Planning App: 31 Beta Rd

31 Beta Road, Bakoven – ERVEN 2733 & 2744

Departures from the planning scheme.

Contact CBRRA for more details.

CBRRA's comments: This is an application to remove part of the embankment around the two bungalows, thus effectively making for taller buildings. The roof heights remain the same. CBRRA awaiting neighbour's input.

Questions from resident to Councillors

Resident Carlos Liltved addressed the councillors at the Public meeting with the following questions. Answers will be posted here shortly:

I have 5 questions for our 2 Ward Councillors that I think warrant answering. I request from the Ward Councillors that I receive their answers in writing. I will hand them copies of my questions after I have read them out.

But first I would like to thank our public spirited citizens such as Chris Willemse, Bernard Shafer, Ian and Sally Merrington, Simon Kneel, Peter Mead, et cetera …who tirelessly and often thanklessly watchdog our suburb. Of course, I also thank CB Medics and all the of the hardworking civil servants who do so much.

My name is Carlos I am one of Camps Bay’s second tier watchdogs … a coal face late night CERT Team watchdog … It is most often not fun being a watchdog, but I find that in general, us Western suburban types have become too passive and someone has to do it.

Here are my questions …. In no order of preference:

(1) About a month a ago a little girl was savaged by free running dogs on Clifton Beach. Why are there still tens and tens of “free running” “off leash” dogs on Camps Bay Beach every morning … and also on the Bakoven beaches and the footpaths of the Table Mountain National Park? I refer you City Of Cape Town Animal By-Law PG 6896 LA 23607 Promulgated 5 Aug 2011 and ask what will be done about this?

(2) I request that I be forwarded all relevant By-Laws w.r.t so called Car Guards. Why is the lower part of our suburb still, after all these years infested with this rag tag mob of self appointed and unauthorised parking attendants? Apart from the genuine nuisance factor and known connection to petty crime, in my opinion having all of these people (illegally) masquerading as “bona fide” security personnel creates a false impression to visitors that car breaking and crime is in fact much more of a problem than it really is. The weekends of this summer have seen a proliferation of drunk, noisome and even extortionist individuals. It is without a doubt that the Camps Bay car guards add no value to our suburb. When and what will be done about them?

(3) I think that most of us have been down to the Glen end of the Meadows and seen the hugely out of scale home currently being built by the Solomon family. Does the three storey / 10 metre height restriction not apply to certain people? Last year I was threatened with (amongst other things): grievous bodily harm and having my house burned down for responding to a City Council invitation to object to yet another over-scale (and to my mind inappropriate) development in my sector. Sworn affidavits have been lodged with SAPS and others so if anything does happen to me they know where to start looking. I feel that structures should be put in place so that the community’s voice can be heard and that building developments such as the aforementioned can be checked in good time … and such that citizens need not fear intimidation from developers. I would like to know why and how the construction of the Solomon building has been permitted? I would like to know how we can improve the system so that we don’t have repeats of the Blinkwater/Geneva drama that cost the CBRRA so dearly?

(4) Our suburb is split in two. We have two ward councillors Beverly Schafer and Marga Hayward. One is visibly present and active in Camps Bay, the other one more or less invisible. This being … I trust … due to the latter’s Hout Bay Informal Settlement and Hangberg commitments. Surely steps should be taken, whatever they may be, to rectify the situation so that Hout Bay may have one dedicated Ward Councillor and Camps Bay another. How can this be done?

(5) Camps Bay used to have 2 off-sales, now we have none. Thank goodness the good sense of our citizenry put a stop to those problems. Unlike the majority of Cape Town’s “party zones” which are situated in commercial areas, the Camps Bay “Strip” directly abuts the residential area. Night clubs are open until 2am. A few late night license holders profit massively while the entire lower part of the suburb suffers the fallout: Noise, drunk drivers, beggars, child beggars, vagrants, drug dealers, petty crime and squalor. Last Saturday evening 2 mothers with babies + 13 child beggars between 5 and 12 years old had to be handled by SAPS and social workers. I often see toddlers awake and being used as begging tools to extract cash from well lubricated tourists long after midnight. I suggest that when liquor licenses come up for renewal they be on a “liquor with dinner basis only” … call last round for liquor sale at 11h00 pm across the board. All doors closed by 24h00. This will force the “trouble magnet” late night venues to convert their operations to bona fide restaurants or setup in the city downtown area where they belong. Can this be achieved and by which process?

I thank you

Carlos Liltved

Carlos Liltved – 082 922 0119 – carlos @ 1012.co.za

Planning App: 17 Pitlochry Rd

17 Pitlochry Road, Camps Bay – ERF 2358
Right of appeal: Subdivision and departures from the planning scheme.

Contact CBRRA for more details.

CBRRA Comment: CBRRA successfully opposed the departure application but the Good Hope Sub Council approved the subdivision. CBRRA will now appeal the subdivision to the Provincial Minister of Planning.

Letter of appeal will be posted here.

Public Meeting Announcement 21 Feb 2012

PUBLIC MEETING

Tuesday 21 February 2012 @ 19h30

The Rotunda, Camps Bay

ALL WELCOME

AGENDA
• Councillors Marga Haywood and Beverly Schafer give feedback
• MyCiti Bus Service to Camps Bay - A presentation by MyCiti

• CBRRA portfolio reports on issues relating to Camps Bay residents

MyCiti News February 2012

With the changeover from a paper-based ticketing system to the first phase of the myconnect card achieved, construction continuing apace for new routes (albeit with some traffic disruption) and the arrival of new smaller buses soon, it is going to be a momentous year ahead for Cape Town’s new public transport system.

