MISTY CLIFFS VILLAGE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER - January 2002
Editor: Tim Anderson

FROM THE EDITOR
GREETINGS to all the richly blessed residents and residents-to-be of our incomparable village. We on the committee hope you had a generally wonderful holiday season and are now well back at your gainful occupations recovering from the stresses of feasting and enjoyment. We wish you prosperity and good health for 2002.

ALL HANDS ON DECK. WOW, WHAT ZEAL!
Although Misty Cliffs tempts everyone to sit idly and gaze dreamily out to sea, your committee has successfully resisted this temptation and put in a great deal of work during 2001. Many matters which at first thought seem easy to achieve necessitate extended interaction with officialdom. We are continually up against the early effects of the Unicity concept which, in its still nascent stages, has left many well-meaning officials with enormous workloads and unsure of their mandates and authority limits. A very inadequate number of managers in the system are struggling to keep the wheels turning while hundreds of residents' organizations and other parties clamour to have their interests prioritized.

Even for the Unicity's South Peninsula Administration (SPA), Misty Cliffs is very small beans in the total load and it is nothing less than remarkable that we have achieved what we have - we don't mind boasting that this is a tribute to your committee's persistence, well lubricated with patience, courtesy and understanding.

FIXING THE ROADS
For the majority of members the primary interest is the upgrading of Old Camp Road and its associated services and amenities. We are extremely pleased to tell you that we have already succeeded in gaining well over 70 per cent agreement among affected owners to go ahead with the upgrade plan in principle (the required minimum to compel this is 50 per cent). This has taken a long time mainly because a good number of owners could be reached only through third parties, and/or they live elsewhere - even as far away as China! Not even SPA had a reliable address list.

We are no less delighted to tell you that (perhaps because of the overwhelming agreement) the necessary detailed engineering study to arrive at an accurate capital cost will be financed by the SPA. Thereafter appropriate legal arrangements will be made and will include negotiation with SPA for a low-interest loan.
The loan will be redeemed over the loan period (probably 20 years) by mandatory contributions from owners collected with their rates. Involvement of the SPA in this way, together with its approval of the road design, ensures that the work and cost of road maintenance will be borne by the Municipality in perpetuity. This will save owners considerable and escalating future expense, and ensure that the road will not deteriorate and thereby adversely affect property values.

Some survey work will be necessary to formalize the position of Old Camp Road which is really just a track that developed around natural contours and obstacles, and is not according to township plan. In a few cases the track slightly invades property boundaries; similarly, several houses intrude into the prescribed road reserve, and rather than have them dynamited and their owners imprisoned the SPA has given provisional agreement to creating and legalizing waivers. The formal township plan will be correspondingly amended.

We're working towards mid-year to provide all owners with the consultants' final plan and costing, along with all other relevant information. All being well, construction has a good chance of beginning towards the end of this year.

BUILDING BLIGHT
Many members will have been inconvenienced by house construction along Old Camp Road. The reality is that this will continue and, because of the mountain gradient, every contract will involve excavation, earthworks, and the use of heavy machinery.
Interestingly, the damage inflicted on the road by, say, a tracked excavator or a fat-tyred front-end loader, is much less than that caused by an overloaded bakkie; it's all about axle loading and wheel "footprint" size.

On the positive side, there are some architecturally interesting houses either already up or planned. We believe this will stimulate comparable designs and, with the upgraded road, lead to enhanced property values for the whole village.

Previous newsletters have mentioned the "special guidelines" for new buildings in Misty Cliffs. No one can regulate personal taste, and what one architect may consider beautiful another may see as an abomination. Nevertheless, various guidelines can usually prevent excesses. To this end the committee has been working for some time on sharpening up guidelines already recommended and integrating these with general municipal regulations. The Misty Cliffs guidelines take account of the special characteristics and problems of our village, and so far we have found architects and owners quite amenable to discussions in this regard. When our special guidelines are eventually finalized and formally published we will let you know.

SHIPWRECK
Everybody mourns the death of a ship, and the stranded Ikan Tanda which valiantly withstood a sea battering for several weeks only to be ignominiously scuttled, was greatly distressing for most of us. All the same, the event was a triumph of salvage work by Smit Pentow Marine and undoubtedly saved Scarborough and Misty Cliffs from a colossal ecological disaster. Inevitably, pockets of oil and chemicals evaded collection and these residues were probably responsible for the sad deaths of some otters commonly seen at the southerly end of our beach; we suppose they ate contaminated fish. If anyone knows of other similar damage to marine life, please let us know.

