Hout and About
July 2010
The publication of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
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In this issue: |
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Len’s
Lines: A message from the Chairperson |
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How rate changes will hit you |
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Are we facing a water shortage? |
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A proven need for
additional schools in Imizamo Yethu |
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Premier
and Mayor meet with London Mayor |
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Right
of access to |
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A warning to
cyclists |
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Ongoing controversy over ‘The Breakers’ |
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To join the Residents Association |
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Success at |
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Fire at Imizamu
Yethu |
Len’s
Lines
A
message from the Chairperson of the Residents’ Association of
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be
curtailed lest
The quotation from
What are we asking
for? In the first place we don’t want
the sewage to run into the sea anymore.
According to a recent UN report, untreated sewage pouring into the
world’s seas and oceans is polluting water and coastlines and endangering the
health and welfare of the people and animals that inhabit coastal areas. As the UN’s chief environmental officer Achim
Steiner notes: “Usually the ones who are the source of pollution are not the
ones who bear the brunt or the impact of pollution. In many countries we are
losing nature’s capacity to actually deal with some of the sewage and effluents
because we are destroying the wetlands that could provide us with filtration
capacity to avoid the kind of runoff into the sea.”
Is it too much to
ask that in
We are being
fleeced with higher rates, water and electricity and we wonder how much of the
fees we contribute are actually being spent on
How safe is our
Valley? While it is almost impossible to extract actual statistics from the
authorities, we know that there has been an increase recently in violent crime
affecting both residents and businesses in the area. Where will it end?
In this edition of Hout & About we comment on the fire
last month in Imizamo Yethu, the appalling lack of schools serving the local
population, as well as a host of other pertinent issues. As always we invite you to submit your
comments and inputs.
Regards
Len
Swimmer
Chairperson,
Residents Association of
Tel: 021 790 0268;
Email: lens@telkomsa.net
How rate changes
will hit you
As of 1 July,
Rate changes approved recently by the City Council
will result in a typical family spending 10 percent more on water and
sanitation, 18 percent more on refuse, 7,8 percent more on property rates and
24,6 percent more on electricity.
The electricity increase in the first of three
rises approved by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa)
and designed to pay for the construction of Eskom power plants, according to
the City’s draft budget for 2010/11.
The City Council will spend about R1,1 billion to
provide relief to the poor through subsidies of
·
R166 million for
refuse removal
·
R97 million for
free electricity
·
R89 million for
free water
·
R67 million for
solid waste for informal settlements
·
R60 million for
indigent relief for tenants of council-owned houses, and
·
Provision for
subsidies of about R110 million for rates rebates.
The City has also said that it will spend R308 million this year on
upgrades to water and sewerage infrastructure and wants to find a new landfill
site because the three existing sties are nearly full – hence the R13 million
increase in refuse rates.
Are we facing a water shortage?
Many people believe that the electricity crisis will pale into
insignificance relative to the water shortage that will hit the country – and
particularly the
For its part, the Department of Water Affairs’ “Western Cape Water
Reconciliation Strategy” newsletter notes as follows:
“In the past, various interventions were implemented to curb the volume of
water required by the people in
“In March 2010, during a meeting of the Strategy
Steering Committee (SSC) representing all role-players involved in water-related
aspects in and around Cape Town, it became clear that the City of Cape Town may
NOT able to meet the required decrease in water required. Although the reasons
for this are being investigated at the moment, there is a concern about the
City’s water requirements which are following the high water requirement curve.
Should this growth continue, the decision on which augmentation intervention to
implement will have to be made in September 2012. Possible water supply options
may need to be fast-tracked, providing challenges to planners and financial
implications to water users.”
A proven need for
additional schools in Imizamo Yethu
It is
common cause that the number and type of state schools in
The planning of a Junior
School and, more importantly, a Secondary School, in Imizamo Yethu is way
overdue. The only other high school is in Hangberg (the Hout Bay Secondary) and
it is completely over subscribed - and is Afrikaans-medium as well. The situation is critical with many teenagers
not being schooled because of the lack of availability of schools.
