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Five city improvement districts in central
Joburg have received funding to help get the initiatives off the ground.
FIVE precincts in the inner city received
grant funding from the Region F Office to get their city improvement districts
(CIDs) off the ground. The initiative forms part of the region's inner city
regeneration commitments.
At a special media breakfast held on 11
June at the CJ Cronje Building in Braamfontein - Region F's head office - the
areas of Legae la Rona South, Fordsburg, Ekhaya, the fashion district and
Doornfontein each received a cheque to assist with setting up their CIDs.
Executive director for development planning and urban management, Phil Harrison
The cheques were handed over to representatives
from the five CIDs by the executive director for development planning and urban
management, Phil Harrison. He said the City was not able to sustain its efforts
without the help of the private sector and CIDs, in particular, were playing a
critical role.
"There are two key principles of urban
management - sustainability and partnerships."
Totalling R1-million, the once-off interim
funding may be just the beginning of what could become annual support to get
CIDs off the ground, confirmed Vijay Moodley, the Region F manager for
programme and strategy.
"Part of our mandate [as the inner city
office] is to help with the establishment of CIDs and find funding. The money
given to them is to get them off the ground," she said.
Funding was determined according to the
size of the area and the specific urban management interventions the CID planned
to initiate, she added. Accordingly,
Legae la Rona South received R180 000; Fordsburg R130 000; Ekhaya R334 000; the
fashion district R220 000; and Doornfontein R167 000.
Getting buy-in
Lebo Mashego, an urban development manager at
Afhco, who received the cheque on behalf of the Doornfontein precinct, said the
money would be used to fund the costly administrative process that preceded the
establishment of a CID.
But he was positive that property owners would
come on board, especially since the City, through the Johannesburg Development
Agency (JDA), had ploughed a substantial amount into the precinct, notably
around Transport Square
and Ellis Park Station.
"The mood is positive. Property owners in
the area are part of the process."
The Fordsburg and Mayfair
precinct is also a JDA focus area for this financial year. Navi Kathrada,
representing the area, said with about 700 properties it would be one of the
biggest CIDs in the inner city once it was established.
With legislation requiring 51 percent of
property owners to give their support, "the challenge will be to get everyone's
buy-in", she indicated.
This would also be a major challenge for
the new Legae la Rona South CID, confirmed Sandy Barnes, from Jozi Housing. The
precinct is in Berea, along Abel, Prospect, Lily
and Fife roads and is dominated by sectional
title high-rise flats.
In the past legislation was based on a one
building, one vote system; however, now each and every sectional title holder is
able to vote for or against the establishment of a CID.
The area has specific challenges in terms
of by-law enforcement, especially relating to illegal trading, but there has been
a major turnaround over the last five years. Barnes especially singled out
Pikitup as doing "a superb job" in the area.
He expected that getting buy-in from
property owners to set up a CID would take over a year.
About CIDs
A CID is a partnership between the City and the private sector to improve the
management of the urban environment for the benefit of owners, tenants and
visitors.
Districts are set up within a defined
geographic area where property owners have agreed to pay for certain services
that will improve their physical environment.
Setting up a CID follows a consultative
process between the City and local property owners. It requires the support of
at least 51 percent of owners of ratable properties in a designated area and an
improvement plan.
A board of directors drawn from the
contributors is responsible for the implementation of the plan.
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