Residents in Northpine are questioning the validity of the public participation process conducted by the City of Cape Town over the erection of informal trading bays in their quaint neighbourhood.

This prompted community outrage among residents, who say no meaningful consultation or engagement took place.

“Not a single person knew about it — not even one. Even the City Improvement District, with which the City usually engages officially, was not informed. It is a blatant box-ticking exercise and it’s not fair,” says a community spokesperson.

READ ALSO: Concerns grow over trading bays in Northpine – residents want answers

According to the City, the distribution of “pamphlets” was undertaken as “a courtesy communication” only and not a statutory requirement of public participation to inform residents of the City’s plans to erect the trading bays at the entrance of the residential area in front of their homes.

This is according to City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo in response to a question posed by TygerBurger with regard to proof that “hand-delivered notices” were given to residents.

And because it was not a statutory requirement, “no signatures or other proof of receipt were obtained from recipients”, he said.

The so-called “hand-delivered” notices, the City later called “pamphlets” that were “distributed to residents and put into post boxes where residents were not present”, according to the City.

“As this was a courtesy communication and not a statutory requirement of the public participation process, no signatures or other proof of receipt were obtained from recipients.”

Which is it?

To add to the confusion, Tyhalibongo, in an article published in last week’s edition, “Concerns grow over trading bays in Northpine”, explicitly stated that the public participation process was conducted in line with the City’s informal trading by-law, and in this regard notices were “hand-delivered” to residents and businesses on 4 April 2024.”

“The City’s informal trading by-law does not require the distribution of pamphlets. Instead, it prescribes a formal public participation process, which was fully implemented. This included the publication of notices in local newspapers, publication on the City’s ‘Have Your Say’ platform, and the display of notices at municipal offices,” he said.

He added, “In addition, two public open days were held where interested and affected parties were able to view the proposed trading plan and provide comments. The by-law requires only one public meeting; however, a second session was arranged to provide a further opportunity for participation and to accommodate residents who may not have been available to attend the first session”.

However, unless residents purchased the Cape Argus on 18 March 2024 or received the TygerBurger on 20 March 2024, they would not have seen the advertisements notifying them of the public meetings or be directed to the “Have Your Say” platform.

“How would we have known about the project? We do not buy newspapers every day, and there are many elderly people in the community,” says the spokesperson.

Tyhalibongo says written submissions were also invited and accepted throughout the prescribed 30-day public participation period, ensuring that stakeholders had multiple opportunities to participate in the process and provide input. Again, this opportunity was only available to those who knew about it.

Disappointed in local government

“We feel disappointed that no proper public participation process was followed before these plans were approved,” residents told TygerBurger.

“Northpine is home to approximately 2 200 households and is well-maintained. It is one of the few areas where children can still safely ride their bicycles and play in the streets. We are proud of our neighbourhood and work closely with our CID to maintain the safety and cleanliness of the area.”

Residents are concerned about the negative impact this development may have.

“The proposed site has no ablution facilities, is situated on one of the busiest taxi routes in the area, and will further worsen the traffic congestion that we already experience when entering and exiting Northpine.”

When residents finally became aware of the project only after contractors showed up to start work, could they submit their concerns and requests for engagement to the ward councillor, as well as to the Mayor’s office, but have yet to receive a response.

Responding to an earlier media inquiry, the City said it would provide ablution facilities where feasible, using mobile units as an interim measure, adding that traffic impacts would be monitored and further community engagements were being coordinated.

“Nobody from the City has reached out to us as yet,” the spokesperson says.