Despite the obvious need, some
inhabitants of Imizamo Yethu are resisting a school in the one area of Imizamo
Yethu specifically reserved for community facilities such as schools and
recreational areas. They want houses to be built in this area – but
there is clearly a hidden agenda here, it has been reported to us that it is
possible that people derive a benefit from trafficking in houses in IY. In any event, to find an alternative area in
Councillor Marga Haywood
points out that as far back as 2002 the City’s own township planning
consultants - Chittenden Nicks de Villiers - advised the City planners that,
based on the numbers living in the IY area in 2000, in terms of national
planning standards there should be provision for 4 primary schools and 2
high schools for this community. In his
words: “This information was totally suppressed by the city’s planners during
the public participation process they conducted, nor was it given to the senior
decision-making bodies in the city council.”
Both the Hout Bay Residents’ Association and the
Hout Bay & Llandudno Heritage Trust have raised these concerns with the
appropriate authorities, including the Provincial Minister of Local
Government, Environmental Affairs & Development Planning, with the request
that urgent consideration be given to the development of sorely-needed additional
schools in
Premier and Mayor meet with London Mayor
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato recently
met with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to discuss best practices for
hosting international sporting events.
Mayor Johnson was on a fact-finding visit to
Johnson sought to discover first-hand how the City of
“The organisers have done a superb job so far in managing one of the
greatest sporting events on the planet and I am more than happy to learn from
the experts on how best to enhance
Right of access to
The parking area
known as Mariners’
The issue arose
after security guards, apparently under instruction from the owner of Mariners’
Wharf restaurant, prevented surfski paddlers from parking in the affected area,
thus denying them access to the beach.
After investigation, administrative officer
Beverley Cathcart of the City’s South Peninsula Region advised as follows:
“Regarding the use of the parking area by the public, the following are
conditions contained in the lease agreement for the Remainder of Erf 1141 Hout
Bay:-
The LESSEE shall permit the public to continue the use of the PREMISES,
as a parking area, after the completion of the Agreement, without interruption
and exclusively for that purpose, unless he is authorised, in writing, by the
LESSOR to cease such use for such period or periods as may be determined by the
LESSOR.
There is nothing in the lease agreement that states that the parking is
for the exclusive use of patrons of the restaurant.”
Prior to this outcome of this investigation Johann Van Blerck advised
that the owner of the restaurant had relented and that his security guards had
been instructed to allow paddlers to once again park in the affected area, thus
defusing the situation. Clarification of
the legal principle of public access to the beach via Erf 1141 is nevertheless
significant.
A warning to cyclists
“Most recently, eight cyclists were held up at gunpoint and robbed of
their valuables near Diepsloot and there have been other similar attacks
reported in recent weeks. While these attacks have largely been confined to the
Ongoing controversy over ‘The Breakers’
The
Hout Bay Residents’ Association is firmly of the view that height restrictions are
problematical in the case of ‘The Breakers’ development in Hout Bay, and has repeatedly
requested to know why the development has been allowed to proceed. After interminable attempts to seek clarity
on the matter from the authorities, it finally appears that the height of this
development was determined using a ‘simple mean average’ rather than a
‘weighted mean average’.
In the words of
Residents’ Association Chairman Len Swimmer: “Our worst
fears were realised at a recent meeting with the officials where we were informed
that the building was passed because the simple mean average of the building is
below the 11m height restriction.
“We believe that
the height restrictions were put in place in order to maintain the character of
the local environment and that new buildings should be in harmony with their
surroundings. Unfortunately our cries were not heeded years ago when this
building was going up. It is our belief that it was originally approved by
officials who did not properly apply their minds to the issue.’
Land surveyor
Trevor Stander confirms that the method used to justify the height of the
development is fundamentally flawed. He
writes as follows: “A weighted mean, as opposed
to a simple mean, is the correct way to calculate the average of any
number of variables (e.g. roof heights) of
differing sizes, and this method (weighted mean) is used commonly by
land surveyors for various calculations, e.g. in calculating if a basement
qualifies as a basement under the city of Cape Town zoning scheme. To apply a simple
mean in the case of the Breakers’ roofs is a mathematically
flawed method. In any case, the debate of what type of mean to apply is
irrelevant.
