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANT (CIVIL ENGINEER) 

The input of the civil engineer in a housing project is essential for the delivery of water, sanitation, roads, and stormwater infrastructure.

The civil engineer will provide technical input into the planning stage of the project such that SPLUMA approval is obtained, will require that the detailed civil engineering design be approved by the line departments, and will also inform the town planning SPLUMA process.

• The civil engineer will evaluate the existing bulk infrastructure servicing the area to determine current infrastructure, available capacity, and future demand based on the proposed town planning layout in order to determine any future upgrades that may be necessary. It is envisaged that each household will be supplied with a water-borne sewer, a house connection with potable water, and electricity.

• The civil engineer will investigate the existing and planned upgrades to the sewer network.

• The civil engineer will investigate the existing and planned upgrades to the water network.

• The civil engineer will investigate the existing and planned upgrades to the road network.

• The civil engineer will compile a detailed study establishing the pre- and post-development runoff that is required. This study will comment on and advise on any attenuation structures that may be required. Special attention will also be given to the stream that traverses the project area.

• The civil engineer will liaise with the relevant municipal services departments to determine the availability of services as deemed necessary.

• The civil engineer will investigate the existing and planned upgrades to the stormwater network.

• The civil engineer will compile a service report in line with engineering and municipal standards.

• The civil engineer will determine upgrades to the existing system, if warranted.

• Provide professional indemnity for the value of the work done.

THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER CONSULTANT  

The input of the electrical engineer in a housing project is essential for the delivery and supply of electricity to future homes. It remains the responsibility of the electrical engineer to provide solutions to electricity and power connections for a housing project. Over the years, this has become a difficult item to address due to the current state of the South African electrical infrastructure, which has been in a steady decline. 

The responsibility and input of an electrical engineer include:

• The electrical engineer will investigate and detail existing bulk electrical services.

• The electrical engineer will show the locations of cables, both underground and overhead, transmission boxes, and substations on adequately scaled drawings.

• The electrical engineer will indicate servitudes and Eskom HV overhead transmission lines.

• The electrical engineer will work with the municipality’s electricity unit to establish the available capacity of the system.

• The electrical engineer will work with Eskom to establish the available capacity of the system.

ARCHITECT

The architect plays an important role in a housing project from the initial concept design phase to the final construction stage. Some of the key roles of an architect in a housing project include:

• Conceptual Design: The architect is responsible for developing the initial design concept for the housing project based on the client’s requirements, budget, and site conditions. 

• Space and Unit Planning: The architect is responsible for designing the layout of the residential units, common areas, and outdoor spaces within the housing project. They must consider factors such as functionality, flow, natural light, ventilation, and privacy.

• Building Regulations Compliance: The architect ensures that the design of the housing project complies with all relevant building codes, zoning regulations, and health and safety standards. They are responsible for obtaining necessary permits and approvals from local authorities. These Drawings will have to be approved by the relevant authority. 

• Client Communication: The architect acts as the primary point of contact between the client and the design team throughout the housing project. They gather feedback, address concerns, and make revisions to the design as needed to ensure client satisfaction.

Overall, the architect plays a critical role in the successful execution of a housing project by translating the client’s vision into a well-designed, functional, and aesthetically pleasing living environment. Their expertise in design, construction, and project management is essential in delivering a high-quality residential development that meets the needs and expectations of the client and future residents.