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Management Committee (MC)

What the MC does:

Promotes, enforces and safeguards the interests and rights of the ratepayers and residents of the area between Boundary and Glengariff Roads to the East and West, respectively, and between the mountain and the Western Boulevard incorporating the Green Point Common
 

Objectives of the MC:

  • To ensure that the unique social and physical characteristics of the Green Point village will evolve in a sustainable way in the face of a changing city

  • To ensure that, within the context of City’s densification strategy, Green Point’s heritage and the Green Point Common and Public Open Space are preserved for all residents of Cape Town as well as visitors

  • To encourage a community spirit


Current MC activities:

  • Promoting membership of the Association so as to foster interaction among ratepayers and to increase understanding of civic issues and develop a sense of civic pride

  • Interacting with and communicating with all levels of government

  • Monitoring municipal policies and affairs so as to evaluate them according to the highest principles of good local governance and influencing the City Council of Cape Town to adopt policies, frame regulations and make decisions acceptable to members

  • Communicating with the media

  • Commenting on and objecting to the Environmental Impact Assessment and to the rezoning and subdivision relating to the commercialization of the Stadium and the proposed redevelopment of Somerset Precinct

  • Promoting and facilitating interaction with other organizations in the Greater Cape Town area with similar objectives

  • Remains abreast of matters affecting Green Point such as new by-laws, liquor licenses etc

  • Keeping residents informed of matters that affect them by means of newsletters, emails and the website

  • Organizing special meetings when deemed necessary on controversial issues that affect the community as well as the AGM

GPRRA Committees

 

The GPPRA is made up of the Management Committee (MC) and three sub committees – Events, the Human Environment Committee (HEC) and the Built Environment Committee (BEC).

 

Events

What Events does:

Aims to maintain a sustainable balance between events held on the common and the effects of noise, pollution, traffic, etc which encroaches on the lives of Green Point residents.
 

Current Events activities:

  • Receives and reviews applications

  • Advises applicants if the GPRRA are going to support the event, comments and liaises with applicants’ requests and, when necessary, meets with applicants to resolve issues

  • Provides noise guidelines to applicants

  • Liaises with the events department of City Council

  • Liaises with Ward Councillor on issues to be taken up with City Council

  • Attends sound tests when required

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A must read for all Green Point residents 

Did you know that Green Point hosts in the region of 350 events every year? 

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These range from small runs, charity events, soccer matches both minor and major, to huge international super stars performing at our stadium, films and commercials being shot here, the annual Cycle Tour, parties like MCQP, a number of food trucks, festivals and fund raisers and so much more.

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Currently the events committee is made up of three core volunteer members, with the support of the Green Point Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association. 

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Every single event application crosses our desks, and then we evaluate it in terms of how it will impact our community, from litter to noise pollution, crowd control, traffic congestion and water usage.

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We won’t bore you with the finer details, but on the whole this year we’ve been immensely proud of the work we’ve done, and the partnerships we’ve nurtured with event organisers, residents, the City of Cape Town, and consulting sound engineers. Of course not every event goes perfectly, but we do our best to take note of less successful events so we can work harder on them the following year. This is why we encourage residents to log complaints with us, should an event impact on them negatively, so we know to address these issues going forward. 

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This year, The Events Committee has continued to request the implementation of the Overlay Zone for Green Point to reduce noise, traffic, congestion and antisocial behaviour. This is currently being driven by Councillor JP Smith. 

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We’ve had great success in encouraging larger events and troublesome events to hire an independent acoustic consultant to monitor amplified sound. In most of these situations, the consultant has managed to turn some of our annual major events from being the most complained about, to some of our most successful. This has given us the confidence and impetus to carry on fighting the good fight, even though sometimes it feels futile, when we come up against bureaucracy or circumstances out of our control. 

 

We have also fought hard to control starting and ending times of events, so that residents get to sleep in on weekends as often as possible, and so that events run no later than midnight. 

 

One of our aims next year is to eliminate plastic sachets in fun runs and races all together, it’s time that organisers found more

ecological solutions. 

Another aim is to continue to serve the community with another 350 fun, interesting, colourful and inclusive, well-planned events next year, that will contribute to society and impact our residents and nature as little as possible. 

If you’d like to join us in this journey, or simply support us, you can become a member of the GPRRA. Annual membership is only R200 per annum per household.

 

The easiest way to join is to fill in the form: 

https://www.gprra.co.za/membership

 

Whether you have one minute a month to offer, or one hour, or more, we need all the support we can get to keep on fighting the good fight. 

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Paige Nick​​

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Built Environment Committee (BEC)

What the BEC does:

  • Represent Green Point’s interests at general and specific levels by commenting on area planning proposals and building-related applications, on a scale from balconies and boundary walls to high-rise buildings.

  • Represent Green Point’s interests in political and governmental policy development and decisions as they relate to the built environment. We aim to be a responsible civic organisation.

 

Why the BEC does it:

  • There are statutory requirements for comment from civics regarding municipal (City) laws and regulations, and provincial government (Heritage Western Cape) in terms of Environmental and Heritage legislation.

