Pinelands residents have until the end of October to vote in favour of or against the establishment of a city improvement district (CID) in the area.
A CID, also known as a Special Rating Area, provides top-up services in a defined neighbourhood. Once established, the CID enables property owners to become involved in the management of their own area by collecting money through the City’s billing system to augment City services.
Plans to establish the Pinelands City Improvement District (PLCID) have been in the pipeline since 2018, said steering committee member, Sandy McGuffog.
He said a lot of work had been done by the previous committee which included establishing the boundary and conducting the urban management survey – which formed the basis for many of the CID’s plans.
The new committee took over in March and has since submitted their business plan which had been approved by the City.
“In order to establish PLCID, there needs to be at least 60% of eligible property owners to vote in favour of it. It is important that residents vote, whether yes or no.”
If approved, the CID boundary will include ERF 3078 (Old Mutual head office), along the Western Boundary of Jan Smuts Drive until it intersects with the Railway Reserve South Boundary, along the North Boundary of the Railway Reserve, along the Eastern side of the Railway Reserve, skirts the Pinelands Business Park up to Avonduur Along Sunrise Road ERF 110934, Walton Grove Road and properties on both side of Ambleside.
For Pinelands, a “median” house with a valuation of R3 170 000, it will cost R177.72 a month.
Mr McGuffog said based on the findings of the urban management survey, they would focus on public safety, environmental development, maintenance and cleansing and social development.
He said Pinelands faced several challenges and was exposed to increasing crime, environmental and social concerns.
“Pinelands has long been considered a safe and secure suburb. Recent challenges however include an increase in crime, environmental and social concerns as well as poor service delivery,” he said.
Public safety related services will include 24-hour patrols, two dedicated Law Enforcement officers, CCTV camera infrastructure, control room monitoring and a community safety app.
The objectives of the Environmental Development Plan are to enhance and provide additional municipal services. The plan covers parks and playgrounds; tree maintenance, enhanced landscaping, walkway repairs, safe parks, skate and bicycle parks and dog parks.
Steering committee member Yazied Davids said they aim to achieve this by collaborating with residents and other organisations in Pinelands providing public services or initiatives in this space.
“There are a number of established organisations in Pinelands who are already doing the work. Our goal is to partner with them and provide funding, not to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
Mr Davids said litter and cleanliness was the second most important issue raised by residents according to the survey. The objectives for maintenance and cleansing are to ensure that Pinelands is a clean, attractive and well-maintained area. This includes cleaning of streets, parks and rivers, bridges and subways, waste removal and recycling and intervention programmes.
The survey showed that street people, homelessness and vagrancy was a concern in Pinelands. Mr Davids said they wanted to take a human approach to this social issue and were willing to partner with NPOs / NGOs and other City initiatives (Street People Unit) capable of addressing the issue.
“People end up on the streets for various reasons and we need to look and address the underlying issues before we can even start addressing this issue. We need to find sustainable solutions. We have a R2 million budget to address social development,” he said.
Forms need to be completed and submitted before Monday October 31. You can vote using one of the following options: online – www.pinelandscid.co.za, email consentforms@pinelandscid.co.za, drop-off at Postnet Pinelands and Pinelands police station or WhatsApp 065 960 2606
For more information email info@pinelandscid.freshdesk.com
