Church wants house rezoned

An application was launched to rezone an Observatory property, Observatory Avenue, into a church.

The El Peretz Tabernacle church, whose head office is based in the Congo, has applied to the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) for the amendment of the town planning scheme in operation, which is the Johannesburg Town Planning Scheme of 1979, to rezone the property situated at number 58 Observatory Avenue. The church wants the property rezoned from a residential property into a special property.

The church identifies itself as an angelistic movement with about 220 members. The agent of the property owner, Mr Mario Di Cicco, said the house had previously burnt down and was not in the best condition. They would like to demolish the house and rebuild the church.

“They are a small Congolese community made up of doctors and other professionals. They would like to establish an institution within the proximity of where they live,” said Mr Di Cicco.

He said members of the church have signed a petition. “Everyone has a right. They have identified a site for their needs. The site has been neglected and will now be upgraded and revamped,” said Mr Di Cicco.

Mr Joseph Dube, the secretary of the Sector 3 Yeoville Community Police Forum (YCPF), said the area of Observatory has a master plan and the church was not part of the plan.

“There is limited parking on the street and it is near an intersection. The sound of drums and other musical instruments will contribute to noise pollution,” said Mr Dube.

The application will be heard during normal office hours at the office of the Executive Director: Development Planning. The office is located in Johannesburg, on the eighth floor in A Block of the Metropolitan Centre, 158 Loveday Street in Braamfontein. The hearing will continue for 28 days from June 4. @JoburgJourno