Special Consent application in Johannesburg.

Whichever term a scheme uses, the mechanism is identical: the zoning stays as it is, and a named additional use is authorised on top of it, subject to conditions. What differs between municipalities is the naming and the list of uses that fall into the category, which is why the first step is always to read the actual scheme applicable to the property rather than assume a national standard.

Higher-impact special consents attract more scrutiny than ordinary consent uses. A filling station will raise traffic, contamination and safety questions; a tavern or liquor outlet will raise proximity-to-schools and noise questions; a place of public worship will raise parking and peak-time congestion questions. The motivation is expected to address those impacts directly and propose conditions that manage them.

Like a consent use, a special consent is conditional and can lapse or be withdrawn. Conditions typically regulate operating hours, patron numbers, parking provision, signage, refuse and noise attenuation, and non-compliance is enforceable by the municipality.

The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA) is the national framework: it requires every municipality to adopt its own land use scheme and municipal planning by-law, and it makes the municipality - not the province - the authority of first instance on land development applications. Special consent is granted under the scheme provisions of the municipal planning by-law; a sector licence - a liquor licence, for example - is a separate process and does not substitute for the land use approval.