Litany of complaints surround Morningside entertainment node

ENTERTAINMENT nodes that develop in close proximity to established residential properties present a number of challenges for business, the city and residents alike. One of these mixed use nodes that has seen its fair share of criticism and appreciation is Florida Fields on Florida Road.

The brainchild of urban regeneration specialists Urban Lime, Florida Fields is an attractive entertainment hub with a plethora of bars, eateries, retail stores and trendy coffee shops in an attractive garden setting. And while locals and visitors flock to all that the venue and other popular entertainment spots along Florida Road have to offer, residents in nearby residential properties say they bear the brunt of noisy patrons, loud music and accompanying smells and odours.

Peter Bretherton has lived in Conlor, a block of flats directly behind the development for 21 years. He is one of a number of residents in the block who lodged complaints earlier this year about noise disturbances and nauseating smells of cooking foods from a restaurant extractor fan as well as the strong odour of cannabis from a nearby establishment.

Bretherton said Times Square restaurant was located 3m from the bedroom wing of Conlor residents. “This is advertised as a fine dining restaurant, but restaurants are meant to only play soft background music, not to host parties. The noise is of such a volume that it is in my opinion, contrary to all by-laws. The noise disturbance negatively affects the lives of all our residents and the values of our properties,” he said. The unrelenting noise forced Bretherton to measure it on a decibel level app. “The levels of noise peaked well above the ambient noise level of around 54 decibels, reaching over 102 decibels during a New Year’s event,” he said.

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Katie Friedman Group Marketing Director of Urban Lime confirmed that she was aware of the complaints, adding that residents from Montpelier Court body corporate had lodged similar complaints.

She said Times Square was not permitted to play loud, amplified music, have DJs or live music and had a permit to operate as a restaurant/sports bar. She dismissed allegations of incorrect zoning, saying the property was zoned by the municipality. “This is a mandatory requirement in order to ta liquor license,” she said.

“As landlords, we do not tolerate illegal behaviour. One we are aware that illegal activities have taken place, we have the right to issue a legal notice of breech of lease terms and can ultimately cancel a lease should any material breech continue.” She confirmed that such a notice had been issued to Times Square on 30 April following a confirmed instance of loud amplified music on Sunday, 28 April. “Times Square acknowledged their mistake and no further instances have occurred,” she said.

Pragasen Naidoo from Times Square said the restaurant did not run DJs every weekend. “We have monitored the decibel level at an average of 86.3, which is with the restaurant level of 90 decibels. This is Florida Road and there is noise from the top to the bottom of this road. There are places which host DJs all the time, but nothing is done about it. We do host private birthday functions and there is music, laughter and fun, but this doesn’t happen every day,” he said.

Addressing allegations regarding the rezoning of Florida Fields and lack of consultation with residents, Friedman said it was impossible to rezone buildings without Municipal consent. “Nothing has in fact been rezoned at Florida Fields. Florida Fields planning permissions were submitted to the city in 2017 and granted in 2018 and followed the correct procedure. The property is made up of two separate erfs, one (with Jack Salmon) is a ‘special zone’ because of the heritage aspect of Atherton and specifically permits restaurant use. The other is zoned ‘general shopping’ and permits retail stores, restaurants and cafes,” she said.

Insofar as the smells from the extractor fan were concerned, Friedman said she was no aware of the complaints and suggested complainants approach Times Square directly to rectify the situation. “Extraction is not the responsibility of the landlord,” she said.

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Nearby coffee shop, Bohemian Beach Bumz, has also come in for strong criticisms from neighbouring residents who complained the establishment stayed open till late and that the sound of music played in the courtyard area and the acrid smell of cannabis, created a disturbance.

“As far as I know, although cannabis has been legalised it is not legal to smoke it in public or in a public area. The smoke wafts into my bedroom window some 4m away from the venue,” explained Bretherton.

Sheldon Kramer from Bohemian Beach Bumz said he viewed complaints from residents and police very seriously and did not believe they were shirking their social responsibility.

“We specialise in cannabis cuisine and have a smoking lounge upstairs which offers a safe place for people to smoke. It is part of the legalisation process in KZN and nationally that the cannabis industry is mapped over two years to allow government to regulate how it is traded and solid. He said this was much like the liquor industry. “To do this there needs to be a working model,” he said.

Kramer said he had personally address complaints from residents and was being proactive in the matter. “We are enclosing the area and putting in carbon filters. Following complaints from Montpelier Court residents, we drafted letters to them to explain what we are doing. Regarding the music on the premises, we host one-man emerging musicians. I do understand this music affects residents, so we have moved this to the bottom area,” he said.

Jarrod Evans, precinct manager for Florida Road UIP said he had also been on the receiving end of a number of complaints regarding excessive noise. “The close proximity of residential properties to entertainment establishments creates significant challenges within a mixed use node such as Florida Road. The success of the precinct is in part due to the collective understanding from the entertainment sector to ensure they operate within the rules and regulations stipulated within their respective business and liquor licences. Failing which, we rely on the authorities to enforce and secure compliance,” he said.

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