Newlands CID, status update 13/07/2024:

July 2024 is the first month that Additional Rates are being collected from property owners within the Newlands Community Improvement District.  The City will make monthly payments to the CID which will in turn deliver the 'supplementary services' detailed in the Business Plan. 

It has been a very busy time for the CID team.  We were given the go-ahead to register the Newlands Community Improvement District NPC on 6 June.  Only when that process was complete were we able to open a bank account, apply to SARS for tax exemption, PAYE, VAT, become a supplier to national government, to local government, set up accounting systems, appoint Auditors, start interviewing for staff, apply for premises - and all the other things that go into starting a business.  

Sincere thanks to the volunteers who have offered their time and professional skills to move this forward.

Detailed updates:

• CID Office Manager:  This post has been advertised online and applications are invited for a well-organised, full-time employee to manage the Newlands CID office and support the CID Manager.  Contact info@newlandscid.org for more information. 

• Public Safety contract:  

  • The CID will operate the same number of 24/7 tactical vehicles as the NRA currently has (three)

  • Five security guards will be added at specific 'hotspots'.  Three guards will be 24/7 and two will be 12/7. 

  • There will also be a 24hr control room operator, monitoring a dedicated emergency phone line, the Emergency WhatsApp group and the night-time CCTV network.  

  • Two national companies, which between them supply similar services to every neighbouring CID and Neighbourhood Watch, quoted to supply these and other services. Fidelity-ADT was awarded the contract for an initial period of 12 months.  These Public Safety services should be in place by mid-August.

• Environment & Litter services:  Two full-time employees will be employed by the CID to work in our parks and keep the streets clean.   Michael who currently works part-time in Paradise park will start full-time next week and his colleague will be contracted shortly.  It'll take a while to work out the most effective work programme for the team but initially it will be litter-picking two days a week, and working as gardeners in our parks for the remining three.  

• Premises:  It will be great if the CID can find a permanent home which is accessible to everyone.  We need an admin and security office, as well as a base for the outdoor staff, with room to store tools, etc.  Anyone who has tried to rent property in Newlands will realise that a conventional arrangement is way beyond anything the CID can afford. We are working on a couple of ideas with the Dept. of Recreation & Parks.

• Branding, uniforms, signage:  All CID employees and contracted staff will have CID branded uniforms.  

This is especially important with security officers.   In the past, residents have struggled to distinguish between F-ADT Armed Response officers (who are privately contracted by homeowners) and our NRA Community Patrollers who have a quite different job, even though they are also contracted from F-ADT.  By the end of August, the CID's vehicles, community patrollers and security guards will be easily recognisable.

Wherever possible, the plan is to erect signage at each of the road entrances to our area (approximately 15).   

Newlands CID, status update 06/06/2024:

On 31 May 2024, the City of Cape Town approved our application to establish a CID.  This was item number SPC 07/05/24 on the City Agenda for that day.  The message below is the required formal notice to our all our property owners of this event:

SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES: 31 MAY 2024 – BUDGET MEETING

SPC 07/05/24 APPLICATION FOR THE DETERMINATION OF A CITY

IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (CID) KNOWN AS NEWLANDS COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (NEWLANDS CID) RESOLVED that:

(a) the City of Cape Town determined the area as reflected in the body of the report on the agenda report as a City Improvement District (CID), known as the Newlands CID (Newlands CID) in terms of section 4 of the City Improvement District By-law, 2023.

(b) the City of Cape Town approved the application submitted by RM Turnbull, registered owner of 8 Ohlsson Way, Newlands to establish the Newlands CID in terms of section 5(1) of the CID By-law.

(c) the City of Cape Town imposed the levying of an additional rate on properties in the Newlands CID in terms of section 22(1)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act (MPRA), Act 6 of 2004.

(d) a Finance Agreement be concluded between the City of Cape Town and the Newlands CID management body in terms of section 23(7) of the CID By-law.

ACTION: J JOUBERT, R McGAFFIN

********************************************************

Once again, sincere thanks to everyone who helped with getting our community to this point, including everyone who voted in the referendum.  

What Happens now?

• We are urgently setting up a business to run the CID, staff it, house it, run it, and deliver everything in the business plan. Until this point we have not been permitted to even register a company to house the CID.  We are speaking to lawyers, accountants, auditors and suppliers. 

• Now that it has been formally approved by the Council, the Steering Committee has the authority to register a non-profit company and do all the admin that goes with it - tax compliance, VAT registration, opening of bank accounts, send out Requests for Quotations to suppliers, make staff appointments, securing premises, etc.   We've been preparing, but none of this can be done before we have a registered company.

• As soon as Newlands Community Improvement District Pty. Ltd. has been registered, the Steering Committee will appoint an interim Board of Directors, with the authority to implement all of the above. Property owners will have the opportunity to reshape that Board at a General Meeting within 6 months. 

• Since the first Additional Rates will be collected on July rates bills, time is extremely tight for getting a whole business up and running within less than month.  Give or take a couple of weeks, it's the same for all CIDs.

• Our absolute priority is to conclude a Finance Agreement with the City and give it everything it needs to get us on the approved list of suppliers.  Only then can we receive the money they collect on our behalf and pay for the services set out in the Business Plan. 

