Developers have plans to convert the property on the corner of 1 Glebe Road and 1 Canigou Avenue, Rondebosch, into a restaurant.
The public has until Monday June 24 to comment on a plan to consolidate and rezone two residential plots in Rondebosch to establish a franchise restaurant.
A land-use application from Tommy Brummer Town Planners, on behalf of the owners, seeks to rezone 1 Canigou Avenue and 1 Glebe Road from single residential (SR1) to local business (LB2) for an Ou Meul restaurant and shop.
The application also seeks a departure to permit 15 parking bays instead of the required 18. The development will also have outside seating.
Hayley Geary, a project planner from Tommy Brummer Town Planners, said a heritage practitioner had recommended retaining and preserving the “very historically sensitive building” on the property at 1 Glebe Road, the site for the restaurant and shop. Most of the parking and outside seating would be on the plot at 1 Canigou Avenue.
According to the application, the building is more than 60 years old and has a Grade 3B heritage rating.
“Due to these findings, the property has very limited development prospects. An Ou Meul in this location is therefore perfect as the operation and set-up of this restaurant can respect these sensitivities,” Ms Geary said..
The franchise, she added, had demonstrated a track record of operating from heritage buildings, and the proposed hours of operation - from 7am to 8pm on Monday to Friday or from 7am to 6pm from Monday to Sunday - were sensitive to the surrounding residential environment.
It was an appropriate site for a restaurant given its proximity to other nearby businesses, she said.
The parking departure arose from the developer trying to retain the existing mature trees on the property while still making use of the existing building’s footprint, she said.
“There is more than adequate street parking in front of the property to account for the very minor parking departure of three bays.”
Four of the residents we spoke to in the area declined to comment while a fifth, who did not want to be named, said that once the area was zoned for business it would be hard to rezone it as residential. There had only ever been homes in Glebe Road and it would be best to keep it that way, he said.
Ward 59 councillor Mikhail Manuel said: “I’d like to encourage all the residents of the area and any interested parties to submit their comments in the planning process.”
Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the application was in the public participation phase and had been circulated to the relevant internal departments for comment.
“Any person who wishes to comment and object on the application must also complete the land use objection form,” he said.
Comments can be emailed to comments_objections.southern@capetown.gov.za using the applicable form, which can be found at capetown.gov.za