City Festive Season Preparedness Plan 2012 13

The festive season period, commencing in November 2012 and running well into the new year, brings increased risk of incidents that could affect public safety as well as the delivery of services by the City of Cape Town. This report presents the highlights of the City's preparations as well as the actual preparedness plans of the relevant departments. Download the "City Festive Season Preparedness Plan 2012 13" report ‹‹here››.

General Property Valuation Inspection and Objection Period for the General Valuation of 2012

The City of Cape Town is conducting a general property valuation 2012. The date of valuation is 1 July 2012 and all properties are valued as at this date. The valuation roll will be published in February 2013 and the roll will be open for inspection from 21 February 2013 to 30 April 2013. Any person that disagrees with any matter reflected in the valuation roll may lodge an objection during this period. Objections must be submitted to the City Valuations Office on the official objection form between 21 February 2013 and 30 April 2013. Download the "General Property Valuation Inspection and Objection Period for the General Valuation of 2012" ‹‹here››.

CBRRA Public Meeting Minutes 12 Nov 2012

CBRRA PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
HELD AT The Rotunda, The Bay Hotel, Camps Bay,  12 Nov 2012 @ 19:30

1. WELCOME

The Chair welcomed everyone. He thanked Maree Brink and the Bay Hotel for their hospitality – and extended a special thanks to Hester and Ingrid for all of the arrangements.

He welcomed the guest speakers, Marnus van Wyk of EMSS and Michele Thomopoulos of Electromagnetic Radiation Research Foundation of SA.

He also welcomed Cllr Beverley Schafer. Cllr Marga Haywood was unfortunately ill. The chair mentioned that Beverley will give a short address on matters pertaining to CB, especially regarding dogs on the beaches. As always, this is also an opportunity for the community to address her on issues that are of concern to them, the ratepayers of Camps Bay.

The Chair thanked Arthur Shepard of Camps Bay Watch for his presence and thanked the CBW individuals who put a lot of work into ensuring CB’s ongoing security and sustainability.


2. APOLOGIES AND APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

2.1. Apologies: Johan van Papendorp, Marga Haywood, Mary Lloyd and Dominic Lavin.

2.2. Approval of minutes for Public Meeting held 21 February 2012 was proposed by Ann Caras and seconded from the floor and unanimously accepted by the meeting.


3.    CHAIR’S REPORT

The chair mentioned that there are a multitude of masts belonging to all 3 network operators positioned around CB. Sites include Marine Heights in Upper Tree Rd, the Shell garage in Rontree Ave and behind the High School in the Glen.

The City Planning Dept is totally failing to enforce any of the applicable by-laws and many of these masts have no current permits to exist. He said that the committee is dealing with this on an on-going basis but the real problem lies in that if they are removed, so is the connectivity of the community – so a bit of a catch-22 situation.

The CBRRA is in discussions with the planners for the cellular service providers to find a suitable relocation site. However, the CBRRA invited the two guest speakers to deal with the subject in more detail in order that the community can decide for themselves as to how dangerous they find these installations.

As was agreed at the AGM in July, that the voting in of new members and the ratification of the current members of Manco be held over to this meeting. In the interim, Richard Bendel has offered his services to assist with the financial affairs of the CBRRA and Byron Herbert has offered to help out in any way that he can. The Chair thanked them both.

With reference to the financials, there has been no further movement on the costs order granted by the WC High Court to the City against the CBRRA. It was noted that a contingent liability has been inserted in the FS and there is nothing further to discuss at this point.

On a disappointing note, the CBRRA’s efforts to broker a deal between the Prep School and the Bowling Club has lead nowhere. Unfortunately, the pressure exerted by various groupings within the community caused a situation of stalemate and potential red tape. However, if there is any possibility to assist in this matter, CBRRA will pursue it.

However, on a brighter note, CBRRA had today received official notification from Pick ‘n Pay that they will not attempt to revive its liquor license application for the local store.
There was consternation last week when the CB Saps circulated this application but we have received PnP’s assurances that this was a misunderstanding based on the original application.  