LUCKY ERIC!
"Eric", that intimidatingly large alpha male baboon who captained the troop which sometimes pestered residents has been deposed. His successor has been dubbed "George". The remarkable feature of this change in leadership is that Eric has been allowed to remain in the troop, a previously unheard-of accommodation - normally the dethroned leader is expelled and becomes solitary. Local researchers Ruth Kanski and Dave Gaynor are highly intrigued about this, but your committee thinks it's simply a matter of most things about Misty Cliffs being routinely extraordinary.

Members are reminded that contributions (additional to subscriptions) for funding the very useful baboon chasers are urgently needed. This job provides almost life-saving work for otherwise unemployable local people whom so far have proved quite diligent and a considerable help in keeping baboon troops on the move and away from houses. Please send your contributions (we hope to get not less than R50/month/owner) to our treasurer, marking your cheque for its intended purpose but payable to the Misty Cliffs Village Association.

News travels fast but for those who haven't yet heard .... we may have stumbled across a way to order trespassing baboons off our properties: Recently one such intruder ignored all threats and commands to leave a certain house until a lady representing Scarborough Security Services was summoned. Armed, perhaps needlessly, with a sjambok, this genteel person shrieked a familiar command (expletive deleted) whereupon the animal meekly left. For further information phone SSS at 780-1274.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Have you noticed that we now call ourselves the "Misty Cliffs Village Association" instead of "... Ratepayer's ..."? This better fits our designated status as a "conservation village", and in case there are any status-sensitive people among our members, the new name distinguishes us from all those plebby suburban ratepayers, while also easing the consciences of those thick-skinned few who somehow get away with not paying any rates.

NO GERANIUMS IN WINDOW BOXES
We have done some cerebral work on "beautifying" Misty Cliffs, an idea on which some members had focused. The stimulus for this notion is largely that of minimising the visual impact of our built environment which inevitably involves retaining walls, driveways, and so on. However, we don't want our village to look artificial with unnecessary terraces draped with exotic plants.

We received some input about providing parking along the main road, but universal experience is that the more parking is provided the more the demand increases. We don't really want masses of cars, tour buses and film units dropping anchor along this stretch, nor do we want a whole lot of informal paths to the beach struck between properties where they cause erosion and facilitate possible burglaries.

There was also a suggestion that we provide hiking trails, but these need a lot of maintenance and supervision which would require volunteers (but if there are any such, then ..... please call the committee). At present, Ivan and Danielle Harris are happy to conduct up the mountain small groups seriously interested in botanical and conservation matters.

A local professional botanist Mark Wellens (780-1102) has advised that the best thing to do is plant carefully-chosen indigenous flora wherever there's a raw wall or bare patch to be hidden. Misty Cliffs has a specific micro-climate and soil type so appropriate species must be chosen. Another criterion is that the species must be able to look after themselves, and not require continual watering and nursing (hence, autumn planting). However, such hardy species are invariably slow-growing. This matter is being pursued.

You will have noticed that we leant on builder Rhett Selvan to put up attractive stone signs at each end of the village (thank you, Rhett). Here, too, much thought was expended - for instance, signs that are too beautiful or too visible act as magnets to vandals with spray cans. We are still experimenting with the lettering towards maximizing legibility and durability

A new wooden bridge over the spruit has been put up by SPA at the south end of the village. It's rather over-conspicuous at present but we feel the colour will soon fade. The original wooden steps on the mountain side further north were condemned by SPA as unsafe and suddenly demolished. However, a contrite SPA has recently rebuilt them very nicely; thank you SPA.

It's in the future, but worth noting that the Old Camp Road upgrade will involve all services, such as unsightly telephone poles and wires, being laid below ground.

SAFE AS HOUSES - OH REALLY?
Nearly all houses subscribe to the prompt and efficient Scarborough Security Services (Richard Foster, 780-1274). Contracts with approved response services such as SSS usually allow reductions in insurance premiums greater than the cost of the service, so we strongly advise that all house owners join in. Unattended houses are inevitably at risk and in this light there have been amazingly few burglaries. Unfortunately building work nearly always involves casual labour both on site and delivering and this is a notorious source of burglaries, not least of the builder's own materials and equipment. Residents are urged to notify SSS if they see trespassers or loiterers, not necessarily to chase them away, but for them to be kept under surveillance. SSS patrols continually and is very alert to "goings on".

Members who engage labour for their properties should ensure that they know the correct identity of such workers and should notify SSS that these people are legitimately on site.

Some Misty Cliffs houses are routinely let or lent, sometimes apparently without sufficient screening of the visitors. There have been incidents of appalling behaviour and drunkenness, infamously out of the recently demolished wooden house on the beach, now rebuilding. This sort of thing aggravates the general security risk and is highly offensive to neighbouring residents.

The road upgrade plan includes provision of an access boom and this may well be erected before the upgrade is completed.