• The Board's second priority is to appoint contractors and staff to deliver those services.  In an ideal world this would happen by the end of this month but that will largely depend on how quickly suppliers can turn around quotes and supply the services being asked of them. 

• It will take time for the CID to bed in but the NRA will continue to support with volunteers' time and energy until the CID is up to full steam.   

Newlands Community Improvement District, status 01/02/2024:

We are over the first (and biggest) hurdle - the 2023 Referendum confirmed that a clear majority of property owners voted in favour of establishing a CID.

• Between 28 September 2023  and 24 January 2024 a Referendum was held to gauge the support amongst property owners for the establishment of a CID in our area.

• If more than 60% of owners were in favour, then an application to establish the CID could be lodged with the City.

• On 30 January 2024, the City confirmed than the Referendum audit showed 63% of owners had voted in favour.   About 65% of owners had voted by 15 December 2023, and over 98% of those were 'YES' votes.  

• Accordingly, on 31 January 2024 the Newlands CID Steering Committee submitted a formal application to the City of Cape Town.

Thank you to everyone who voted - whichever way you voted. This was an important decision for the future of our area and we needed a genuinely representative sample to be sure the right decision was made.  Logistically it was not an easy Referendum to run and sincere thanks to everyone who worked so hard to give everyone an opportunity to vote.   

What Happens now?

• The full application, which is underpinned by the Business Plan, has to be scrutinised by several different City departments.  They will check the numbers, policy compliance, etc.

•  If they all give it the green light, the application will be recommended to Council at the end of May, as they budget for the Financial Year beginning in July 2024.  At that stage they should have no reason to question the recommendation.

• If everything falls into place quickly (it did not for last year's new CIDs) then Additional Rates will be charged on July rates bills and the CID will receive it's first funds at the end  of that month. 

• Only once there is money in the bank can the Steering Committee legally start appointing staff and service providers. So there will be a lag.

• To minimise that, the Steering Committee is now drawing up job descriptions and service level agreements to prepare for the tender procedures.  Registration of a non-profit entity, for VAT, COIDA, PAYE, appointment of a bookkeeper, auditors, and all the things that are needed to set up a small company - there is a lot of work to do do make sure that we are up and running as soon as possible. 

REQUIRED FORMAL NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO ESTABLISH THE NEWLANDS CID:

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO ESTABLISH THE NEWLANDS CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (“NEWLANDS CID”)

Please note that:

1.            RM Turnbull, being the registered owner of Erf no. 97577, has applied for the establishment of the Newlands City Improvement District (“the Newlands CID”) in terms of the City of Cape Town: City Improvement District By-law, 2023 (as amended) (“the By-law”), read with the City of Cape Town’s City Improvement District Policy, 2023, to include all properties in the area within the following geographical boundaries: South of Princess Anne Avenue and Klipper Road; East of the M3 between Princess Anne Avenue and the Paradise Road off-ramp; West of Protea Road until Colinton Road; West of Colinton Road (excluding some areas within the CIDC CID; North and West of Glenhof Road; West of Main Road until Klipper Road (excluding some areas within the Groote Schuur CID). (A map depicting these geographical boundaries is attached hereto as Annexure “A”.)

2. The application in terms of section 5 of the By-law, together with the business plan and other required supporting documentation, may be inspected at 8 Ohlsson Way, Newlands (enquiries: March Turnbull info@newlandscid.org) and the City of Cape Town’s City Improvement District Office, 8th Floor, Civic Centre, 12 Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town (enquiries: Joepie Joubert at 021 400 5138 or Joepie.Joubert@capetown.gov.za).

KENNISGEWING VAN AANSOEK OM STIGTING VAN DIE NEWLANDS   

 STADSVERBETERINGSDISTRIK (“die NEWLANDS CID”)

Let asseblief daarop dat:

1. RM Turnbull, synde die geregistreerde eienaar van erf no 97577 aansoek gedoen het om die stigting van die Newllands stadsverbeteringsdistrik (“die Newlands CID) ingevolge die Stad Kaapstad: Verordening op Stadsverbeteringsdistrikte, 2023 (soos gewysig) (“die Verordening”), saamgelees met die Stad Kaapstad se beleid oor stadsverbeteringsdistrikte, om alle eiendomme in die gebied binne die volgende geografiese grense in te sluit: Suid van Princess Anne Laan en Klipperweg; Oos van die M3 tussen Princess Anne Laan en die pradiseweg afrit; Wes van Proteaweg tot by Colintonweg; Wes van Colintonweg (uitsluitendesommige areas wat binne die CIDC SVD val); Noord en Wes van Glenhofweg; Wes van die Hoofweg tot by Klipperweg (uitsluitende sommige areas wat binne die Groote Schuur SVD val). (’n Kaart met hierdie geografiese grense is hierby aangeheg as bylae “A”.)

2. Die aansoek ingevolge artikel 5 van die Verordening, tesame met die sakeplan en ander vereiste stawende dokumente, is ter insae beskikbaar by 8 Ohlsson Way (navae: march Turnbull info@newlandscid.org) en die Stad Kaapstad se stadsverbeteringsdistrikkantoor, 8ste vloer, Burgersentrum, Hertzog-boulevard 12, Kaapstad (navrae: Joepie Joubert by 021 400 5138 of Joepie.Joubert@capetown.gov.za).