Mushrooming illegal businesses cause conflict in Norscot

Residents in Norscot have raised concerns over the increasing number of commercial businesses operating in residential suburbs.

Kim Larsen, who has been at the forefront of the complaints, said the number of these businesses opened on properties not zoned for business has increased in the last two years.

She claims she has contacted the Ward 106 councillor Chris Santana to highlight the issue, but no help was offered. She said some residents are having a tough time sleeping due to noise levels they cannot endure.

“I contacted Santana in December 2022. But before then, I contacted him numerous times. I have sent emails, called, and followed up often via WhatsApp. He made many empty promises about assisting me and talking about action he would take but never did so. I eventually stopped asking as I realised there would be no help coming.”

One company she highlights is Genius who own several properties.

“When they hosted their annual Christmas party on December 7 my special needs son became unhinged with the noise. I eventually called the police to come and break up the party, which they did. In another context, when they were renovating a property, they were misleading about its use and the extent of the renovations. They claimed the property would be re-sellable as residential property, but this will not be possible.”

“The majority of the trees have been removed as well as the grass and it is now all paved. This is also a personal concern as the lack of soil means their property drains directly onto mine and there is a high risk of flooding and damage. I also know this drainage is illegal, we addressed this with them, and they ignored it.”

She says all the immediate neighbours have been significantly impacted by Genius and their operations. “We were told that we should or could not take legal action until they had started operating because they would say the property was being used for residential purposes. So, it is a catch-22 situation.”

The second business Larsen blames for disturbing the community is Monte La Vue Boutique Hotel.

“They frequently host events, and the music can be heard during weekends into the early hours which is again disruptive and frustrating. I emailed the management after one event, but to be frank, they never stopped with the excessive noise,”

She says between fighting with The Venue and Genius she is at her wit’s end. “This affects the community because our homes are our refuge, where we are raising our children and these businesses have disrupted this but also devalued our properties.”

“The community has never been consulted by any of the businesses in terms of their intentions and impact nor cared about our concerns. The nature of these businesses is invasive. They simply do not care about the impact they have. The boomed-off area is managed by the residents to the benefit of these businesses. The events hosted by the hotel involve the sale of alcohol and invite drunk driving and excessive traffic into our area. There are only approximately 80 properties in the boomed-off area.” .She suggests that the hotel needs to halt all illegal operations, restore the boundary walls, and operate within the rules to which they have been given.

“The two properties are zoned as residential and should be sold as residential properties. I do not know the solution for Genius, but there needs to be some consequence for them. The danger of flooding needs to be addressed and investigated in terms of how they are going to compensate for the impact on our property values – especially on the immediate neighbours. Ideally, the property should be sold as residential, and they should move to a business office park.”

Santana said, “I am aware of the complaints but the problem is that these events are hosted during the weekend and at night which makes it difficult for environmental health workers to attend to them because most of them are not working. For the other issues, I will revert with a detailed response.”

Genius and The Venue were contacted by the Fourways Review to respond to allegations but did not offer any comment at the time of going to print.

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