Hout and About

News from Residents’Association of Hout Bay

PO Box 27031, Hout Bay, 7872

rahb@houtbay.org.za www.houtbay.org.za

September 2007

THE PROPOSED HIGH LEVEL ROAD FOR HOUT BAY

A report from Roger Ward, a RAHB member:

“My interest was first aroused in the High Level Road some 6 weeks ago when I read a letter in The Sentinel from a gentleman in Bokemanskloof who claimed he had been commuting to Rondebosch up the Nek for the last ten years, had no problem with the Hout Bay Main Road, and implied he couldn’t understand what the fuss was about.

I have a placid and peaceable nature but even worms turn and this so annoyed me that I went to the library, and to Len Swimmer’s Roads’ File which he kindly lent me, and did some homework resulting in a pithy response which they published on 17^th August 2007.

The High Level Road was first mooted in 1957, that’s fifty years ago, and everything has changed and moved on since then except the road. It was looked at and investigated and reported on several times up to 2001 when there was a Record of Decision, in January, opting for the experts’ preferred route but imposing many conditions; this was appealed and the appeal process has not yet been completed. The final decision will not be IF the HLR is built but on what conditions and WHEN. For example there will have to be an Environmental Impact Assessment, funding will have to be found, and so on. It became quite clear that the HLR was more than a twinkle in the council’s eye, and on a ‘to do’ list, before a builder first set foot on Bokkemanskloof so, while sympathetic, those owners with good lawyers and estate agents will have been aware that there was always a possibility of the HLR.

I believe we should focus on two things, and these are, in order of importance, raising the Priority Level of the HLR from Category 3, where it sits at the moment, to Category 1 which means funding might well be found within the two or five year period decided by the appeal process; and the second is to ask for, indeed insist upon, some improvements to Hout Bay Main Road (the Low Road) while the wheels of government grind slowly on.

How do we achieve this? The answer is People Power; if enough people make the effort to write, fax, email or telephone ‘the authorities’ then I can assure you, from previous experience, something will happen. Having had so little action for so long I ask you, I beg you, to get off your backsides and contact three people.The first one is your local Councillor, Marga Haywood, mwhwood@mweb.co.za  ; the second is Marius Coetsee, Manager Good Hope Subcouncil 16, Marius.Coetsee@capetown.gov.za ; the third one is Don Lilford at The Sentinel, didon@telkomsa.net

No matter whether you agree or disagree PLEASE let your views be known and remember the famous words of the philosopher Edmund Burke who said ”all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. Please will you, and your friends, do SOMETHING.” – Roger Ward.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Erf 223, Cnr Earle & Albert Streets (behind Engen Garage): Application for Rezoning from Single Residential to Commercial plus Conditional Use and Various Departures, to permit a Public Garage in the applied for Commercial Zone and General Residential, to permit construction of 4 three-storey townhouses as a “buffer” between the Garage and the Single Residential neighbourhood to the West. This would set a very bad precedent. Deadline – 30 September ’07.

More than 70 objection letters from residents have already been submitted to the Municipality.

RAHB received this letter in response to our concern over the confusion of the deadline date:

RE: CORRECTION OF CLOSING DATE: ERF 223, HOUT BAY

Your letter dated 30 August 2007 refers.

In view of the fact that two closing dates have been published, it has been resolved that the period for submitting objections/comments is extended until the 30 September 2007.

Kindly ignore my previous letter with regard to the closing date being the 10 September 2007.

My apologies for the inconvenience caused with regard to this issue.

DHILSHAAD SAMAAI

FOR DIRECTOR: PLANNING & BUILDING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

Comments and objections may be sent to: The Municipal Manager, Strategy & Planning –Directorate: Town Planning, South Peninsula Region, City of Cape Town, Private Bag X5, Plumstead 7801 or faxed to 021 710-8283 (tel.-8202); attention Mrs D. Samaai. The general telephone number for the SPA is 710-8000.

Report back on previous applications

We are advised that objectors who have appealed in terms of Section 44 of the Land Use Planning Ordinance against the recent decision by SPELUM to approve the Application for rezoning and departures to erf 1126 to 1128, Beach Road for the building of an hotel, now have the opportunity to lodge objections to DEADP Western Province. Five objectors from Jamaica Beach, Beach Crescent protested against the height of the proposed Hotel as well as the waiving of boundary lines. All this will impact on their views and privacy, it is claimed.

