Oranjezicht Higgovale Neighbourhood Watch

Feasibility of establishing the OH SRA

28 September 2010

Watchful Eyes, Safer Streets

Would you like to live in a neighbourhood where you could:

• Feel safe in your own home and enjoy safer streets?• Appreciate clean pavements?• Feel secure because of effective street lighting?• Leave your vehicle parked in the street and find that it had not been broken into?• Drive on roads without potholes and with effective signage?• Relax in parks that are maintained and safe?• Admire the landscaping of public spaces and the trees?• Support unemployed people?• Get pleasure from communal events?

What we want to achieve tonight

1 SRA concept test, early engagement with property owners an important first step in the process

2 Review what an SRA is3 Understand the benefits to property owners4 Table the costs to property owners 5 Critical dates, process and timeline

Five main objectives:

A few key points before we start1. Our property values in this area are valued at R7.6

billion2. Our area currently pays over R41 million in rates

per annum.3. That is an investment that we need to look after

and ensure that as much as possible of it is spent enhancing this area.

4. Currently no-one is making sure that we get the best possible service for what we pay.

5. OH Watch is a voluntary organisation that was set up to look after neighbourhood safety issues in partnership with SAPS and other role-players.

6. OH Watch is doing a good job, but it cannot be expected to sustain this level of work and there are many issues that it is not tackling.

The campaign to establish a SRA is currently being conducted by a Steering Committee of 4 members of the OH Watch Exco all local residents working on a voluntary basis.

Who is behind the campaign to establish the OH SRA?

Peter Stenslunde

Amanda Kottler

Butch Rice Sheryl Ozinsky

Specialist CID/SRA ConsultantGene Lohrentz

Who is behind the campaign to establish the OH SRA?

What is a Special Ratings Area (SRA or CID)

An SRA (Section 21 Company) provides top-up services (security, cleansing and urban mngt) to those provided currently by SAPS and the City of Cape Town

A statutory body established under the SRA by-law (Provincial Gazette 6651/2009) previously known as a City Improvement District (CID)

Funded by a levy collected from rate payers by the City and paid over to the SRA management board

Funds raised are dedicated to improving services (security, cleaning, urban upgrades) exclusively within the SRA

Cape Town has 22 CIDs in operation, and 40 more interested communities have expressed interest to form SRA’s.

Why OH Watch feels that an SRA is necessary

• That the cost of providing supplementary and additional services is equitably borne by all property owners in the area

• That costs are borne in proportion to the municipal valuation of the property.

Do we have a problem?Crime Stats OH Watch AreaMany of these incidents happen in the public domainFebruary 2009 - August 2010 = 18 months

Type of Crime Number of IncidentsTheft out of Motor Vehicle 337Break in Residential 158Robbery 71Theft of Motor Vehicle 51Break in Business 9Drug Related 7Robbery/Stabbing 1__Total incidents: 634 (> 1 incident per

day)

Hot SpotsStreets with more than 5 incidents over the period

Street Number of IncidentsMill 27Hof 16Kloof 15Vriende 14Breda 11Union 9Buitenkant 7Camp 7Flower 7Myrtle 7Sir George Grey 7Belvedere 6Wandel 6

Do we have a problem?1. Street Cleaning. We need supplemental cleaning, including street sweeping, drain cleaning, removal of graffiti, litter removal, control of dumping and enforcing compliance with dumping By-Laws

2. Street Lighting. We have no-one monitoring our street lighting in terms of maintenance or repair – some are rusted from top to bottom. We have lights outside Gardens Centre that have been reported 6 times but not fixed;

3. Road Repair and Signage. We have n0- one monitoring our roads - potholes

are on the increase as roads deteriorate. We have no-one monitoring road

marking signs. We have no-one replacing missing drain hole covers.

Do we have a problem?4. Social. No-one to develop a cohesive strategy for addressing homelessness and the regulation of it in conjunction with Council.

5. Law Enforcement. We have no Law Enforcement in the area, in terms of City Bylaws. Homeless people use De Waal, Van Riebeeck and Homestead Parks as their personal latrines;

6. We have no Metro/Traffic Police to patrol our area for dumped cars, unlicensed cars, taxis parked on pavements/un-roadworthy vehicles and so on;

7. We have no budget for traffic control measures like speed humps on Montrose;

8. We have no-one doing vegetation clearing of potentially dangerous hiding

spots for criminals, removal of un-authorised posters and stickers

Do we have a problem?

