About Us

 

Vision

The UKID plans to forge a partnership with the City of Cape Town and residents and businesses in Kenilworth area above the railway line to rise from the “crime and grime” that has developed to become a safe and caring urban environment.

The intention of the UKID will be to provide, from funds raised from businesses and residents in the area, top up safety and cleaning services as well as improving urban maintenance and providing social upliftment.

Where are we in the start up process of the UKID?

A steering committee of concerned residents and business people was formed in March 2021 with the intention of setting up a CID to uplift the urban living environment in the Upper  Kenilworth area.  There are a number of independent initiatives in this area that mainly seek to manage security in public areas in our suburb of Kenilworth.  Those who formed the steering committee believe that the formation of a CID will provide a platform for uplifting the Kenilworth urban living environment in an initiative that all businesses and residents contribute to.

The steering committee has held planning meetings which culminated in a meeting with the City of Cape Town on 26 April 2021.  The upshot of this meeting is that the City is assessing the viability of the proposed CID area put forward by the steering committee.  Feedback is expected from the City by end of this month/early June on the acceptability of the boundaries for the CID. Once we have the boundaries confirmed the process of setting up can begin.

What is a CID?

A city improvement district (CID) is a non-profit organisation set up in partnership with the City of Cape Town in terms of the Property Rates Act and the Special Rates Area By-Law.

A CID is a private/public partnership between the City of Cape Town and the residents and businesses of a defined area created to provide top up services to those already provided by the City of Cape Town.  The services that are typically referred to here are public safety, cleaning and urban management.

The CID is managed by a board of directors who are elected by the contributing residents and businesses to manage urban affairs in terms of an agreed urban business plan

The process of establishing a CID

A CID is funded by a charge recovered from residents and businesses in their property rates monthly billing which is levied by the City of Cape Town in terms of an agreed and budget approved by residents/businesses to fund the services provided by a CID.

There is a lengthy process that needs to be followed to form a CID in partnership with the City of Cape Town and these steps are broadly as follows:

      • The geographic boundaries of the improvement district have to be established
      • All property owners and the broader community within the defined area should be consulted
      • An Urban Management Survey (UMS) is circulated to measure the perceptions of the broader community and highlights specific needs and shortcomings
      • A comprehensive Business Plan is then developed to address the needs to the area
      • The Business Plan is then presented to the community at a public meeting conducted in accordance with Section 5 of the SRA By-Law.
      • A consent period is provided to obtain not less than 60% of the property owners support for this Business Plan.
      • After submitting the application a period of more than 60 days will be allowed for objections.
      • The City Council has the final approval of an application.
      • Once the CID is approved, all property owners within the CID have to pay an additional property rates (except those that qualify for full or partial relief in terms of the City Rates By-Law/Policy)
      • The City collects the additional municipal property rates from the property owners within the CID boundary and pays the CID Non Profit Company (NPC) monthly one twelfth of its approved budget less 3% which is retained as a provision against bad debt, in order to implement the Business Plan.
      • The CID has its own Board of Directors, who are property owners, elected by the members of the NPC.  A political representative from the City is appointed to the Board and will attend Board meetings in an observer capacity.
      • The Board is responsible for the management of the CID within the framework of the approved CID business plan and will oversee the implementation thereof
      • The Board appoints service providers and/or staff to manage the day-to-day operations within the CID as per the Business Plan.
      • The CID is established for an initial period of 5 years.
      • A CID may be dissolved after establishment in accordance with the SRA By-Law of the City.
      • The City must maintain its current level of services.  The CID services remain supplementary and are not a replacement for City baseline services.