Rezoning application – from residential 1 to business 1 to allow for a restaurant, Erf 225, 49 Greenfield Rd : October 2020

PLEASE SUBMIT ANY OBJECTIONS BY 6pm on TUESDAY 20th October 2020 (details below)

An application has been made for the Residential 1 zoning of erf 225 Greenside (49 Greenfield Rd) to be amended and title deed restrictions to be removed to allow for the development of a ground floor restaurant with 3 dwelling units above at 49 Greenfield Rd. See Government Gazette notice and a copy of the supporting memorandum from the developer can be read here.

The GRA would like to register its significant concern about the above application. The property is around the corner from Gleneagles Road and has always been a single residential dwelling. The GRA and neighbours are not opposed to development of that site, but are extremely concerned about the application to rezone business 1 to allow for a restaurant. In the view of the GRA, any development of this property should function to be a buffer between the neighbourhood node around the corner and the residential homes adjoining. Living next door and across the road to a restaurant will significantly and negatively impact the amenity, everyday lives and property values of the homeowners. We do not believe this site is suitable for commercial development other than offices or showrooms.

Allowing business 1 rights on this site raises alarms regarding setting a precedent of predatory encroachment of businesses into the residential areas, in contradiction to the City’s principle of retaining and enhancing the residential character and amenity of Greenside. The City has acknowledged in the past that commercial activities have “resulted in wide pollution of the aesthetic of the area and decreasing property values as a residential area.“

Allowing a restaurant to be developed on this site will create a number of undesirable outcomes including encroachment and privacy concerns for neighbours, noise disturbances (patrons, deliveries, music, extractor fans etc), environmental challenges in terms of effluent, waste disposal and exacerbation of existing challenges with an unreliable existing water and power infrastructure. Further, that section of Greenfield Rd is already under pressure in terms of inadequate parking and we have doubts as to how the developer can realistically accommodate the required parking allocation for a restaurant and 3 dwelling units onsite.

At present the large number of empty business premises along Greenway and Gleneagles attest to the fact that there can be no economic benefit to the suburb to develop yet another business venue. The extremely difficult situation residents already experience with regards multiple illegal and inappropriate land uses in the neighbourhood business node, and the city’s difficulties enforcing it’s bylaws give residents legitimate cause for great scepticism and wariness regarding this new application.

The GRA calls on all residents who care about maintaining the suburb’s residential character to support the community at large and to submit an objection to this application.

All objections must be emailed to : benp@joburg.org.za and copied to nodetownplanning@hotmail.com and info@gra.org.za by 6pm on Tuesday 20th October 2020. A template objection is available to download and adapt (please be sure to complete your own details and date, and as far as possible to put into your own words and add your own concerns, thoughts or emphasis). TEMPLATE OBJECTION