This article summarises key concerns raised by Kommetjie residents and property owners around the Teubes Road development and outlines how to participate in the formal objection process by 23 March.

Many of us have been part of the conversation about the proposed Spar development on a dedicated WhatsApp group. The window to have your voice heard officially is closing within the week.

While development on this commercially zoned land was always likely, it has recently emerged that the developer has applied for three significant departures from the original approved plans – and the implications are considerable. These departures would allow a larger building, heavy articulated delivery trucks on a residential street, and construction directly over a protected ecological zone. If any departure is refused, the developer must scale the project down: a smaller footprint, fewer parking bays, a form that fits the site. Our community has real influence here – but only until 23 March.

A resident and logistics specialist in our community has raised an important, unforeseen concern: the surplus parking bays and the widened road entrance raise questions about whether commercial motorbike deliveries could be planned at a scale that would serve the entire Deep South peninsula – not a neighbourhood shop, but a regional logistics hub on a village street. This has not been confirmed by the developer, but residents believe it warrants clarification before approval is granted.

Kommetjie Life is sharing this to make sure these voices reach as wide a community as possible. A well-designed, appropriately scaled development that respects our streets, our ecology, and the character that makes Kommetjie so special is still achievable – and your submission this week makes it more likely.

Deadline: 23 March 2026

Download the objection form 

Email completed form with Case ID: 1500152524 · Erf 5976 · 1B Teubes Road, Kommetjie to: comments_objections.southern@capetown.gov.za  cc: Simon.LiellCock@capetown.gov.za

Note: If you submit a letter, it MUST be accompanied by the offical form

Summary of the 3 Departures*

Departure 1: Permission to build a deck and outdoor eatery directly on the Kommetjie Main Road boundary, where a 5-metre buffer is normally required – in an area the City’s own planning documents identify as ecologically protected**. Jump to details

Departure 2: Permission to widen the vehicle entrance off Teubes Road to accommodate full semi-trailer delivery trucks – on a residential street with no pavements, 215 metres from a primary school. Jump to details

Departure 3: Permission to extend the parking lot right up to the Teubes Road boundary, where parking is normally set back 10 metres – enabling a larger building footprint than the site should naturally support. Jump to details

Jump to the 3 Departure proposals

Five things our community is concerned about

Here is what is driving the conversation – before we get into the detail of the three departures:

A regional delivery hub – not just a village shop

At the public meeting on 11 March, the operator confirmed that delivery motorbikes will be a core part of the business. Residents have queried if this could mean a hub serving the whole Deep South – the only real delivery catchment for Spar to date in this area – tantamount to an estimated 120+ deliveries a day, approximately 7,200+ motorbike trips a month through Kommetjie. The application includes many more parking bays than the shop itself needs – and a resident with a logistics background has raised the question of whether the surplus bays could be a staging area for a delivery fleet. The noise, fumes, and constant comings-and-goings of a commercial delivery operation running all day are not what any of us picture when we think of a local corner shop.

18m articulated trucks and dangerous conditions on a “local” road with no pavements

To supply a store this size, the developer needs trucks the length of a full semi-trailer reversing into Teubes Road. Teubes Road has no pavements. It is the road that people from Ocean View and Masiphumelele walk along to get to the beach and to work, and that children use to get to and from the schools nearby.

A resident has put it plainly: “I have serious safety concerns for kids and others traveling along Teubes to and from the nearby schools.”

Large-format car park on a historical village street

Kommetjie has always had small commercial sites with compact parking – it is a historical village and its streets show that. Every other shop here fits its surroundings. This proposal is a different scale entirely.

Planning rules normally require parking to be set back at least 10 metres from the road. The developer is asking to remove that buffer entirely and extend the parking lot right up to the Teubes Road boundary. The result would be a solid wall of parked cars and delivery bikes at street level – out of keeping with everything around it, and a permanent change to the feel of the road.

Building on a protected natural area – and a threat to the Western Leopard Toad

The City’s own Southern District Plan (2023) says that the most ecologically important part of this site – the northern section – must be retained and protected. That is where the developer wants to build a deck and ‘eatery’.

Another resident points out: “I see nothing about their plans to protect the Endangered Western Leopard Toad, which uses the site. Increased traffic will result in increased roadkill, toads can fall into drains, and water pollution running off the site ends up in the Skilpadsvlei – the toad’s local breeding pond.”

A seasonal spring on the property has also never been officially mapped or assessed. There are also questions about whether the environmental approvals from 2022 – granted on the assumption that plans had not changed since 2014 – adequately cover the elements now being proposed, including the deck in the ecologically sensitive northern zone.

Kommetjie’s tourism identity and the economic case for getting this right

In February 2026, Getaway Magazine named Kommetjie one of South Africa’s “perfect towns”, citing its quiet setting, coastal diversity, and proximity to Cape Town. That character is the foundation of a real local economy: guesthouses, short-term rentals, hospitality businesses, and the property values that support them.

That character has always been reflected in the built environment. Kommetjie’s commercial sites are small, its parking compact, its streets human in scale. It is a historical village and every business here has broadly fitted its surroundings. This proposal does not.

Teubes Road is already seeing active investment in tourism accommodation – guesthouses and short-term rentals with plans submitted or approved. Those owners are investing based on the existing character of the street. A development of this scale next door, with large delivery trucks, a potential motorbike delivery operation, and parking bays pushed to the road edge, raises legitimate concerns about the long-term amenity and character of the street. The harm to those investments – and to Kommetjie’s wider reputation – could be lasting.

The three departures – in plain English

These are the three specific permissions the developer has applied for. You can view the full Motivation Report for Departures* and the developer plans here. Each departure can be commented on or objected to independently.

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Where to find more information

• Departures guide and how to object – Nicky Taylor’s community website
• Developer plans and website
• Motivation Report for Departures and Consent
• Environmental Authorisation (2022 amendment)
• Development plans and public notices – KRRA website
• Public meeting minutes and sample objection letter – KRRA website
• Community WhatsApp group
• City official comment form (MPBL-LUM18)

* Note: the developer’s Motivation Report in fact identifies four departures, not three as presented in the public form – the deck and the pergola along Kommetjie Main Road are listed as two separate applications. The public participation process has described these as a single departure. Residents may wish to raise this discrepancy with the City.

** It is worth noting that the developer’s Motivation Report treats the pergola (at 4.2m from the road) and the timber deck (at 0m from the road) as two separate departure applications. The public notice presents these as a single departure. The deck, placed directly on the boundary, is the more significant of the two in terms of ecological impact – but both sit within the area the Southern District Plan identifies as requiring protection.

Reference details – include these in your submission

Case ID: 1500152524
Property: Remainder Erf 5976 Kommetjie
Address: 1B Teubes Road, Kommetjie
Submit to: comments_objections.southern@capetown.gov.za
Deadline: On or before Monday 23 March 2026