Hout and About
April 2010
The publication of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
Twilight over the bay
|
In this issue: |
|
Len’s
Lines: A message from the Chairperson |
|
Taking
a stand for freedom of speech: the case of Johann van Blerck |
|
City
of |
|
New
property rates: when and how to raise an objection |
|
Poor
to be exempt from rates as the rich foot the bill |
|
City
to refuse rezoning applications on illegally built buildings |
|
Planning and building applications in |
|
Imizamo
Yethu and the problem of illegal electricity connections |
|
Winning back the
wetlands |
|
Contact details – Residents Association EXCO members |
|
To join the Residents Association |
Len’s
Lines
A
message from the Chairperson of the Residents’ Association of
The
vision of the Residents’ Association is “to inform, encourage and activate the
community of
As a Community-based organization we have no real decision-making
power. However, we are able to bring issues of community concern to
the attention of the authorities through the various available public
participation mechanisms. In this way we can sometimes influence
decisions by the Council (and occasionally by the Province), particularly now
that Public Participation is a Constitutional requirement.
An instance in point concerns the “Breakers development”, which we
reported on in the last issue of Hout and About. I am pleased to advise that as a result of
the persistent efforts of the Association, the persons behind this
controversial development have to a large extent cleaned up their act, and in
particular are now making use of a ‘rubble tube’ that was delivered to the site
some weeks ago - with an obviously favourable impact on dust pollution.
It’s not all good news, however. Residents remain concerned about the
height of the Breakers’ development and possible infringements of the zoning
scheme. While our ongoing attempts to
resolve this matter have so far fallen on deaf ears, we will continue to do all
in our power to seek clarity on this issue.
The strength of our Association is of course a function of the support
we receive from
Finally, may I draw
your attention to the contact details of our EXCO members contained on page 8
of this report – should you wish to contact any of us – and to the instructions
for joining the Association – should you know of anyone who might wish to
become a member – on the same page.
Regards to you all.
Len
Swimmer
Chairperson,
Residents Association of
Tel: 021 790 0268;
Email: lens@telkomsa.net
Taking
a stand for freedom of speech: the case of Johann van Blerck
Civically-minded
individuals who are prepared to devote their own time and resources to the
betterment of the communities of which they are a part are few and far
between. While their deeds often go
unnoticed, it is these very individuals who, through their selfless actions,
ensure that the rest of us are better able to enjoy the benefits that our local
neighbourhoods offer.
Just such an
individual is Hout Bay resident Johann van Blerck, who for two years has
provided Hout Bay residents with a daily update on the crime situation within
the community via his ‘Hout Bay blogroll’.
While the blogroll may from time to time have scared off several
potential investors - to the annoyance of estate agents and other parties -
Johann has done no more than consistently provide an actual portrayal of the
situation in
Very recently,
however, Johann advised that he was ceasing publication of the blogroll, as a
result of interference from certain individuals within the local Community
Policing Forum (CPF), who were clearly unhappy with those instances where the
South African Police Services (SAPS) were painted in a less-than-positive
light.
In effect, Johann
was required to subject the contents of the blogroll to the prior scrutiny of a
closed user group – effectively to have it censored. This he was not prepared to do. In his own words: “I stand by everything I
have ever written in the blog. … I am not prepared to sanitise it and write
bland nonsense.”
The issue has been
extensively reported in the Sentinel
and elsewhere. The reason for repeating the story here is to clearly indicate
the support of the Residents’ Association for Johann van Blerck and our
opposition to the attempts on the part of the authorities to censor the
publication.
The Residents’
Association is opposed to the manner in which Johann has been treated, when in
effect his only ‘crime’ appears to have been that he was too honest and too
effective in providing
See also the views
of Hout Bay resident Colin Enzer, which the Association endorses, as per his
letter to the Sentinel (March 26) and
republished in part on our website: www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#SpeechFreedom
City
of Cape Town releases Utility Services Budget
The City of Cape Town has budgeted to spend some R3.5
billion on its 2010/11 Capital Budget (a decline from the R5,6 billion spent in
2010 as a result of World Cup expenditure), and almost R19.3 billion on the
Operating and Revenue Budget (an increase of 14%), according to a media release
dated 31 March 2010
Maintenance
and repair have received priority spending throughout the Utility Services
Directorate, with a three percent allocation above inflation.
The Utility Services Capital Budget totals R1.6
billion is split between the three main functions that comprise the Utility
Services Portfolio: Electricity, Solid Waste and Cleansing, and Water and Sanitation.
According to the release, it has been prepared “with the goal of investing in people and infrastructure to grow the economy”.
See
the full media release on our website - www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#UtilityBudget
New property rates: when and how to raise an objection
As reported in the
March issue of Hout and About, The
City of Cape Town has recently revalued all the properties in the Cape Town
Unicity in its Municipal General Valuation (GV). Details of the new valuations
are obtainable on the City’s website (www.capetown.gov.za)
and residents will shortly be receiving official notification in the post.
Residents have
until the end of April 2010 to either accept or object to the new valuations,
which will obviously govern the rates applicable to your property (although
your rates bill will not necessarily escalate pro-rata to the valuation
increase). Hout and About is indebted to John Powell of the Camps Bay Ratepayers
and Residents Association for the following information on when and how to go
about raising objections to these valuations.
Access the details
of your own property on the City’s website and the localities of sales in your
area which you can use for your objection should you elect to make one.
If you are objecting, you will now not have to pay interim rates bills
based on the City’s valuation until your objection has been agreed with the
City. You must, however, go to the Valuation Department and negotiate a
reasonable interim payment basis.
Be careful only to
object on strictly sound technically correct submissions, because you may well
be charged for the
You need to
establish the factors/ characteristics of your property which you can
use to motivate a reduction in the valuation should you feel that you have been
overvalued.
