News from
Residents’Association of
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
April 2007
CITY EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR
OBJECTIONS TO ALL VALUATIONS
After
meeting with representatives of various property owners and civic associations
including RAHB and other members of the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance, the
City of
Chris
Gavor, Valuations Director (tel 021 400-1345) , said
that Bodies Corporate who have received valuation notices are requested to
distribute them to the unit owners and also send an address list of all unit
holders to the City of Cape Town so that the addresses can be updated on the
billing system.
Sectional
title owners are advised to complete and return the questionnaire which was
sent with the valuation notice and which will assist with this process.
Any owners
wishing to object to their valuation must submit an objection on the prescribed
objection form that can be collected at valuation offices in the Cape Town
Civic Centre, Plumstead (SPA), Milnerton, Bellville and Somerset West.
An
objection form can also be downloaded from the City’s website, www.capetown.gov.za. Queries can
be directed to Tel: 086 010 3089
Managing
agents or bodies corporate may phone 021 400-2866 or 021 400-3867 between 08:30
and 16:00 for assistance regarding matters dealing with sectional title
notices.
CITY’S 5-YEAR PLAN and
2007/8 BUDGET
Advertisement have recently appeared in the media inviting members of the public to comment on the City's 5-year plan (IDP) and draft Budget 2007/8. All details as to the process to follow to submit comments are reflected in the advertisement. Should members of the public or civic associations wish to make verbal presentations to the Good Hope Subcouncil 16 on the proposed IDP and Budget, they should contact Vivienne Sasman before 17 April to book a time slot. The hearing will take place at 18:00 on 19 April, and only persons who have booked a time slot in advance will be allowed to address the Subcouncil. Members of the public are invited to attend the hearing even if they do not wish to address the Subcouncil.
Contact Vivienne Sasman o.b.o Marius Coetzee, Manager: Good Hope Subcouncil (16) Tel. 021-4872055 Fax: 021-4872208
INTEGRATED ZONING SCHEME update
The City has processed the comments and objections (over 1600 of them from almost 800 interested and affected parties) on Draft 2 (2005) of the proposed Integrated Zoning Scheme (IZS) and has made its responses available to the Public for scrutiny on the City’s website www.capetown.gov.za – the responses are also available from the Planning district offices, sub-Council offices and Libraries, or an electronic copy may be obtained by emailing Jaco.Van_Der_Westhuizen@capetown.gov.za . tel. 021-400-2565, fax 021-425-6495
The Public will be afforded an opportunity to comment during the final round of public consultation during mid 2007 after which the final draft will be submitted for adoption.
Our Association has contributed to this process at each stage and has continually urged the City to conduct a series of workshops on the various aspects of the IZS so as to facilitate proper understanding of what is being proposed and to help ensure that the implications of different aspects of the proposals are spelt out clearly. We feel that this should be an important part of the process that should not be sidelined if the City is serious about public participation.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Erf 666, Main Road (between Berg-en-Dal and the River and adjacent to Bay Mews): application for Land Use Departure (from what is allowed on an Agriculturally-zone erf) for 5 years on a 0.5483 hectare portion of erf 666 (owned by Celita Properties Pty Ltd) to allow parking, storage for heavy vehicles, machinery, equipment and containers for storage of construction equipment on site (specifically 6 Earthmoving Machines, 6 Tip Trucks, 2 small Rollers, 1 small trailer for Rollers, 2 6-m Containers, and 1 Generator). The deadline for comment is Wed 25 April 2007.
While the site is described as ‘vacant’, we are aware that a considerable amount of activity has been occurring on the site for some time now without the necessary approval it seems. This has continued in spite of various complaints having been directed to the Council’s land use and environment department. The proximity to the river and flood plain is of concern as is the visual impact along a scenic drive. The application states that the ‘site is densely populated with poplar and other trees, serving to obscure the parked vehicles / equipment / machinery and storage containers’ and yet equipment and dumping/storage of soil has been very visible and an eyesore that is often brought to the attention of this Association. We understand that the Council served a notice on the owner in December 2006 regarding the contravention of provisions of the by-law relating to storm water management.
Comments and objections may be sent to: The Municipal Manager, Urban and Environmental Services, South Peninsula Admin, City of Cape Town, Private Bag X5, Plumstead 7801 or faxed to 021 710-8283 (tel.-8202); attention Ms. S. Kwetana. The general telephone number for the SPA is 710-8000.
Not withstanding this, the project appears to be going ahead. At least this version is more
environmentally-friendly than the original plans. The next step is the approval of the Environmental Management Plans for
upgrading the access road and for clearing and preparing the site for
construction. Our Association has
examined these plans and submitted some comments to the consultants and the
Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism with the aim of helping to make
sure that, if/when the project goes ahead, the environment will be protected as
well as possible during both construction and, eventually, operation.
ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING!
Chairperson, Residents’ Assoc of
Tel: 790-0268, Email: lens@telkomsa.net
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
Some useful
telephone numbers:
Health Dept: 400-2100 (fax 421-4894)
Police: EMERGENCY 10-111 & 791-9300
Switch Board (o/h):791-8660
Fax: 791-8661
Fire Call Centre: 107
NSRI emergency (Port Captain) 449-3500
Parks and Forests Office: 791 8300
Roads Department: 790 1520
Electricity emergency (24 h): 0860-125-001
Water supply emergency (24 h): 703-3070