Erf 1222, Victoria Avenue: Application for Restriction & Conditional Use to Permit a crèche. We presented our case to Good Hope Subcouncil 16, on Thursday 16^th August. It must be pointed out at the outset, that this Association is not against the crèche as the Applicant may believe – we made this point patently clear at the Subcouncil meeting. However, the Applicant has subsequently submitted a letter to The Chronicle regarding our concerns which we emphasised at our interview in Council, to the danger of parents dropping off and collecting young children from the crèche on this very busy part of Victoria Avenue close to the traffic lights. We reiterate our concerns now and caution motorists to be vigilant and drive with extreme care during the times that the children are dropped off and picked up from this crèche.

Meeting with Cllr Marian Nieuwoudt (MAYCO Member Planning & Environment), Cllr Marga Haywood & officials from the City’s Planning Departments

ExCo members of RAHB, the Environment Conservation Group and the Heritage Trust met with officials at the Civic Centre, Cape Town on Tuesday, 11 September 2007. The agenda for the meeting was as follows:

A. For the Councillors and the officials to brief us about the current status of the preparation of-

the spatial development framework

the integrated zoning scheme

any overlay plans contemplated in terms of the integrated zoning scheme

any structure plan or related instrument under LUPO or any other applicable legislation

with regard, in particular, to the provisions or effect of any of the above in respect of Hout Bay and Llandudno

and

B. For us to endeavour to obtain consensus on the appropriate nature and timing of input from the Environment Conservation Group and its constituent organisations in the completion of any or all of the applicable planning instruments currently under preparation.

From our side, we raised the Hout Bay Vision project that was presented to Cllrs Nieuwoudt, Haywood and the Executive Mayor earlier this year and sought to explore what measures are already in place and those that could be taken towards the further development and implementation of this planning initiative for our area. We also briefed the meeting on the measures taken to develop a local structure plan for Hout Bay and Llandudno and sought their support and endorsement for this endeavour. We tabled the draft structure plan prepared by us that is currently being finalised by our Group.

We can report that we had a very productive meeting.

Less Formal Township Establishment Act commonly known as – LEFTEA

The Province of the Western Cape are proposing a BILL to amend the above Act.

The document from the input by the Department of Local Government and Housing states:

“The proposed amendment to LEFTEA finds particular application to the less formal settlement of Imizamo Yethu (Hout Bay) where of the 34 hectares originally made available by the Administrator and designated for the development of a less formal settlement, a condition was set that only 18 hectares be utilized for residential purposes. The proposed amendment will enable the Administrator to amend the relevant notice after notifying all parties likely to be affected and giving these persons reasonable opportunity to make representations.”

To this we are advised on legal authority that the Premier is obliged to consider all the objections, from the public, organisations and also from the owner of the 16 hectares, the City of Cape Town. This Association will certainly be submitting its objections, since the 16ha has from the outset, been designated for amenities and the IJR process recently undertaken along with all the different groupings in our community, including IY, reached consensus on this very issue, that a certain amount of housing will be built in the 16ha zone – but it won’t be housing to the exclusion of all else. Proper professional planning dictates that a community must have facilities and amenities – exactly what the 16ha was meant to provide.

Province contact person: Mr Ben Daza, tel 021 487 1679 Fax – 1685, e-mail bdaza@wcpp.gov.za

STOP PRESS: Squatter shacks on Dunes

We have received complaints from many Hout bay residents and as a result have reported that at least 3 shacks have been erected on the beach near the old Police Station. It is believed that the shacks have been erected on land belonging to absent land owners. The Building Inspector, Mr Gavin Parenzee has been instructed to inspect the land for any unauthorised building work (shacks) and then to issue notice on the land owners to obtain written approval for any unauthorised structures in terms of the National Building Regulations - NBR.

Len Swimmer

Chairperson, Residents’ Assoc of Hout Bay

Tel: 790-0268, Email: lens@telkomsa.net

Dear Hout Bay Resident,

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 Hout Bay

For many in Hout Bay, one or more of these possibilities is already a reality.

The Residents Association of Hout Bay tries to inform the public long before such changes adversely affect the value of your home or the well-being of those that live in it.

We invite you to join the Resident’s Association by sending an email to rahb@houtbay.org.za and we can send you details re membership and alert you to some of the important issues that might affect you as a resident of Hout Bay in our monthly newsletter.

You might also want to use your skill to help the Association operate and participate in community affairs

MEMBERSHIP

(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 Hout Bay, 7872.