Rezoning application 22 Gleneagles Rd – ERF 1317 Greenside

An application has been made for rezoning and removal of title deed restrictions for this property which is situated at 20-22 Gleneagles Rd.

For details on how to submit an objection (these must be emailed by the close of business on TUESDAY July 4th 2023) please see details below.

There are residential properties next door to the site – apartments on either side and residential homes behind the property on Mowbray road.

At present the property is zoned Business 1 and has a number of restrictive clauses in the title deeds that made the sale of alcohol illegal on the property, limited the number of businesses on the property to 1 business and restricted the building line to 1m (the City default is 3m). Despite the zoning and these clauses, the property has been, and is currently, the site of a number of businesses (at least 5 at present), many that involve alcohol sale and storage. In addition over the past 10 years, a number of businesses on the property have been implicated in creating problems with noise and customer behaviour that has disturbed neighbouring residents, traffic flows and amenity of the suburb and have been operating outside of their zoning rights as places of amusement and product distribution.

Currently businesses operating at the property include : Best Friends Street Bar; Wine and Liquor@Greenside; Eat Chinatown; The Smoke Shop; Solly Kramers alcohol and beverage storage and distribution warehouse

The applicant wants to extend coverage on the site from 50% to 70%, regularise the existing developments on the site, relax the street building line to zero meters and apply for the option to reduce parking provisions.

After careful consideration the GRA will be objecting to this application on a number of grounds and is calling on all concerned and affected Greensiders to consider having a voice with regards the future of the suburb. The residents and legitimate business owners in Greenside would like nothing more than to see the small neighbourhood business node along Gleneagles and Greenway thrive and prosper, and be supported by the community living around. We are invested in sustainable and appropriate economic development for the suburb as a whole. However the commercial profits of one property owner should not override the rights and amenity of the ordinary people who live and do business in this residential suburb. 

We encourage you to read the applications for yourself.

The motivating memorandum for the rezoning is available to read here

The motivating memorandum for the removal of title deed restrictions is available to read here

We have been advised that in order to protect our suburb and to try correct the negative impact of problematic business activities the following issues in the applications are among some that have been flagged :

1. The applicant has failed to provide full details of the site as required in Schedule 1 (3) (10) for a rezoning – “information on the existing development on the land”: so this is a bit misleading to the authorities making a decision.  The applicant does not disclose all the activities currently on the site, the current (problematic) parking and delivery arrangements, how vehicles can or will turn in the parking area , issues of access to the parking area and businesses.
2. There is insufficient parking for the coverage and rights they want – and they have also applied to have the option of reducing the parking provisions – this is not appropriate to be included in the conditions as reducing the parking provision would simply add to the existing significant shortage of parking in the business node and the ongoing issue of traffic congestion on Gleneagles Rd.
3. While Business 1 zoning allows for warehouses, it is our understanding that the alcohol storage facility currently on the site is actually not simply for storage but a distribution depot. We also have concerns that this facility is non-compliant with various health and safety regulations and is not compliant with building codes. In addition the deliveries to and from this facility have been the source of ongoing traffic and parking problems since this opened. The GRA have received multiple complaints from residents and other business owners about the impact of these articulated delivery trucks that park for hours outside residential homes and other business premises waiting for delivery / collection slots. This comes with associated noise, potentially dangerous use of forklift vehicles driving on Gleneagles and into the parking area of the site, exhaust fumes and the blocking of access to properties and traffic congestion. This facility should be in an area zoned for commercial or industrial uses that can accommodate this activity without negatively impacting on a residential suburb.
4. Reduction of the building line to 0m – although the City default is 3metres. Allowing building up to the street would further restrict pedestrian access and be a problem should Gleneagles Rd, which is a mobility road and major through road between west and east Jhb, need to be widened at some point. In addition infrastructure services for Gleneagles Rd run under the pavement outside the property, so this would create difficulties for maintenance and repairs.
5. Notwithstanding the application to obtain more coverage, the actual land uses on the property are not in line with the land use rights applied for by the Business 1 zoning with amended rights.
6. All rezonings need to motivate the need and desirability of the development. As a GRA we cannot see that the suburb needs more restaurants (especially those that are actually bars and clubs), and we believe that the warehouse facility and bars currently operating on the site are in fact not desirable or needed.

Developments – in terms of the by-laws ” shall have as its main purpose the co-ordinated and harmonious development of the area to which the application relates in such a way as will most effectively tend to promote the health, safety, good order, amenity, convenience and general welfare of such specific area” – as the Greenside community please decide whether you support this application as is or whether you would like to add your voice to ask the City of Johannesburg to more closely monitor and manage development in the suburb and to reject the inappropriate, undesirable and damaging land uses that the application as it stands will allow and encourage.

To submit an objection – email the following information in the body of an email or as an attachment to : The Department of Development Planning and copy in the applicant’s agent and the GRA, These must be in by July 4th 2023.

objectionsplanning@joburg.org.za

jacogetp@outlook.com

info@gra.org.za

Use the following reference numbers : 20-01-4846 (rezoning application) and 20/13/0565/2023 (removal of title deed conditions) for Erf 1317 Greenside

Include your name, address and contact details and give reasons as to what your concerns and objections are. These don’t have to be in detail but must relate to the current application. If you have personal experience, evidence (such as photos) of any of the problems raised by the land uses on this property please include these in your email.