And finally the Chair expressed his deepest gratitude to all the members of the Manco, who have selflessly devoted so much of their time to improving our beautiful village of CB.


GUEST SPEAKERS

Marnus van Wyk presented a technical overview of the relative values of electromagnetic radiation as extracted from over 90000 tests that his firm, EMSS, has conducted, including for the Shell Service Station in Rontree Ave and Marine Heights in Upper Tree Rd. His conclusion is that cellular masts, as erected, are not dangerous and the health regulations governing these installations are adequate.

Michele Thomopoulos, representing the Electromagnetic Radiation Research Foundation of South Africa (EMRRFSA) presented a very different approach to the subject. She questioned many of the contentions of the industry and stated that SA’s laws governing cellular installations do not comply with international best practice.

At the conclusion of both presentations, various questions were raised from the floor. A summary of each presentation is attached, with links to the respective websites.


COUNCILLOR’S REPORT

Beverley Schafer reported on the following:

Dogs on the beach: The City has decided to install new dogwalking by-law over the season to test how these will work with the public. After the season these will be reviewed and a final by-law will be installed. Due to the Blue Flag status of Camps Bay beach, no dogs would be allowed on the beach at any time over the season. However, dogs would be allowed on Glen beach and Clifton 1st beach.

Beach upgrade: A total amount of R600,000 has been allocated to the upgrade of the beachfront improvement to ensure a lasting solution to the current poor condition thereof.
The work will be as per the plan motivated and approved by CBRRA.

Various questions from the floor were raised on the dogwalking issue and Anthony Pamm expressed his indignation at the manner in which the financial issues raised by him had been dealt with by the councillors. Cllr Schafer replied that his matter had been escalated to the highest level at the City but that his application had been rejected.


MANCO ELECTIONS

The Chair announced that long-term Manco member Trudi Groenewald has resigned after 24 years of service. He thanked her for her commitment to the community’s civic issues and wished her well for the future. He asked the floor for anyone to step forward and serve on the committee and repeated that Byron Herbert, who was not present at the meeting, had agreed to serve on the Manco. Brent Dyssell and Mark Goldberg volunteered. The rest of the committee continue to stand including Richard Bendel who had been seconded to Manco a few weeks previously. The current committee of Alma Horn, Helet Merkling, Brenda Herbert, John Powell, Johan van Papendorp, Gus Millner and Chris Willemse volunteered to continue on Manco.
The meeting voted unanimously to confirm all of the abovementioned residents as members of the Manco


FINANCE

Richard Bendel reported on the following:
The current state of CBRRA’s finances, which reflect a positive balance of R160205.72 with a current liability for legal costs of R75000.00
A contingent liability has been noted on the audited financial statement to cover the potential costs order awarded against the CBRRA in favour of the City. There is no indication currently as to the quantum of this liability.

Questions from the floor.

Jane Bodin: Is there any further news regarding the legal bill to CBRRA on the Harrison case?
Chris Willemse: No

The Chair thanked everyone for coming and declared the meeting closed.

MEETING CLOSED AT 21:10

Public Meeting Mon 12 Nov 2012 7.30pm

A Public Meeting will be held on 12 November 2012 at 7.30pm at The Rotunda, The Bay Hotel, Camps Bay.

Everyone is welcome.

AGENDA 
• Chairperson’s report
• Approval of minutes of previous public meeting 
• Councillors Feedback
• Cell Mast Health Risks - Guest Speaker
• Manco Elections

• Membership
• Dogs on beach by-laws
• Planning matters
• Any other business
• Questions from the floor
• Closing

Questions to Councillors

Questions from resident to Councillors (and answers below)

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.

