Dear Owners and Tenants of the Aan de Weber Estate
General introduction
In our last update on update on 20 October 2020, the Trustee Committee (‘the Committee’) undertook to issue quarterly updates aimed at keeping members and residents alike abreast of developments on the estate.
In our previous communication you may recall I set out the Committee’s high-level objectives namely to create a harmonious environment where members and residents treat each other with courtesy and respect, enjoy the multiple benefits of the estate, and capitalise on their investment. I also referred to the symbiotic relationship necessary between members and the Committee that ultimately determines our collective success or failure.
Building on that theme, the Committee has adopted two further principles to guide our efforts in relation to the revised rules, the year-end February 2022 budget and capital expenditure, and the appropriate level of capital reserves that an Estate of our magnitude needs to carry on its balance sheet. These two simple principles are as follows:
- As depicted in the supplement to our Estate logo above, the formula that drives a successful and sought-after Estate is consistent focus on:
a. High quality security
b. High quality aesthetics
c. Financial viability as it pertains to the operational budget and capital reserves. - From a maintenance and aesthetics perspective, “It is more efficient to maintain it than regain it.”
You will hopefully recognise these principles being put into practice in the contents of this communication, as well as the new financial year’s budget that will be presented at the next Annual General Meeting.
Lastly, our previous communication referred to the main challenges on the Estate namely:
- Vehicles and parking
- Pets and general estate aesthetics
- Letting arrangements and commercial activities
- Adherence to the building code.
We have tried to address all of these challenges in a considered and balanced way in the revised rules that are attached and applicable with immediate effect.
Specific updates
1. Appointment of an Estate Manager
Throughout the recent history of the Estate, Jaen Boje has consistently played an important support role to the Committee as it pertains to the general upkeep of the Estate. The Committee has decided to formalize this role and is pleased to announce that as of 1 February 2021 Jaen has accepted and been appointed as the on-site Estate Manager working closely with Trafalgar who will continue to provide the necessary administrative support. In this role Jaen will report directly to the Committee, and act with the Committee’s full mandate and support in running the Estate on a day-to-day basis.
2. Security
The Committee is pleased to inform you that phase 1 of the security upgrades, namely the installation of high definition thermo cameras on the western and northern boundaries, has been successfully completed and commissioned. The Committee and members of the estate owe a special word of thanks to Ters Conradie for his tireless efforts in this regard, and to Gavin Osborne for controlling the ‘purse strings’ and completing the project R15 973 under budget.
Further proposals to expedite the necessary upgrades of the southern and eastern boundaries and the replacement of the ‘past-due-date’ card system with a modern biometric access system will be presented as part of the new budget cycle.
3. Building guidelines
The Committee has made attempts to address previous breaches but more importantly, as is expected in a maturing estate, continues to receive numerous requests for relaxation of the guidelines to resolve boundary wall privacy issues and, pergola extensions to name but a few. The Committee does not have, nor can it realistically be expected to have, the appropriate expertise to manage these requests fairly, consistently and in the best interests of the Estate overall. For the reason, the Committee has agreed to appoint Young-Pugh and Associates as the Estate’s scrutinizing architect. The process of transfer from Dennis Moss is underway, and the rules have been updated accordingly to reflect the revised application and approval process. Perhaps more importantly, one of the first requests of our new scrutinizing architect will be to review and ‘modernize’ the building guidelines to accommodate reasonable requests and evaluate and implement them in a consistent way in the best interests of the members and the Estate.
4. Revised Estate rules
The revised Estate rules are attached for your reference and will also be uploaded to the website which we aim to launch before the end of February 2021. What follows is a summary of the main changes, but that said it should not be regarded as comprehensive, and I encourage all members to peruse them in detail, as well as ensure that they are made available to your tenants should be letting your home.
4.1 Section 4, 5 and 6. Reiterating Aims and Objectives, Members’ Obligations, and Members’ Liability, respectively.
4.2 Section 8 – Maintenance. New process to deal with members or tenants who do not comply with keeping the garden area between their boundary wall and the kerb neat and tidy.
4.3 Section 10 – Functions. New process to manage large social gatherings.
4.4 Section 12 – Pets. New dispensation and process required for households that are in breach of the ‘two pet rule’. In particular the future enforcement of the ‘two pet rule’ as it pertains to future leases.
4.5 Section 15 – Parking. New processes to deal with the use of (to be) demarcated visitor’s parking bays, and the requirement for members and tenants to display a Resident Token on vehicles registered with the Managing Agent to ‘overnight’ on the estate. In this regard please also note our comment in section 5.
4.6 Section 23 – Letting and Resale. New processes to deal with future leases, in particular the need for prior approval from the Trustee Committee (which will not be unreasonably withheld), the signing of an Owner/Tenant declaration prior to finalization of a lease, and the requirement of landlords to provision for a garden service in the lease agreement.
4.7 Section 24 – Commercial activities. New processes, and dispensations required, to govern commercial activities on our residential estate.
4.8 Section 28 – Building requirements. Following on from point 3 above, the new processes to manage the approval of construction or similar change requests associated with the estate’s building guidelines.
4.9 Section 26 – Fire prevention. The requirement for every household to have and maintain a 4.5kg DCP fire extinguisher.
4.10 Section 28 – Levies. Going forward, any fines to be added directly to the levy statement and treated as such.
4.11 Annexures on pages 22 to 28. Related to the overall set of rules, the schedule of fines and administrative forms necessary to enable the Estate Manager and Managing Agent to effectively manage the estate.
5. Immediate focus
The Committee’s immediate focus is now on
- Estate parking – the demarcation of visitors parking bays will commence on 10 February 2021, and the procurement and roll out of the Resident Tokens will be completed by the end of March, sooner if possible.
- The continuation of the security upgrades.
- Following up on the letters issued to members last year to address maintenance and aesthetic issues associated with their homes and pavements.
- Preparation of the year-ended February 2022 budget
- Preparation and proposed funding of the next wave of specific capital expenditure required to finalise the security of upgrade the estate.
In closing, the Committee would like to thank members for their continued support, and your proactive and constructive feedback and suggestions remain encouraged and welcomed. Thank you for taking the time to read this communication, and I look forward to updating you all again in the second quarter of 2021.
Yours sincerely
Billy Evans
Chairman