Within the City of Cape Town, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Councillor Brett Herron, is providing leadership to the project.

Former Executive Director responsible for Transport, Roads and Major Projects, Mike Marsden, is the new Deputy City Manager and recently appointed Melissa Whitehead is the Executive Director of the newly constituted team for Transport, Roads and Stormwater.

With 13 years of local government experience (six of those at senior management level), she has worked in various transport-related positions in the City of Johannesburg. Over the last ten years she has been project manager and strategic advisor in transportation management and integrated public transport management. She holds a BSc in Town and Regional Planning as well as a Masters in Environmental Planning for Developing Countries.

News just in is that Cape Town has been recognised with an honourable mention at the 2012 Sustainable Transport Awards in Washington. Hosted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), the awards honour cities that have developed truly sustainable public transport systems. Cape Town was nominated with 16 other cities. San Francisco and Medellin were the joint winners.

Accepting the award, Councillor Brett Herron said Cape Town was still ‘in the infancy of its transportation transformation, or revolution, and we have a long way to go before we achieve our objective of providing an equitable, safe, efficient, affordable, quality public transport service for all.’ He said the award was ‘a massive vote of confidence in our pursuit of this objective and is enormously encouraging.’

‘A quality, integrated public transport system is essential to providing both social and economic inclusion and to achieving our objectives, and delivering on our mandate, which is to build a city that provides opportunity, is safe, is caring, is inclusive and is well-run,’ he said.

Switch to smart travelling

The change from a paper-based ticketing system to the universal use of the myconnect card has generally been well received by users of the MyCiTi system.

By the time the last final paper tickets were accepted on 28 January, over 10 000 cards had been sold, despite some unhappiness over the 2.5% charge on value loaded onto the card.

The card is an easy and efficient way to ensure that a large number of people can access the system quickly and conveniently.

It avoids the need for carrying of cash and paper tickets, and allows commuters to budget around their monthly or weekly trips in a single transaction. The card also allows people to load money onto their cards for a week or a month at a time, making budgeting for your travel needs much easier. This is the first step of a gradual implementation to be rolled out over the years and further phases will come into effect in mid-2012, when specific travel products and other uses for the cards are introduced.

Construction in Tableview area

As part of the roll out of permanent feeder routes and the extension of routes, construction has started on the Table View station in Blaauwberg Road.

This is necessary to cater for the extension of routes up the West Coast, to Atlantis and areas like Dunoon, and the introduction of smaller nine-metre buses to replace the 12-metre buses currently operating on feeder routes in the area. Construction is expected to take four to six months. Directional signage will assist road users and pedestrians. Further safety measures include placing a concrete barrier between the new walkway and the bus lane still in operation, and a fence between the walkway and the construction area.

Construction in and around the City

Work is also going full steam ahead on the construction of new feeder stations at Civic Centre and Gardens, under the bridge in Mill Street.

Residents will also notice work being done on pavements to construct the different types of bus stops and shelters along eight new routes around the City Bowl, including Woodstock and Salt River, along Sea Point, to Camps Bay and Hout Bay. These new routes are expected to be up and running towards the end of 2012.

MyCiti Tip of the Month

Make the most of your myconnect card. Avoid daily queues by loading enough money in advance. Also pay attention to the low-balance indicator and top up your card when necessary.

For more information
Transport Information Centre (toll-free 24/7) 0800 65 64 63www.capetown.gov.za/myciti
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Five jailed for Camps Bay crime spree

A syndicate of robbers who terrorised Camps Bay have been convicted of a host of crimes, including housebreaking, rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

In a lengthy judgment handed down by Western Cape High Court Justice James Yekiso, he found the five men – gang leader Luis Momadi, as well as Arnaldo Faife, Rogerio Laice, Sabastine Okele and Thamsanqa Mafuya – guilty of an assortment of charges.

Yekiso took four days to read the 121-page document into record to allow for interpretation for the accused. He finished on Friday.

The five terrorised Camps Bay residents between September 2006 and December 2008 as they carried out a string of robberies.

Momadi was convicted of eight of the 16 charges related to the robberies.

Both Faife and Laice were convicted of seven counts. Okele was found guilty of three charges, and knowingly being in possession of stolen property, while Mafuya was convicted only of being in possession of stolen property.

Their crime spree predominantly took place in a few months in 2008.

According to Yekiso’s judgement, it started in March 2008 when Momadi broke into the home of Camps Bay resident Siegfried Strasser, assaulted him, his wife and another woman and stole a cellphone, jewellery and keys.

On November 2, he returned to the area with Faife and Laice. They robbed the home of a local couple, taking expensive items. Momadi raped the woman.

Just two days later, they broke into the home of Grant Dutton. They stole expensive items such as designer sunglasses, a flat screen TV, iPods and three watches.

The three men robbed two more houses that month, this time bringing Okele along.

They raided the homes of Hans Gunter on November 8, and David and Noleen Knott on November 25, holding them at gunpoint.

When they robbed the Knotts, one of them was alleged to have told Noleen Knott what a “nice bedroom” she had. He asked her to sit next to him on the bed and asked whether she’d “ever been kissed by a black man”.

The men, who stole cellphones, cameras, cash, clothing, whisky and passports, are yet to be sentenced.

Public Meeting: MyCiti Bus Route through Camps Bay