Hout and About

March 2010

The publication of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay

PO Box 27031, Hout Bay, 7872

Hout Bay Harbour – see story on page 7

In this issue:	Page
Len’s Lines: A message from the Chairperson	2
New rates to come into effect on 1 July 2010	3
Be aware of your electricity consumption	3
Cell phone masts – the potential health hazard	4
Property planning and building applications	4
Hout Bay’s poisonous Disa river	5
Access to Schoorsteenkop Mountain	6
A security tip from the Hout Bay Neighbourhood Watch	6
Hout Bay harbour – striking the right balance	7
Repeated call for new High Level Road	7
Ongoing scandal at Breakers development	8

Len’s Lines

A message from the Chairperson of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay

Dear Hout Bay Resident,

Welcome to the March issue of Hout and About! As always, there is much to report on the activities in our suburb – the good, the bad and the ugly – and I trust that you will find the issue informative and interesting.

The new format of Hout and About has been designed to make the publication slightly easier to access. We will attempt to keep the news ‘short and sharp’, while also providing reference to relevant lengthier articles on our website – www.houtbay.org.za – for those of you who enjoy reading through the detail.

In due course we will seek your opinion on your preferred format and content for the publication. For now, it gives me pleasure to introduce the new editors of Hout and About, Gail Bohle and Glenn Bryant, who along with Shirley Mtata, Jenny Niemand and Gerrit Visser have recently been co-opted on to our Residents’ Association Executive Committee. I’m sure you will join me in welcoming all our new Exco members and wishing them a long and productive stay.

While the volunteer members of our Committee have all made themselves available to assist you in addressing the needs and concerns of our suburb, ultimately the strength of our Association depends upon the support we enjoy from Hout Bay residents themselves.

With that in mind, our intention is to stage a promotional publicity campaign in the near future to recruit new members. In the interim, may I ask for your assistance in forwarding the details of our Association to your friends and neighbours in the suburb who may wish to join? These details are contained in the table below.

A date to diarise: our AGM is Wednesday 14th April, Library Hall, at 7pm.

Happy reading!

Len Swimmer

Chairperson, Residents Association of Hout Bay

Tel: 021 790 0268; Email: lens@telkomsa.net

To join the Residents Association:

Membership forms available from Chairperson (see above) or Hout Bay Library

Membership fee: R50 per couple; R30 per individual

Banking details for payment of subscriptions: FNB Hout Bay (code 204009), Account: Residents Association of Hout Bay, account number 5345 1027 173

(Payment may be made electronically or manually via our wooden box at the Library or by post at Post Office Box 27031, Hout Bay, 7872)

New rates to come into effect on 1 July 2010

Hout Bay ratepayers should have already received notices from the City of Cape Town informing them of the values allocated to their properties in the latest valuation process. The notices also contain an indication of the likely increase in rates, although final values will only be made known towards the end of the City’s budgeting process, expected at the end of May 2010.

If you have not received a notification from the City, you are urged to visit the City’s website, where the values for most properties are already listed. You will need to proceed as follows:

Go to http://www.capetown.gov.za/
Click on “Services & Departments” in the menu on the left hand side
Click on “property valuations” under ‘P’ in the Services & Departments Directory
On the property valuations page, click on “search the valuation roll” and follow the instructions from there – the easiest way to find your property on the search pages is to type in your Erf number, if you have this to hand.

The property valuations page also contains a link to Frequently Asked Questions, which explains how to lodge an objection. You have a two month period, starting on Sunday 21 February to raise any objections to your new property values.

Be aware of your electricity consumption

Following the recent announcement of a massive 24,8% average increase in electricity charges, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, Alderman Clive Justus, has recommended that residents monitor their electricity account on a monthly basis.

He says that consumers can substantially reduce their electricity bill by taking control of their electricity meters: “One of the best ways to save electricity is to monitor your electricity meter, starting on a daily basis at first, so that you can cut back on usage as required. Once you have an understanding of your consumption patterns, check your monthly account to ensure that the usage is accurately reflected and recorded. By examining your usage, you’ll be able to adjust your lifestyle to make savings.”

An average low-income house will use about 370 kWh per month (or 12 units per day), whilst an average middle-income house will use about 775 kWh per month (or about 26 units per day). These amounts will vary widely, depending on the number of persons in a household, and the usage of a hot water geyser and electrical appliances.

Other tips for saving electricity:

Geysers are electricity guzzlers - if you adjust the thermostat from 65°C to about 55°C, the energy savings are considerable.
The kettle and the stove are other heavy users. When boiling water, pour only the amount of water you need into the kettle.

Cell phone masts – the potential health hazard

The application for a so-called ‘temporary departure’ from the Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO) in respect of a cell phone mast situated on a Hout Bay property has raised several interesting – and deadly serious – concerns relating to the health effects of these structures.

