No authorisation for rezoning

The rezoning of a property along Langemann Drive in Kensington South has not been authorised.

This was said by the City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) spokesperson, Mr Nthatisi Modingoane.

This follows complaints from residents who live in the area.

The property in question is close to the Queen Street intersection, and is allegedly being rezoned for a church.

One of the residents, Mr Stanley Jacobs, said there was no consultation before the rezoning.

“They have to be considerate. We did not have a chance to raise our concerns. This is a residential area. Now they will be singing and clapping. There is also a parking and a storm water system to be considered. For all that, we were not consulted,” he said.

He added that he did not know what was happening, he had to ask people working on-site.

“I thought they were doing some minor alterations to accommodate maybe just few people, but I was told it’s a church,” he said.

Mr Modingoane said, “An application has been submitted to Development Planning for consent to operate a place of public worship on September 19 this year. The application is currently being circulated for comments and is being advertised on-site and to the adjoining property owners for comment, to support or object. It still has to go a long way before consideration at a Planning Committee Hearing.”

When the EXPRESS visited the site, two senior officials from the church said that an application was sent to the CoJ but they did not know if the right to continue with the building was given.

They were unable to say when the application was made. The church officials said they were not authorised to talk to the media. The official authorised to speak to the media is currently out of the country and would only be back in 21 days.

The ward 118 councillor, Clr Mike Spadino, said that after receiving complaints from the community, he tried to find out if there was any authorisation for rezoning. He received the same response.