9. We have no budget to repair De Waal Park Road, no budget to secure

Homestead Park with fencing and so on.

10. No-one attending to landscaping and gardening of communal areas.

11. Marketing. No-one to develop a close and mutually beneficial working

relationship with the City Council, ratepayers association, SAPS, Metro Police,

the CPF, private security service providers, neighbourhood watches, community leaders, churches and schools, and the CID community

at large.

Opinion Poll May 2010

“As we both live and work in the area we would be very happy to contribute towards dropping crime and making it a safer area for all to enjoy”

“It must be a small amount - we are paying income tax and rates and any additional levy is really a charge for something which should be covered”

“General street cleaning is poor particularly in the little park in Rosemount Ave. The residents try - The pedestrian lane and steps between Sir George Grey and Rosemount are often fairly disgusting”

“We need to make sure that we have better control of the resources that we pay the City i.e. rates and taxes. At present I feel that not enough of this is spent in the area I live in, especially as it relates to safety and security”

Opinion Poll“Provided the SRA is well run and focused. I sometimes feel guilty that I strive for a neighbourhood that is perfectly safe and clean, and full of trees, and nice street furniture, in a country where homelessness and poverty is so prevalent. How can I complain about a streetlight not working, when some areas have no running water? But then I think that if I am paying rates, should I not expect the highest level of service as I would do from any service provider that I am paying to do a job. And the answer is a resounding yes. I feel that an SRA is the way forward as it seems that affluent neighbourhoods will need to look after their own interests more and more and importantly keep the council accountable for the minimum service that they agree to provide”

OH Watch Road Surface Repair Assessment

OH Watch Road Markings Assessment

OH Watch Faulty Street Lighting Report

Why is the City not providing the services we want?

According to the SA Constitution (Sections 152 & 153), the objective of a local authority is to provide all its residents with certain basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal, etc - up to an equitable standard.

For communities who wish to enjoy municipal services of a higher level, an SRA provides them with the option of paying for these additional services, which should be affordable and sustainable.

The Proposed OH SRA BoundaryNorthern Boundary: Bridle Road, Rugby Road, Molteno Road, Glencoe to Higgo and Trek Roads extending to Kloof Nek Road

Southern Boundary: Along Mill Street to Upper Wandel Street

Eastern Boundary: Kloof Nek Road up until Bellevue Road, into Hof Street, Rayden Road, Camp and Hof Streets

Western Boundary: Upper Buitenkant, Myrtle, Schoonder, Gorge Road, Sidmouth Avenue

The SRA Boundary

22 February 2011 End April 2011

When is this all happening?

PROJECT MILESTONE

START DATE END DATE

Perform Opinion Survey

1 April 2010 Complete

Develop Business Plan

20 May 2010 15 September 2010

Plan Information Meeting

1 August 2010 28 September 2010

Host Information Meeting

28 September 2010

28 September 2010Phase 1: April 2010 – 28 September 2010

When is this all happening?PROJECT MILESTONE

START DATE END DATE

Advertise Public Meeting

20 January 2011 31 January 2011

Host Public Meeting 31 January 2011 31 January 2011

Finalise Business Plan

31 January 2011 7 February 2011

Canvas for Support 01 February 2011

31 October 2011

Phase 2: 20 January 2011 – 31 October 2011

Phase 1: April 2010 – 28 September 2010

When is this all happening?PROJECT MILESTONE START DATE END DATE

Submit application to council

31 October 2011

Advertise intention (30 Days)

1 November 2011

30 November 2011

Notify property owners of submitted application

1 November 2011

7 November 2011

Approval from Council June 2012

Implementation 01 July 2012

Phase 3: 31 October 2011 – 01 July 2012

What the levy will buy you

Security

• 2 x shift managers• 2 x shift manager

vehicles• 3 patrol vehicles• 9 foot patrol officers on

foot (27 shifts)• Digital radios for all

vehicles and patrol officers

Law Enforcement

• A dedicated City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Officer 5 days a week with powers of arrest and ability to issue fines on all city by-laws

What the levy will buy you

Cleansing• 10 Street sweepers

deployed 5 days a week to clean the streets and pavements

• Includes a daily waste bag collection service

Urban Management

• 35 Straatwerk shifts (140 hours) per month for cleaning parks, grass cutting, gardening, etc

Social Responsibility• A social fieldworker

contracted from one of the local

NGO’s to work in the area

Proposed OH CID/SRA Budget

Question:

Do you support the establishment of the OH SRA?

Raise your hand for yes