The mast is situated on erf 2221 Hout Bay at the corner of Main Road and Wood Street. A lack of clarity regarding the health implications of these masts has resulted in the granting – albeit repeatedly – of only a ‘temporary’ LUPO departure in respect of this property, thereby allowing for the continuing existence of the mast.

Most recently, however, the City Council has turned down the application brought by the cell phone companies for a further temporary departure, and has instead referred the matter for legal opinion regarding the repeated use of a temporary departure and enquiring whether an application for a permanent departure is not more appropriate.

The impact of any application for a permanent departure would be a public participation process that would allow a full and proper debate regarding the health hazards that these structures pose.

Mr. Tom Purcell, a resident of the Berg en Dal area on Main Road in the immediate vicinity of the cell phone mast, is the victim of a particular cancer that has been linked through numerous studies to cell masts. He and a neighbour both contracted the same dread disease within six months of each other – both living within 300m of the mast.

In his words: “It is not good enough to say that there is no evidence of a direct causal link. There is certainly doubt, and that being the case, alternative solutions, technologies and locations should be investigated.”

See the website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#Masts – for a detailed account of Mr. Tom Purcell’s objections to the cell phone mast.

Planning and building applications in Hout Bay

The Residents’ Association has supported the application for the rezoning – from single residential to commercial use – of Erf 2925, 11 Brighton Street, subject to certain conditions of which the most important is that there should be no reduction in the number of parking bays outside the building and the bays built in accordance with the Victoria Avenue Management Plan (VAMP)

The Association has however requested that the Planning and Building administration reject the application for subdivision of Erf 4939, 39 Skaife Street on the basis that it would compromise normal planning principles, change the character of the area and eventually compromise the road infrastructure, to the disadvantage of the community and the environment

Hout Bay’s poisonous Disa River

The scenic and popular ride along our Disa River is well known to all of Hout Bay's horse lovers and is one of the valley's treasures. But does this beautiful river hide a terrible secret? What is lurking beneath the surface and how poisonous is it really? Our writer Gail Bohle outlines two recent horror stories and we publish the response of environmental expert and Residents’ Association ExCo member Dr Justin O’Riain.

Could our polluted River have caused Ludka's death?

A deeply loved pony and his young rider took a leisurely outride along our Disa River, in October. Ludka waded through the polluted water, unknowingly putting his health in grave danger. Just a few days later, one of Ludka's hooves was badly swollen. A blood test showed an abnormal amount of E Coli in his blood.

Weeks of vets' visits, magnetic blanket therapy and all the tender love and care possible, did not get Ludka well. A few months after this outride, Ludka was barely able to walk. In January, his devastated owners allowed a vet to put him out of his misery. See the website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#PoisonDisa – for more details on this tragedy.

Dr Justin O’Riain comments as follows: “In summer when the river flow slows, the pollution in the Disa becomes more concentrated. Thus even a few drops of water are enough to contaminate an individual and, in the case of the horse Ludka, an open wound is an easy entry point for the host of pathogens associated with polluted water in the river. This highlights the importance of zero contact with the water when it is at its worst and the need for the riding centre to keep its members informed, particularly in the absence of signs along the bridal path.”

Disa River strikes again!

Our toxic Disa river has zapped another victim – this time a human one.

Just before Christmas, Hout Bay resident Nicky Steel took a relaxing stroll along our beautiful beach and crossed the river to continue on the other side. She didn’t think twice about this, until she started to feel unwell. A visit to her doctor resulted in blood tests and the shocking news that she had contracted eColi and a parasite infection.

Three rounds of strong antibiotics and lots of bed rest have helped Nicky to wobble back onto her feet. But the skiing holiday she had planned? She’ll have to wait and see how her health is by then.

Are we waiting to see who the next victim will be? Our beloved pet? One of the valley’s children? Should we be shrugging this off quite so glibly?

According to Dr Justin O’Riain: “The signs warning people not to swim in the Hout Bay river and that contact with the river is ‘at your own risk’ are far from where most recreational beach goers walk and not in evidence where people cross the polluted river mouth. The authorities do face a challenge here for the dynamic nature of the river mouth and intertidal zone make it difficult to erect a permanent sign. Thus innovation is required to
warn people that contact with the water at the river mouth can lead to
serious illness - perhaps readers can apply their minds and submit possible solutions to a sign in a sandy, high energy environment?”

Access to Schoorsteenkop Mountain

The Residents’ Association of Hout Bay supports the fundamental right of access by citizens to mountains and Public Open Spaces. The issue is all the more pressing as security concerns and other issues increasingly result in an erosion of this right.

Hout Bay’s Schoorsteenkop Mountain is a case in point. Neighbouring residents from the Meadows area as well as members of the interested public - including walkers, hikers and wildlife enthusiasts - have been unable to reach Schoorsteenkop as a result of the corridor from Whittler’s Way being completely barricaded and access from the top of Grotto Road blocked by a private gate.