Before you rush
into submitting an objection because you think it is too high, ask yourself
carefully whether you would have been prepared to HAVE SOLD your property in
July 2009 (the date of the revaluation) for an amount less than the Council’s
revaluation now presented to you in 2010.
Do not waste time
comparing your new valuation with your existing one. Rather get good
advice as to whether the new one is Market value or not, by using the existing
sales records and getting the advice of the proper professionals.
Please
see the website - www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout.html#RatesObjection
– for a
full account of how to go about raising objections, including examples of
typical factors that might be used to motivate a reduction in your property
valuation.
Poor to be exempt from rates as the rich foot the bill
The
following is an extract from the Business
Report of 25 March:
“The Government plans to scrap all municipal rates payments by the poor,
write off mounting debt backlogs to municipalities and squeeze better-off
ratepayers further to balance local government books. The idea is that all those who fall below the
lowest income tax threshold of R57 000 a year would not be required to pay
property rates to municipalities.
Defaulting ratepayers, including individual property owners, businesses and
government entities owe the 284 municipalities around the country about R56
billion. Recently
It is expected that the shortfall from the loss of revenue from poorer
ratepayers will be made up from higher rates for richer property owners and
bigger slices to municipalities from the national fiscus.”
City
to refuse rezoning applications for illegally built buildings
Much of the activity of the Residents Association Executive Committee
focuses on planning and environmental issues, involving land-use and
development, spatial planning, roads and engineering, signage, building
regulations and environmental conservation.
The Committee is
therefore heartened by a media statement recently released by the City of
The statement
followed the refusal by the Spatial Planning,
Environment and Land Use Management Committee (Spelum) of an application by the
owners of Rondebosch Medical Centre in
Following public objections, it was suggested at the
meeting that steps be taken to remove the illegal building work and this was
seconded by a number of Councillors. All Councillors agreed that the
application for rezoning be refused.
While the applicants have the right to appeal this decision, they could
be forced to demolish parts of the building that do not comply with the
building regulations in the event that their appeal is not successful. Good news indeed, and all the more reason for
the public to be vigilant in monitoring and opposing illegal building activity!
Planning and building applications in Hout Bay
Erf 3353, Glomas Manor, Valley Road, Hout Bay - Application for
Subdivision, and Departure from Minimum Erf Size: the Association has opposed
an application for the subdivision of this erf into six portions on the basis
that ‘excessive subdivision of these large erven will inevitably result in a
creeping urban sprawl which will ultimately destroy this heritage asset and
tourism attraction forever’.
Erf 1307,
Erf 4870, Karbonkelberg,
Erf
3583,2c
Imizamo Yethu and
the problem of illegal electricity connections
The City of
Previous attempts
to remove illegal wire and cabling have proved fruitless as the connections are
often re-instated within a few days. In addition there is a concern for the
safety of the City’s officials who are often confronted with angry and
sometimes violent residents. There have also been numerous incidents of death
and serious injury.
Nowhere, perhaps,
is the problem more evident than in Imizamo Yethu, as these pictures, courtesy
of Mike Kokhuis, testify.
Winning
back the wetlands
Hout
bay wetlands and the associated animals and plants have received a significant
boost this year with water levels higher this summer than they have been since
the beginning of routine monitoring in 2000. In fact water levels are
close to those recorded in mid winter despite a long hot summer with minimal
rain. So where is all the water coming from?
There is no new water, although you would have been forgiven for thinking that
the regularity of burst mains in the Valley could have been a major
contributor. Rather the increased water is a consequence of reduced water
loss from the wetlands.
In
2006 Residents’ Association EXCO member and environmentalist Justin O'Riain and
his team of wetland workers started ring barking the poplar trees that have
taken up residence along the fringes of the wetland extending from
The
wetlands used to dry out completely by late December and remain that way for 4
months until the winter rains arrived. Now for the first time the
wetlands actually spilled over into the
About
time the
Contact us!
The table below provides telephone and email contact details for
each of the Residents’ Association Executive Committee members, together with
the portfolio of each member. You are invited
to submit any concerns, issues, complaints and suggestions that you may have
directly to the appropriate EXCO member.
In addition, we welcome your views on Hout and About, together with any suggestions you might have
regarding the content and format. Please forward these – and any interesting
photographs you would like us to publish on our front cover - directly to me,
via email, at glenn@lange.co.za
The Editor
|
Name |
Portfolio |
Telephone |
Email |
|
Len Swimmer |
Chair and Planning/ Environment |
082 452 1799 |
swimmer@telkomsa.net |
|
Penny Brown |
Planning/ Environment/ Land Use |
076 191 4119 |
|
|
Pierre Steyn |
Membership data/ Web site |
082 921 9702 |
|
|
Harald Weber |
Health |
082 784 3937 |
|
|
Veronica Reed |
Hangberg |
021 790 3331 |
|
|
Justin O'Riain |
Wetlands/ Beach |
083 419 4228 |
|
|
Reinhard Marx |
Vice Chair and Rates |
083 265 8847 |
|
|
Robert Paterson |
Safety and Security |
082 519 9130 |
|
|
Gill |
Secretary |
072 529 3148 |
|
|
Jenny Niemand |
Signage and Treasurer |
082 896 0779 |
|
|
Gerrit Visser |
Roads |
082 854 6112 |
|
|
Glenn Bryant |
Hout and About and PR |
083 408 5656 |
|
|
Shirley Mtata |
Imizamo Yethu |
074 602 9036 |
|
To
join the Residents Association:
Contact us via
email on rahb@houtbay.org.za
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:
(Payment may be
made electronically or manually via our wooden box at the Library or by post at
Post Office Box 27031,