News from Residents’
Association of
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
October 2008
Pothole
Census
The RAHB are assisting a City survey to
identify road potholes in
Proposed Hout Bay Beach
Hotel?
The Beach Club, an
estate built on the
This proposal flies in the face of the imminent COASTAL BILL in addition
to the recent report submitted to the City by Laquar Consultants,
on the predicted effects of CLIMATE CHANGE for
The Beach Club was stopped last year from filling in the wetlands prior
to an attempt to market the land for sale.
Unfortunately in the process of surveying the wetland, numerous endemic
trees were felled and whole areas of pristine wetland vegetation were subject to
clearing with ‘weed-eaters’, in an attempt to improve the visibility of the
various plots for sale. This wetland is
unique, in that it is at its wettest during the drier summer months when the
sand bar closes off the
Wetlands, are regarded as one of the most threatened
habitat types within
Dr Justin O’Riain (RAHB ExCo member) reports: “I walked the area with environmental
reporter John Yeld yesterday evening and he (John Yeld) was appalled that this development could even have been
considered for development, let alone approved. John is
investigating the matter for a news piece. I would like to suggest
immediate concerted action from the
Dejavu,
exactly a year ago, we reported as follows in the October, 2007 ‘Hout and About’: Another happy developer,
another lost ecological jewel –
So, here we sit with the left hand restoring areas to their former functional glory, while the right hand signs off plans to put houses in dune fields and wetlands. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) have their hands full, ploughing through the paperwork of ‘for’ versus ‘against’ arguments. They have impressed upon us (RAHB) that the more people from our community that add their voices to the outcry for a semblance of reason, the better. We have to think beyond the short term windfalls realised by the few developers and fight hard for the preservation of a landscape, shaped over the millennia, that is fit for fauna, flora and folk. Your voice will be asked for in the near future and we hope you will sing as one.
Pesky Rooster
The
Association has supported a local resident who has been plagued by the
incessant crowing of a rooster. The relevant Law Enforcement representative has
advised that the keeping of poultry and animals in a residential area is regulated in
the Cities Environmental Health By laws.
The ‘Noise Nuisance’ By Law says that a complaint
needs to be registered with Law Enforcement and the complainant must supply Law
Enforcement with an affidavit and keep a record of the dates and times of the
disturbance. This information is all required and is added to a case docket
for court purposes, should the problem not be solved by
normal Law Enforcement intervention .
Please note the correct procedure and required
documentation should you encounter a similar problem. The contact person is: Mr Shaun Smith – Senior Inspector, Law Enforcement &
Security: 021 710 8219 e-mail ShaunGraham.Smith@capetown.gov.za
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Spare
the terror, pain & suffering of animals this Guy Fawkes
The celebration of firecrackers on Guy Fawkes day, 5th
November has absolutely no place in
On behalf of all the terrified animals who
cannot speak for themselves, RAHB urges the community to refrain from blowing
up firecrackers and rockets this year and we urge the Kronendal
School to lead the way and be a role model to the children of Hout Bay and find
some other method to fund raise this year and not have their usual fireworks
display. Maybe, there are some creative people amongst us who can think of ways
for the school to fund raise - perhaps have a music festival or fashion parade
or even a dog show?
The
City of
According to Pearl Nongqongqo,
head of the City’s Corporate Call Centre, agents handle an average of about 22
500 queries per week. “Queries range from complaints about streetlights burning
during the day, to potholes and pipe bursts which are common after the heavy
winter rains.”
Since the inception of the first City
call centre in 2000, the initial 8 000 calls per day have leveled out to the
current 4 200 calls per day.
”To expedite the different types of
service queries, the City has established seven dedicated Technical Operations Centres (TOCs), for emergency, electricity-related queries
and water-related queries. We also have a dedicated toll free hot line for the
Copperheads, the City’s task team dealing with metal theft.
“For quality assurance purposes, all
calls are recorded. To track progress on complaints, callers should
always ask for a reference number and the name of the agent that they spoke
to,” she says.
Please note the following useful numbers
for the City of
Accounts and
General Enquiries: 0860 103 089
Copperheads Cable
Theft: 0800
222 771 (24 hours)
Electricity
Faults/Street lights & Enquiries: 0800 220 440
Water/Sewage
Emergencies: 0860
103 054 (24 hours)
Metro Police: 0860 765
423 (24 hours)
Fraud Hotline: 0800 32 31 30
Public Transport timetables : 0800 600 895
Roads, Potholes and
Stormwater: 0860 103 054 (24 hours)
Traffic Signal
Faults: 0860
001 948 (24 hours)
Waste-wise
(Disposals only): 021 487 2489
Overgrown
vegetation in residential areas
If you notice overgrown residential vegetation that might be a
hiding place for criminals or an assisted escape route, your first call is the
Environmental Health Manager for
Erf 1556 ‘Wolvekrantz’,
Chilton Close,
‘OUT OF TIME-FRAME’ APPEAL to Province by applicant on LUPO application for Rezoning and Subdivision with a Departure with respect to density. This would require an amendment to the Urban Edge of the Cape Peninsula Protected Natural Environment (CPPNE).
“The original LUPO application for rezoning and subdivision of Erf 1556 was submitted to the South Peninsula
Administration (SPA) of the City of
In spite of the length of time which has passed (over a year), the Cape Town City Council has not yet deliberated on this application thus prompting the applicant to invoke Regulation 18. In effect, the appellant requests that the Provincial Administration should intervene and take over the decision-making on this application from the City Council because the application has not been processed in a given time.
While our Association has sympathy for the applicant in terms of the delay in handling this issue, we also acknowledge that the South Peninsula Administration’s planners have to deal with a large number of applications, some of which are complicated with enormous demands from the applicants and considerable resistance from objectors (with good and valid reasons) and this obviously takes time. Nonetheless, we are of the firm opinion that this appeal by the applicant should not be upheld for a number of reasons.
Our Association cannot support this
application to amend the Urban Edge and the CPPNE boundary and to rezone and
subdivide this erf as it goes against many policies
laid down by the Urban Edge Study and other developmental frameworks, and would
seriously threaten the integrity of the Urban Edge and our natural areas. Moreover a very serious precedent would be
created thus putting rural erven, outside the urban
edge, at risk.”
RAHB WEBSITE
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and stay informed about what the Residents Association of Hout Bay is doing.
www.houtbay.org.za
(R50 per couple, R30 per individual)
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Chairperson or Library. Association’s Banking Details:
FNB,
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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 may also
be dropped into our wooden box at the Library (next to the Hall doors) or
posted to our Post Office Box: 27031
Chairperson,
Residents’ Assoc of
Tel:
790-0268, Email: