The metro circulated a rezoning application on March 7 to the City Planning Department, including other departments in Ekurhuleni, in which the municipality proposed the rezoning of the vacant property.
Many residents in Impala Park were surprised and furious to hear about this proposal, as they alleged they were not notified about this development before the development application went through to council.
A resident living in Beech Craft Road opposite the property in question, Fraser Harris, feels that the process of notifying all neighbouring properties was not procedurally correct, as residents only became aware of these plans after the entire process had been approved at council level.
“A notice was apparently placed on the sidewalk outside this property. I beg to differ as due to the fact that this property is a thorn in my side, I pay particular attention to all that is happening on both outside and inside the property.
“At no time did I see any form of communication regarding a proposed rezoning of this property.
“If this proposed development was to proceed, then any privacy which I currently enjoy to the front of my premises would be severely compromised.”
Harris adds his concerns about the added traffic on Beech Craft Road, which is already under severe pressure and will make commuting to and from work even more strenuous than it already is.
Another resident, Mark Whitehead, admits that he is unhappy with the proposed rezoning of the property, and with the proposed three-story low cost apartment development.
“This I believe will compromise my privacy and my security, in that the builders and subsequently the tenants of this property – which in all likelihood will be rental tenants and now owners – will have a direct view of my front yard.
“I already have compromised privacy to the rear of my property, where a multi-story townhouse complex overlooks my backyard.
“I believe the council should take the objections of the residents in the immediate vicinity into account, when considering such developments.
“We are not in favour of low-cost, high-density housing in our area, in that it will significantly devalue our property.”
Whitehead adds that the electricity grid in Impala Park already cannot sustain the volume of properties, and now the municipality wants to increase the load even further.
He says that he has no objection to the property being used for single story dwellings of a similar price and specifications to the surrounding properties.
According to Impala Park Ward Clr André du Plessis, by law, the development proposal must be advertised in two newspapers, as well as on a prominent notice side walk of the property; displaying clear instructions of where neighbours can object to and the due date for objections.
According to the metro acting spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, the subject application was submitted to the local authority and consequently circulated internally to council departments and the ward councillor for comments.
However, on June 13 Gadebe told the Advertiser that the application still needs to be advertised in the newspapers and notices must be displayed on the site itself, inviting comments from members of the public.
“In this instance, there is no legislation forcing the applicant to advertise the application immediately – it is, however, still a requirement that must be complied with before council can consider the application.
“This then implies that we cannot finalise this application as council will and can only make a decision on the matter after considering all comments received from our internal departments, the ward councillor and the public via the said site notice and newspaper adds.”
Themba says that in this regard, it is confirmed that this application can really go nowhere unless it has been advertised and the said notices been displayed on site.
“This does usually happen sooner after submission, but in this instance the owner of the land wishes not to proceed immediately.”
Themba says that the community will get its chance to provide input to the proposed development through a process that is prescribed by law and this process cannot be ignored by either the applicant or the local authority.
“As it stands, the application remains a proposal that can only be considered by council once all legal prescribed notification processes have been finalised.”
In the meantime, says Gadebe, the applicant has confirmed that the application was advertised in two newspapers on June 11.
The advertisement evidently again appeared in the same newspapers on June 18.
The notices have also been displayed on the subject site.
Du Plessis asks residents in Impala Park to keep an eye out for this notice, so that they can submit their objections correctly. – @IschkeBoksburg