  • Knowledge of the area, civic experience and some professional expertise leads to informed decision-making about appropriate local developments. The BEC will discuss and negotiate with developers and community members.

  • Controlled development requires dedicated focus and attention – you can never replace our built heritage or our textured and characteristic environment once it has been destroyed. Even the smallest alterations may have a disastrous cumulative effect.


Current BEC activities

Commenting on and, if appropriate, objecting to applications for consent which include:

  • Demolitions, alterations, additions to old buildings (older than 60 years), new building plans, departures from permissible development.

  • Changes in zoning and land use – such as guest houses or businesses in residential areas, subdivisions.

  • Planning – local and provincial - The BEC continues to provide responsible civic participation in planning proposals. This takes time and effort – attendance of public meetings, and the ability to read between the lines of thick reports or behind slick power-point presentations.

  • New integrated zoning scheme and planning by-laws will impact local planning decisions and possibly erode civic powers.

  • Assist in enforcement of the more rigid restrictions within our Heritage Protection Overlay Zones. Suggestions for expanding these HPOZ's.We are accredited as a heritage body with Heritage Western Cape – i.e their Built Environment and Landscape Committee consults the BEC before making decisions regarding properties in Green Point.

  • Illegal building control. We have challenged the City’s laissez-faire attitude, the lack of enforcement and the pitifully small penalties where legal action is taken. The City has endorsed new regulations, but making sure that transgressors are reported and the law is enforced is still our responsibility.

  • Threats to title-deed restrictions continue. The latest threat comes from the newly implemented planning by-laws.

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Issues outstanding

  • The big one is the lack of integrated planning or coordination for all the proposed redevelopments at the stadium, the urban park, Granger Bay Boulevard, Somerset Hospital Precinct and Granger Bay Precinct.

  • We are working towards streamlining communication and collaboration with city and provincial officials.

 

Plans for the future:

  • Guidelines for responding to certain categories of application to be posted on the website. For instance we prioritise minimum destruction of our built heritage and maximum public open space, greening, off street parking, people-friendly streetscapes, and compliance with title-deed conditions.

  • Guidelines for protecting our built environment and managing our heritage. We urgently need a new survey of what’s left and the consistent application of a credible heritage grading process.


Planning Applications

Guidelines for ratepayers/residents wishing to obtain planning consent for modifications to or redevelopment of their property:

  • If this planning application shows any departures in terms of the Land Use Planning Ordinance, the Planning Dept will send registered letters to any affected neighbours and to the BEC requesting comment and/or objection. A time limit is set, beyond which any objection will be invalid..

  • Should you as a ratepayer or resident (and paid up member of the GPRRA) wish to discuss a planning application ahead of submission to Heritage Western Cape or to the City Planning Dept, please contact bec@gprra.co.za​​​​​

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Committees

General information relating to our various committees and their functions within the community

Human Environment Committee (HEC)

What HEC does:

In addition to focusing on environmental issues, the HEC works to bring a greater awareness of community spirit among Green Point residents through the dissemination of positive messages.

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Current HEC activities:

  • ‘Speaks’ to residents through social networks to buy into day-to-day management of the neighbourhood and to be in control of destiny

  • Looks for opportunities to influence the opinions about Green Point that reinforce the desired brand image  

  • Encourages neighbours to share concerns, raises issues and coordinates action to instil pride in Green Point

  • Shares contact information with neighbours so as to get connected

  • Speaks to media for more positive stories about the neighbourhood to dilute negative messages but continues to fight the negative issues 

  • Encourage residents to lobby the City to improve service delivery by lodging C3s through https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/ServiceRequests/Pages/default.aspx  

  • Actively promotes free recycling initiative with Waste Plan and effective management of bins to maintain a pristine environment 

  • Participates in and supports gardening and cleaning of steps/lanes and engages with neighbours to keep streets and lanes/steps clean 

  • Maintains an awareness of illegal dumping (household, garden and building), potholes in road, broken street lights, leaking drains and missing covers, illegal parking and lodges C3s

  • Works closely with City’s field workers to uplift homeless community and shares their recommendations to how to deal with social issues

  • Raises funds for IDs and repatriation; for community kitchens in vulnerable communities (Saam Werk, RPJ Helping Hands); and homes for vulnerable women and children (The Homestead, Saartjie Baartman, St Anne’s Homes).  

 

Contact GPRRA Management Committee (MC) 2022:

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Liz Knight, Co-Chair MC/Human Environment Committee  
hec@gprra.co.za / lzbknight@gmail.com    0765972640

 

Steve Massey, Vice-Chair MC/Chair Events  
events@gprra.co.za / adman1957@gmail.com    0832705859 

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Stuart Burnet, Treasurer MC/Chair Built Environment Committee  

bec@gprra.co.za / stuart@braesidehouse.co.za   083233 4452

 

Glynis Johnson, Secretary MC  

info@gprra.co.za / anneglynis@gmail.com  076393 0507 / GPRRA cell: 076061 2371

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