Ward 69 councillor Katja Naumann writes:
When the residents and businesses along Empire and Perth Roads were first introduced to the plans for the Development Corridor at a public meeting in late 2013, the City of Johannesburg was proposing a near blanket change in zoning rights across most of Ward 69 and adjoining wards. These proposed changes suggested that developers could theoretically consolidate their properties and construct eight-storey apartments almost anywhere. While the need for densification was understood and accepted by most, the plans were flawed due to the bad implementation of the principles.
With the help of the ward committee and all the residents associations, we created dedicated task groups who could scrutinize these plans and come up with a sound counter proposal. We managed to extend the public participation process and, after many heated and tough negotiations between the City Transformation Unit, residents, the University of Johannesburg and the ward based experts, I am pleased to see that sense has prevailed and these high-density areas have been significantly reduced.
On 30 October 2014 the Strategic Area Framework (SAF) for the Empire-Perth Corridor was passed in Council and will now serve as the guideline for the spatial development of the area for the next 30 to 40 years.
Currently, the zoning rights of most properties in the ward and city allow for the erection of a three-storey dwelling and this will remain the case for 90 per cent of the Ward 69 area.
The new framework proposes a change in zoning rights to between six to eight storeys only along Collins Street, Brixton, as well as parallel to Empire Road, Kingsway Avenue and Perth Road. An increased zoning to between four to six storeys will also be allowed along Caroline Street and parts of important cross roads such as Menton Road, Ripley Road, Mercury Road and Thornton Avenue.
It is important to note that any developer wishing to add additional floors to a current or new building will still need to obtain individual building plans and strictly adhere to the heritage guidelines as determined by the Heritage Council.
Even though the SAF stresses the importance of the heritage conservation of each property, the City of Johannesburg has thus far neglected to undertake such a study in the affected areas. The absence of proper heritage, environmental and social impact studies for the area is of grave concern to many residents as speculators are already attempting to persuade residents to sell their homes. The significant historical value of suburbs such as Parktown and Auckland Park could suggest the need for blanket protection of the collective neighbourhood. The DA pointed this out in the October Council meeting and the MMC of Urban Planning, Cllr Roslynn Greef gave her assurance that the issue of heritage would be addressed.
The other concern is the skewed calculation of the required open public space (as determined by the SAB standard) by including cemeteries and private sports grounds, which are not accessible to the public, in the area calculation.
The SAF furthermore continues to base its rational for densification on the defunct myth that there is a need for more accommodation in the area. Currently, many of the 350 plus illegal communes are struggling to fill their rooms and UJ management has clearly indicated that the university has no plans to expand its Auckland Park or Bunting Road campus in the future.
The report also makes no mention of planning for added public amenities, such as new schools, more open public space or simply additional parking.
The core vision of the report speaks of incentive packages that could drive development in specific economic sectors. According to the city of Johannesburg, this would allow tenants and work seekers from as far afield as Orange Farm to move closer to the CBD. Yet 1km up the steep hill from Kingsway lies Brixton High Street. Here, the shops and derelict apartment buildings already have all the correct rights to be the mixed use, low rental, work, shop and play utopia which the SAF is attempting to create along the Development Corridor.
Brixton’s High Street should have been used as a pilot study to validate the aims of corridor development before attempting to change the social fabric of adjoining well-functioning suburbs. Crime has become a huge problem in the ward, with students being mugged on a daily basis. I fail to see how the City’s idea of greater pedestrian mobility will become a reality, without a significant change in the security situation faced by residents living in the suburbs surrounding the academic precinct.
Westbury is the first suburb to be targeted for development and plans for the reconstruction of the clinic and renovation of the public library are well underway. The area around the Westdene dam will also be benefitting from the project in 2015 and the first public participation meetings will most likely still be scheduled before the end of the year.
According to the Strategic Area Framework, the aims of this project are very noble stating that “residents will spend less money and time in traffic, learners will be closer to schools, the unemployed will be able to find work, and the environment will benefit from less dangerous car use”.
Many residents can, however, attest to the fact that the traffic and time spent in the traffic has increased dramatically due to the badly implemented BRT system. Simply reducing the road space to a single lane and wishing the taxis off the road has not solved the issue that thousands of students and workers employed at Media 24, the Absa call centre, SABC, UJ and Wits still need to get to work, park and disembark from the current public transport.
I hope that the next phase of development will be undertaken with greater up front consultation with the community, and will benefit from current expertise in this field instead of becoming just another rushed retrofit job to meet budget deadlines.
The 130page document can be accessed via the following drop box: https://bit.ly/1uJu9UC
