News from
Residents’Association of
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
March 2007
PROPERTY EVALUATIONS
for
2007-2011
About 60 members attended the Residents’ Association’s monthly ExCo
meeting on Monday 12 March to hear Ward Councillor Marga Haywood address the
issue of the recent property evaluations by the City for the period 1 July 2007
to 30 June 2011. These valuations are
important as they will dictate the rates for the next four years. Cllr Haywood reminded the meeting that any property owners who feel that their
property valuations are incorrect should object formally in writing by the deadline, 24 March 2007.
For information and the Objection Form phone 086-010-3089, fax
021-425-4396, or email valuationsobjection@capetown.gov.za
or use the website www.capetown.gov.za/propertyevaluations/
(once in the website, click on “Valuations”) - this contact information is on
the Notice sent by the City to all property owners.
Cllr Haywood assured members that all objections will be responded to by
the City. Ultimately, the City of
Cllr Haywood agreed to convey (to the Council) the general concerns of
property owners expressed at the meeting particularly regarding the apparent
inaccuracies in so many of the valuations sent out by the City. Because of the number of inaccurate
assessments, it was suggested at the meeting that the valuations be scrapped
and the process started again. However,
by law, new valuations have to be used in July 2007 and there would not be
enough time to start the process again.
A further suggestion was that, as a temporary measure, the current
valuations be retained (possibly with a nominal increase of between 5-10%) so
as to allow the City time to do a more accurate valuation. Many property owners felt that the situation,
as it is, is unfair as it puts the onus on to the property owner to prove the
City wrong (guilty until proved innocent?!).
While the Association agreed to write a letter to the City (in addition
to the Councillor’s commitment) expressing such concerns, we would like to
point out that it is the responsibility of each property owner to assess
his/her own situation and put in an objection if he/she thinks that his/her
property has been over- (or under-) valued!
Please make sure to exercise this
right if you feel that you need to, and watch the daily newspapers for
further news on this issue.
Complaints regarding the method of calculating rates (i.e. from the
property value) cannot be accommodated as the relevant Act provides for
valuations of properties based on
market value only and this cannot be changed without a change in
the Act (rates are no longer based on the value of the services rendered by the
Council). The rate in the
The Council is still looking into the cases of "banding" and
relief for low income owners of higher priced properties where the rates would
cause hardship. We believe that this is the correct way to approach this
matter. We remind ratepayers that the
"mega-city" has about 2 million impoverished people who require to be
accommodated with basic services. Also remember that increased property values
do not necessarily mean higher property rates.
The proposal for a guest lodge and associated facilities has been approved and comment is now been sought on the Environmental Management Plans for the Construction Phase of the Development and Access Upgrade and also for the Operational Phase of the Development. Deadline for comment has been extended until Friday 30 March.
Erf 8683, 6 La Mer,
BEACH DUNE FIELDS
It is urgent that the public is
made aware of what is happening with regard to the future of the dune-fields
between the
This ‘dune field’ has long since
been identified as an area worth conserving – it is the remnant of the original
large dune which, until about 20 years ago, used to stretch from
Specifically, in the current case (erf 559), an application has been lodged and we submitted comment and objections (by the deadline, 19 March) on the proposed rezoning of this 2.2 hectare erf situated in the dunes along Princess Street, west of The Beach Club. The application is for the rezoning from Amenities to Subdivisional Area in order to permit the subdivision of the site into 4 single residential erven and one Private Open Space. One needs to realize that such a precedent can lead only one way, and that is the resultant inevitable destruction of these dune eco-systems. Normally one would expect at least a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to precede a proposal in such an environmentally-sensitive landscape, but this has not been required. We have challenged this lack of process in our letter of objection (the process is being limited to that of the municipal Land Use Planning Ordinance only).
The Residents’ Association of Hout Bay firmly believes that wetlands, rivers and streams, water courses, the beach and sand-dunes should be kept free of hard development. That the erven in the dune field are zoned Amenities is witness to the realization that this is not an ordinary area for ordinary development. What should and could happen is that any such proposals (as above) be frozen and a proper public participation process conducted to establish a ‘structure plan’ of sorts for the whole dune-field area. When such property is bought or sold, those concerned are aware that they are taking risks and should the financial return not be as lucrative as hoped, then that is one of the consequences of taking such risks.
AUCTION of undeveloped BEACH CLUB erven
On Wednesday 14 March an auction of
the remaining 38 undeveloped ‘plots’ alongside the existing ‘Beach Club’
housing development was held at a prestigious hotel in
SPELUM interviews
On Wednesday 14 March we attended three consecutive interviews with the
City Council’s Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Management (SPELUM)
committee, following up on development applications (and comments and
objections) being processed by the City.
We are pleased to report that such opportunities to interact with the
relevant Councillors, Officials and Applicants are proving to be useful and
constructive. We are also gratified that
Councillors are interrogating issues such as ‘availability of infrastructure’ –
this is crucial to successful and proactive planning. The following items were dealt with, with
respect to
Park Avenue (erf 4796): Together with 3 other objectors / neighbouring residents who were able
to attend the meeting, we supported the Council Planner's recommendation that this
application to subdivide be refused on the grounds that densification is
controlled in Hout Bay by size of erven and that the character of the area would
be compromised if the proposal were allowed. The subject erf is smaller than
other
RESULT: SPELUM refused the application because the
site is on the urban edge where policy dictates that only large erven should
predominate.
Chairperson, Residents’ Assoc of
Tel: 790-0268, Email: lens@telkomsa.net
March 2007
Would you like warning of any of the following possibilities?
- Your neighbour is about to sell their house to a developer who will be bulldozing it and others in your street to construct a block of flats
- The beach is covered in raw sewerage following another failure by the pump station
- Your neighbour is going to subdivide their property and build four more houses
- Imizamo Yethu is going to expand or shrink
- A new hotel is to be constructed right on the beachfront
- Safety & Security
issues which affect house values and desirability of living in
(R50 per couple, R30 per individual)
Forms from
Chairperson or Library. Please
Note: As from 1st March all Membership fees for the year 2007 were due and
payable. No accounts will be sent out.
Association Banking Details: First National Bank, Hout Bay Branch (branch
code 204 009), Account name - Residents Association of Hout Bay, Account Number
– 5345 1027 173.
Subscriptions may be paid electronically (use your full name
as a reference on the payment – to ensure that we correctly credit your
membership as this information appears on our Bank Statement
If you prefer, payment can also be dropped into our
wooden box at the Library (next to the Hall doors) or posted to our Post Office
Box: 27031