UPDATE: Was rezoning done correctly?

Construction at the Northwold Junction Shopping Centre could be stopped if residents win their appeal against the developer.

Chief town and regional planner from the Gauteng Planning Division, Land Use Management and Statutory Board, Ben van der Walt confirmed the appeal. “The appeal has been scheduled for a hearing during October and all parties will be notified in due course,” he said.

The construction is going ahead as scheduled, since the City of Johannesburg approved the amended plans, despite residents’ objections. Residents are convinced that the developer manipulated the rules to ensure the rezoning was approved by the City while the hearing was still pending in the provincial department.

The City’s planning committee approved the land-use zone to Business 3, with the primary rights for shops, offices, professional suites and a filling station.

Despite this approval, residents established that the architecture was allegedly planning to include a gym in the centre. The rubbish dumping area was also situated close to some of the residential households.

However the centre’s architect and owners’ representative, Bruce Mark insisted that the dumping site was relocated. “The refuse yard has been relocated elsewhere on the site, well away from the residents in question and was done several months ago,” he said.

Randburg Sun tried to seek answers from allegations of manipulating the rezoning application but Mark subsequently said his client’s attorneys have instructed the team to refrain from commenting until the hearing has been completed. In an email dated 20 September, Mark was asked whether he had followed the appropriate procedure, as stipulated in the rezoning procedure.

Some of the questions asked, included: Was the development only initially planned to alleviate parking problems at the centre? Were incorrect scores used for calculation to ensure the municipality approves the rezoning rights? Were traffic surveys conducted as required by law?

To date, these questions have not been answered. One of the residents, Stephen Wepener said they were aware of the appeal hearing. “How they went about rezoning all began at the province [Gauteng Planning Division]. The owner and developer employ the town planner, who allocated a certain number of points to acquire Business 3 rezoning approval,” he alleged.

Related: New development infuriates residents