The persistent efforts of certain Hout Bay residents, including Residents’ Association ExCo member Dr Penny Brown, have however yielded some fruit. She explains as follows:

“From the response we have had from the City, it seems that the only access to Schoorsteenkop is a Public Open space which was leased to the neighbouring residents (for gardening and security purposes) but on the condition that it be made available for those who want to use it to access the mountain.

“It hasn't been; and in response to my recent email (sent on behalf of RAHB and in response to unhappiness from various quarters for some years now), Property Management has sent a letter to the lessees saying, essentially, that they must comply with the lease otherwise it will be cancelled.

“While the problems have not yet been solved, we will continue to engage with neighbouring residents in an attempt to find creative ways of dealing with security, while ensuring that access to Schoorsteenkop is not cut off.”

A security tip from the Hout Bay Neighbourhood Watch

The alarm system in any house is usually programmed in such a way that the sensors on windows are set to activate as soon as a window is opened, thereby sounding the alarm system immediately. The sensors on your front door, however, often have a time delay in order to allow you more than enough time (anything from 30 – 60 seconds, maybe even more) to get to the keypad to disarm your alarm system.

A growing number of recent housebreaking incidents have occurred where the front door has been forced open to gain entry. The perpetrators obviously know that there is a delay and it gives them more than enough time to grab a number of valuable items before the siren sounds off.

If your keypad is near the front door, it is suggested that the delay period is adjusted. It can mean the difference between losing a whole batch of goods and sending the intruder/s packing empty-handed.

SAPS CRIME STOP: 08600 10111
SAPS EMERGENCY LINE: 10111

www.saps.gov.za

Hout Bay harbour – striking the right balance

In recent times the Hout Bay harbour has become something of a tourist destination, with an increasing number of vendors and restaurants crowding the quayside and using up the commercial space inside the harbour.

Various proposals for the development of tourist and related activities within the harbour are currently doing the rounds. While the Residents’ Association supports the development of appropriate tourist facilities, it believes that the Hout Bay harbour facility should be primarily maintained as an active working harbour.

Marine engineer and Llandudno resident, Keith Mackie, maintains that the development of harbour-related ‘dry-land’ activities could take place on the land about the Harbour Cliffs so that the entire harbour jurisdiction would be reserved exclusively for water or marine-related activities.

While RAHB appreciates Keith Mackie’s sentiments regarding the conservation of the land adjacent to protected waters for primarily water-related activities, we must point out that the mountain-side erf that he is referring to, is, in fact, zoned Rural for nature purposes and that it is situated entirely outside the demarcated Urban Edge on the slopes of the Karbonkelberg mountain. As such, it is therefore not available for hard development including of the type that he is suggesting.

RAHB does not generally support hard development beyond the Urban Edge and will oppose inappropriate development in such areas.

See the website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#Harbour – for Mr. Mackie’s views on the appropriate use of the Hout Bay harbour and the response of the Residents’ Association.

Repeated call for new High Level Road

The Residents’ Association has once again called upon the Provincial authorities to construct the High Level Road planned for Hout Bay, in order to solve unsafe traffic conditions on upper Main Road in particular.

In the words of Chairperson Len Swimmer: “It is long overdue that the High Level Road that was planned for Hout Bay be constructed. A very good feasibility study was conducted by consultants, but the road was never built. Hout Bay, as always, was the loser when wrong priorities were instituted: the rehabilitation of Chapman’s Peak Drive was authorized at about R358 Million (R159 capital costs and R199 running costs over 30 years) after a proposal for roughly R30 Million (estimates were between R20 and R35 Million) was ignored ostensibly because, ironically, it did not include a toll!

“That said, the time has now arrived - in fact it is VERY long overdue - that the High Level road into Hout Bay starts being built. This allow for a similar situation to the Muizenberg / Kalk Bay roads where two roads (Main Road and Boyes Drive) are available for different usage. One for more local use and the other is used more as a by-pass.

“The Residents’ Association of Hout Bay strongly advocates that the High Level/Bypass road be further investigated and instituted in order to find the correct permanent solution to the daily life and death struggle on Main Road Hout Bay. Someone has to grasp the nettle and get on with the job!”

Ongoing scandal at Breakers development

The Breakers development in Hout Bay has been a source of controversy ever since construction commenced. During 2009, RAHB was reliably informed from the Dept of Building Survey, that a “cease works” order was to be issued against the developer, and that the top storey of each section of the development must be demolished, by virtue of the fact that the construction had exceeded height restrictions. However, construction was hastily resumed, apparently on the basis of approval to revised plans containing certain “critical amendments”, but repeated attempts by RAHB to seek clarity from the authorities as to the current state of this development and the nature of these “critical amendments” have been met only by a deafening silence from the authorities.

Of significant additional concern to local residents is the dust and noise associated with the development and what appears to be the complete disregard for their rights. As is clearly visible in the photographs below, construction vehicles block access roads at whim and building debris is scattered far and wide, while the plastic protection for frames and windows hangs from neighbourhood trees, having been ripped off by the wind. The Residents’ Association remains committed to doing everything in its power to remedy this obviously untenable situation.