Alongside the uses it permits, every zoning carries a set of development parameters: how much of the erf you may cover, how high you may build, how much floor area you may put on the site, and how many parking bays you must provide. A departure asks the municipality to relax one of them for your property. The zoning is untouched and the permitted uses are unchanged. What moves is a single number — and that is often the difference between a scheme that works and one that does not.
A departure is the right application when the use is permitted but the numbers do not work. In our experience, these are the four situations that call for it.
Where the departure sought is large, a rezoning to a category that carries the parameters you need may be the sounder route. Which applies depends on how far the numbers are from the scheme, and we establish that before advising.
Parameters differ between schemes and between zonings within the same scheme. These five account for most of the departures we lodge.
The footprint exceeds the percentage of the site the scheme permits. Common on smaller erven and on additions to existing houses.
The building exceeds the permitted height or storey count. Overlooking and shadow on neighbouring erven are the usual objections.
The scheme sets a floor area ratio against the erf size. Where the scheme needs more bulk to be viable, the departure is the route.
The required bays will not fit, or the site is well served by transport. A traffic assessment usually carries the argument.
A show house, site office or seasonal operation, permitted for a stated term and reverting when it expires.
The lightest submission in land use planning, and the most drawing-led. The municipality is comparing what the scheme allows against what you propose.
A table setting the scheme’s requirement against what is proposed, for every parameter. Coverage permitted and coverage sought, height permitted and height sought.
Why the relaxation is justified on this property, addressing the scheme, the by-law and the SPLUMA development principles.
Layout, footprint, elevations and sections showing the departure in context. This application is argued on drawings more than on prose.
Where height or coverage is sought, shadow, overlooking and streetscape are what the municipality and the neighbours will look at.
A traffic impact assessment on a parking departure, or a shadow study on a height departure, where the scale warrants it.
Title deed, bondholder consent where required, company resolutions, and authority for us to lodge and act.
Departures are assessed together, not one at a time. A scheme seeking a small relaxation on coverage is one thing; a scheme seeking coverage, height and parking at once is read as a proposal the zoning does not support — and at that point a rezoning is usually the stronger application.
The shortest of the land use applications, and the only one whose purpose is to unlock a building plan. It ends where building control begins.
What the scheme permits on each parameter, how far the design departs, and whether the gap is one a departure can bridge.
The schedule of deviations is drawn up, the motivation written, and any specialist input commissioned.
Notice is given as the by-law requires. Adjoining owners are the ones affected by coverage, height and overlooking.
Granted, granted in part, or refused. A partial grant is common — the height may go and the coverage may not.
Plans are lodged with building control against the relaxed parameters. The departure only has value once they are approved.
| Departure | Typical duration | Decided by |
|---|---|---|
| Unopposed | 3–5 months | Authorised official |
| Opposed or referred | 6–12 months | Municipal Planning Tribunal |
| Consent use, for comparison | 4–6 months | Authorised official or Tribunal |
Usually the smallest planning fee on a project, and frequently the one that makes the rest of it possible. Four things move the figure.
One relaxation is a short submission. Three have to be argued separately and defended together, and each adds to the schedule of deviations.
A traffic impact assessment on a parking departure or a shadow study on a height departure is commissioned separately and often exceeds the planning fee.
Height and coverage departures affect the neighbours directly. An opposed matter goes to the Tribunal, with a hearing and expert evidence.
This application is argued on drawings. Where the design changes during the process, the schedule and the submission change with it.
Weigh it against the cost of designing around the constraint. A departure that unlocks an extra storey or twenty square metres of floor area is frequently cheaper than the redesign, the lost yield or the smaller building that avoiding it would produce. That comparison is the first thing we run.
A departure rarely stands alone. These four are the applications most often lodged with it, instead of it, or immediately after.
Send us the erf number and the parameter you need relaxed.
Send us the erf number and what you intend to operate.
Send us the erf number and the parameter you need relaxed — or the rejection letter, if plans have already come back. We will tell you what the scheme permits, what is realistically winnable, and whether a departure is the right route. Initial consultations carry no obligation.
35 Fricker Road, Illovo, Sandton · Departures and permissions across the Gauteng City-Region