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?
(A) I have put a motion into sub council concerning dog free running areas particular with regards to ‘nodal’ beaches. This has forced the Coastal Management department to look at the issue of signage with is sorely lacking, and the fact that people need public open spaces to walk dogs freely and more and more people will be living in smaller spaces. 
I have to date been in meetings with officials and we have pinpointed all the beaches with poor signage. Only once the signage is in place can we ensure greater enforcement of dogs on beaches. We will however be looking at having a beach in each suburb open to dogs but it will be up for public comment later this year. 
(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?
(A) Informal car guards cannot be curtailed unless a formalised parking structure is implemented into the area. Please look to your residents and visitors who continue to provide an income for them. If they stopped doing so, you would not be having a problem at all. The public must take responsibility for what they create out there. 
(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?
(A) This is a planning issue and must be raised as such. We am not here to comment on any building unless it comes to Sub Council. I would suggest that the Ratepayers drive this to be investigated by the planning department either as a formal letter to myself, Cllr Haywood or the Sub Council Chair.
 (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?
(A) Ward boundaries are not done at local level but by the Municipal Demarcation Board which is an independent authority responsible for the determination of municipal boundaries. You can read more about it here:  http://www.demarcation.org.za/pages/default_new.html 
(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?

(A) We are not a nanny state but allow free enterprise and opportunities for business to make money, in turn assisting with the growth of the economy. By laws are in place to protect the rights of both residents and affected parties and we need to ensure that we take up those rights. However, this does not mean that business should be easy targets and I would suggest that instead of trying to shut down business in your area you now consult with the Camps Bay Business Forum who represent the business owners in your area. 
I thank you

Carlos Liltved
 Regards,
Cllr Beverley Schafer
Ward 54 - Atlantic Seaboard
Cell: 083 598 3676
Fax:  086 588 6217

Really sad day for us all

It’s been a really, really sad day for us all, with the drowning of a student from Progress College, off Clifton 1^stlate Wed afternoon. I spent some time with the family as they came to terms with their grief of their son who had just finished school and who then spent the afternoon with his friends on the Clifton 1^st Beach. My condolences go to his family and friends over their terrible loss.

I can’t express enough for parents to please remind their children about being safe, taking care on the roads and acting responsibly wherever they are. The seas are currently rough and there are strong currents out there. Yesterday’s cause of drowning is still be determined, but this tragic loss acts as a cruel reminder that accidents can happen very quickly, impacting on people’s lives forever.

May I also add that this is always a challenging time for us, when learners complete their school year and want to go out and celebrate. We have seen a number of incidents last Friday with the start of the annual valedictory day celebrations, when learners arrived in large numbers on Clifton beaches with large quantities of alcohol being confiscated by our very proactive officers. I am aware that a further number of schools will be celebrating Valedictory Day over the course of the next few days, and so my call to you once again, is to take please take care, act responsibly and be reminded that consumption of alcohol or use of banned substances on our beaches is prohibited.

Regards,

Cllr Beverley Schafer

Ward 54 - Atlantic Seaboard

Cell: 083 598 3676

Fax:  086 588 6217

Response to Jane Bodin letter in Atlantic Sun

The CBRRA brought a principled and considered application to the Courts to set aside the original planning approval for the Harrison house, which was successful.

The Council then prompted the Harrisons how to alter the plans and immediately passed the rider plans, which CBRRA’s legal and planning team advised were still illegal.

On their advice CBRRA  resubmitted an application to review the rider plans  which was unsuccessful.

CBRRA's legal team advised that CBRRA should appeal this ruling, which our legal team did at no cost to CBRRA for two appeals at which they were unsuccessful.

The  Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein found, as a matter of law, that the City of Cape Town's planning department should not have approved the Harrison's revised plans. That the SCA refused to set the planning approval aside on a very marginal legal technicality merely highlights the vagaries of the law and the incredible problems facing civic organisations which attempt to hold the City's officials to account.

Unfortunately, every community organisation has its detractors, who would rather destroy positive action in favour of narrow, private agendas.

The CBRRA is well aware of its responsibilities and will always attempt to fearlessly serve the best interests of the community.

CBRRA doubts that the community would want it to sit back and do nothing to address the real problems of poor governance in this city (and country), as Ms Bodin suggests, for fear of some unwanted outcome.

Chris Willemse
Chairperson CBRRA