A resident of Kenton-on-Sea, in the Eastern Cape, has taken on the owners of a guest house next to her property, claiming that they are intruding on her privacy as they have a full view over her property.
Vanessa Long turned to the Eastern Cape High Court, sitting in Makhanda, to overturn the decision by the Ndlambe Local Municipality from granting permission to the company, Pastry-Wize, to run a guest house.
She was, in effect, asking that the development of the guest house, trading as “Sky Blue”, be declared unlawful.
Long told the court that the steep slope of the area gave the occupants of the guest house a clear view over her property. This created a disturbance and prevented full use and enjoyment of her property.
The company first sought Long’s consent for the relaxation of building lines.
She refused on the basis that the property was zoned for single residential use, as advised by the Ndlambe municipality.
This prompted the owner of the guest house to apply to the municipality for a permanent departure from the zoning scheme conditions to allow for the operation of a guest house with eight suites and on-site parking for 16 guests.
The company also applied for the removal of the restrictive conditions attached to the title deed.
Long lodged an objection and said that the company had opened the guest house without the necessary permission.
The company had removed trees and other plant growth from the boundary line and had failed to erect a fence or similar structure to limit the impact on her privacy, she said.
According to Long, this would be aggravated by the intended conversion of the existing dwelling to a double-storey structure. She also expressed unhappiness about the negative impact of the development on the general character of the area, the likelihood of increased traffic volumes, and inadequate stormwater management.
Her objection was supported by an urban and rural development planning consultant and her attorneys.
Meanwhile, the company’s planning consultants pointed out that most of the adjacent properties, including Long’s, had been improved by the erection of double-storied structures close to the boundary line to take advantage of the views.
They said the existing trees and additional plant growth would address Long’s concerns about privacy. The guest house would, moreover, be managed in such a way as to limit the extent of noise created by guests, the company said.
The Municipal Planning Tribunal considered the application and conducted a site inspection, before ruling in favour of the guest house.
Long’s attorneys lodged an appeal with the municipality, which also did not succeed.
The company had previously applied to the municipality for the rezoning of the property from single residential to general residential for purposes of developing four terraced units.
It also applied for the relaxation of the building lines. The municipality granted the rezoning but later revoked this because Long had not been properly notified. It indicated to the company that the zoning would revert to single residential, meaning that the property could only be developed in accordance with the conditions applicable to the zoning in question.
It, however, later gave the go-ahead for the guest house.
Judge Justin Laing, however, found that the development of a guest house on the property by Pastry-Wise was and remained unlawful.
The decision of the Municipal Planning Tribunal to grant conditional approval for the operation of a guest house was set aside.
The tribunal is, however, directed to decide, within 90 days, any application made by Pastry-Wise for consent use as envisaged under the current land use scheme.
Pretoria News