ALIENS HAVE LANDED
With the exceptionally wet winter there has of course been a population explosion of vegetation on the mountain. This is wonderful but there are again millions of alien saplings among the indigenous growth. If we don't take out the aliens we are endangering ourselves from the fires that inevitably come roaring through from the Redhill area informal settlements. We are also inviting baboon raids because the seeds of rooikrans, for instance, are esteemed delicacies for these animals.

We have been experimenting with the "Tree Popper" which is an extraordinary tool making it literally child's play to swiftly haul out saplings up to 20 mm stem diameter. Armed with one of these Poppers, anyone can pull up even deep-rooted young trees within seconds and with very little effort. The productivity is phenomenal compared with that of unaided labour. The whole root usually comes out complete so that there's rarely any need to keep chopping back re-sprouts or resorting to environmentally harmful herbicides.

Tree Poppers are available through Louis Raubenheimer (554-2221, 082-651-5437) who is happy to demonstrate the tool and identify suspect plants and trees (he's an "invasive plant consultant").

Anyone requiring a contractor to clear aliens is advised to contact John Cuthill (780-9005) whose work and thoroughness have been amply proven to us.

There is a good deal of alien growth along parts of the road reserve and SPA seem anxious to remove it. We hope it will soon be attended to.

WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER
Please put your Erf (plot) number on your house where it can be easily seen. There have been several instances of servicemen, meter readers, police and security services not being able to identify where they've been called to. Some of the properties are not consecutively numbered and this makes it additionally necessary to positively identify your property.

FIRE!
Any minute now! Are you ready for it? Some essential rules:

Thin out the indigenous vegetation and uproot the aliens around your house, especially on the southerly aspects. Remove all plant growth from against your house. If you're not in residence ensure that windows and vents of any kind are closed, particularly southwards. It's a good idea to have shutters, even (thick) wooden ones over the southern windows. Have garden hoses strategically ready. Have an escape routine planned and rehearsed in case you're caught by surprise - the last big fire roared over the mountain at 2 in the morning when all respectable citizens should have been soundly sleeping. Remember that a fire driven by a southeasterly gale can advance faster than you can run, and it blows burning brands ahead of you to start new fires along your escape route and maybe trap you. Make sure your insurance cover is adequate and that you've paid your premium! Stick the various emergency phone numbers around the house, even if you normally rely on a cell phone.

SUBSCRIPTIONS
There are still a number of unpaid subscriptions for 2001. These are URGENTLY required to balance committee funds, particularly because we have incurred high expenses in our pursuit of the road upgrade - further associated expenses are imminent, and some committee members are already out-of-pocket. We don't want to delay the effort through some members being slack about paying their subs. If you're not sure if you've paid or not please call Lyn Mossop. The amount is R200/year. Make your cheques payable to "Misty Cliffs Village Association".

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Comprehensive information about the road upgrade and other matters will be given at this year's meeting, so we urge you to come with your questions, suggestions, challenges and new subscriptions; we have an inviolable rule: no pay no vote. In the past we have held the AGM late on Sunday mornings, but for some members this has been inconvenient; this year we're trying a Saturday afternoon: Please diarize: Saturday April 20, 15h00, in the Scarborough Community Hall; delectable refreshments may be provided (but only to fully paid-up members).

MISTYCLIFFS SUMMARY OF BUILDING CODE FRAMEWORK PUBLISHED
This brief summary (included with this newsletter) of the original DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES for the MISTY CLIFFS BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE is intended to provide principles and guidelines to architects, designers and property-owners who plan to build dwellings at Misty Cliffs.

These guidelines extract the salient features of a further comprehensive and detailed document prepared for the South Peninsula Municipality, namely Scarborough and Misty Cliffs: Approved Structure Plan in terms of section 4(10) of the Land Use Planning Ordinance, (November 2000). This is a comprehensive document which provides important and useful guidelines on building regulations, planning and design which are applicable and appropriate to Misty Cliffs. These documents are very practical and sensible having been driven by local residents, including engineers and architects, who are keenly aware of the special circumstances and who have had the benefit of residential experience.

These documents form the basis on which the statutory Misty Cliffs Building Advisory Committee will make its recommendations to council in respect of proposed building plans submitted by property owners. It is incumbent upon owners to ensure that their proposals comply with the detail as defined in the original document. (This document may be obtained from Misty Cliffs Village Association OR City of Cape Town, South Peninsula Administration)

LIST OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Jonathan Schrire (chairman)
Doug Tunbridge (vice-chairman)
Lyn Mossop (treasurer)
Rooken Podesta (secretary)
Annie Lehr
Danielle & Ivan Harris
Jos van Eeden
Nic du Plessis (architect)
Stan Cohen
Uwe Hass
Tim Anderson (newsletter)