“I believe that one cannot split a building into various portions and
then mean the roof heights of each portion. As soon as a portion of a building
is considered to be a ‘building’, (as per the zoning scheme definition), then each portion of the building must comply
with the 11m restriction. If not, one could then have the absurd example
of a development with 16 different roofs, 8 could be 18m high, the
other 8 could be 4m high, giving an average of 11m. If any one roof is permitted to exceed 11m,
then how high can that roof be permitted to be?”
The Residents Association has called upon Councillor Taki Amira, the Chairman
of the Good Hope Sub Council, and the City’s Planning Environment Policy Committee
(PEPCO) to close the loop hole so as to ensure that the same method is not used
by officials in the future as a means of determining the height of buildings.
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,
Success at
It’s
always pleasing when the intervention of the Residents’ Association results in
a successful opposition to an unlawful or undesireable property
application. We re-reprint here an
edited version of a letter received from Patrick and Joyce McLaughlin of
“I wish to place on record the unstinting and
exceptional assistance provided by RAHB in fighting the case of the application
by E Chesler to apply for a land departure in the private residential area of 4
Barry Road to run a motor repair and workshop in the cul de sac at the Berg en
Dal end of Barry Road, Penzance, where we live opposite.
The repair shop has been run illegally for some ten
years now into the road without any walls or gates onto the road with the
repair shop in full view of passers by; such industrial activity in a
residential area causing not only noise and unsightly activity but reducing the
value of all nearby properties. We complained bitterly but nothing was done.
The final blow was when motor bike repairs were added to list of repairs being
undertaken. The noise became unbearable with visitors any time of the day, cars
being delivered, collected and stored.
Eventually, with the assistance of RAHB a noise
disturbance was brought against the owners of the repair workshop for noisy car
repair work on Boxing Day last year but this did not deter the owner who
continued, furthermore, bringing a land departure application for the
continuance legally as a motor repair shop. Objections were submitted by over
16 residents including the Penzance Action Group and ourselves but despite
this, Town Planning evaluators acceded to the request to have such motor repair
shop in a residential area with the absurd conditions that the garage doors of
the workshop be kept closed at all times, all objections from neighbours being
overruled.
We despaired and we had just about given up all hope
that there was any practical law enforcement left but Len Swimmer encouraged us
to continue with the fight and took the matter up with senior city officials.
The case still went to Sub Council for hearing of objections to the proposal of
granting a land departure to run a motor repair workshop for gain, and we were
advised to attend and ask for the matter to go on appeal.
The matter was heard by Councillor Taki Amira as
Chairperson, with Len Swimmer and Councillor Marga Hayward all present before
him and more councillors from nearby wards in
It was only with the ongoing support and advice of
RAHB, and the support of many residents in
All it takes it seems is a little tenacity to stand up
for one’s rights and to refuse to be intimidated by officialdom for fear that
nothing works in the City any more. Thank you, Len Swimmer and your Board
and those residents of
The garage is closed by order. The owner of the garage
has successfully sold
Fire at Imizamo Yethu!
On the evening of
15 June 2010, a fire started in Imizamo Yethu when a resident left a stove
burning. It started at 19h20 on Tuesday
evening and was only brought under control at 01h00 the next morning. Although the fire department, Watchcom, emergency
number 107 and police were alerted immediately, the fire truck arrived with a
half empty tank of water. The fire spread to more shacks while a second fire
engine was called from Constantia. Eventually 40 shacks were destroyed. Mark Wiley, member of the Provincial
Legislature, has undertaken to follow up with the Fire Department to find out
the causes of what appears to have been unnecessary delays in handling the emergency.
Residents
Association members joined SANCO
in organizing a soup kitchen and food for those who lost their homes. The City
undertook to provide a pack of material for rebuilding for each family that had
had its structure destroyed, while the victims formed a committee to monitor
the rebuilding of the homes to exclude newcomers and to make sure that the
donations went only to victims.
Fortunately
on this occasion the fire was in a position that was reasonably accessible to
the Fire Department. Given the problem
of illegal electrical wiring connections which prevent emergency vehicles from
accessing much of the informal settlement, on top of gross overcrowding, the
Residents Association remains concerned that future fires may have far more
devastating consequences.
The Residents’ Association acknowledges, with thanks,
the support of Patrick Maingard, Hout Bay Franchise Principal of Pam Golding
Properties (Pty) Ltd
