The owner of a property in Capri Village is applying to rezone it from single (SR1) to general residential (GR2), to legalise existing self-catering units and to add two additional units.
GR 2 allows for group housing, flats, a place of worship, a hospital, a place of assembly, home occupation, conference facilities, a guest house and rooftop base telecommunication station among others, and the maximum building height is 15 metres.
Owner Jennifer Stewart says she has operated African Violet, a self catering establishment, for 12 years and the reason for the rezoning application is to make the kitchenettes compliant.
The property at 12 Mauritius Crescent comprises six self-catering units and the main house.
Ms Stewart said she had no plans to tear down her house and build a block of flats.
According to the application by Duncan Bates Professional Land Surveyors, various permanent land use departures have been applied for to permit building line relaxation and a deviation from parking requirements.
According to the City of Cape Town’s zoning scheme off-street parking requirements is 1.75 parking bays per unit plus an additional 0.25 parking bays per unit for visitors thus in the case of Ms Stewart, 16 parking bays is required.
However, Ms Stewart said they had seven parking bays on the property and six in front of the property – a total of 13.
That, she said, was more than adequate and the deviations they had applied for all pertained to minor building-line setbacks within their property boundary.
The application further states that there will be no additional visual impact created by the approval of the rezoning, as the buildings already exist.
“We plan to continue running our guest house as we have from the beginning. So there will be no changes that will impact negatively on neighbours or the community with regard to parking and height of building,” she said.
“We market our establishment as a peaceful and restful getaway, and we believe we are an asset to the local community, often accommodating their friends and family in the community,” Ms Stewart said.
Objections and suggestions can be sent to comments_objections.southern@capetown.gov.za by Monday March 30.
